Reflections on a Teaching Career #6
Making films with students, Part 1
Reflections on a Teaching Career #6
Making Films with Students, Part 1
As I mentioned previously, my reason for studying film in the first place was not to make films but to teach and write about my favorite subject. This, of course, was not the hoped for career trajectory for most of my film students, especially at DePaul. Their goal was to make films in some capacity. Some were interested in directing or screenwriting while others favored cinematography, sound, or editing. I did my best teaching the basic principles of all these topics and showed many film examples in class which might get them to see film from a wider perspective.
While at Moraine Valley Community College I had become advisor to its filmmaker’s club. The students in it had an interest in creating their own projects and we created a film festival to honor their best work. One day one of my students, Dave, who was a key member of the club said, “I want to see one of your films.” While I’d never professed to making any films, he seemed to sincerely want to see something I’d made or could make. I had made a series of short videos about my garden that I’d post on Facebook, but that was about all I had to offer. So, Dave’s remark was an interesting idea for me to consider. Could I actually apply everything I’d been teaching to something of my own? I had enjoyed watching the students create their own films and began to feel that even with my own fears of the filmmaking process perhaps it was time to give it a try.
I began writing a couple of feature-length scripts. The first one, The Couples We Dated, was inspired by the various friendships my husband Frank and I had made with other gay couples. The experience would often feel akin to dating in that we’d try to dress well and go out for nice dinners. I loved the idea and script and even entered it into a contest held by Pride Films and Plays in Chicago. It didn’t win anything, but it felt like a new venture and form of self-expression for me that I wanted to try again.
In 2009, I discovered that one of my high school friends, Mauro Fiore, had done the cinematography for James Cameron’s epic, Avatar. I knew Mauro had gone to Hollywood and had worked his way up in the industry to eventually work as the Director of Photography on films such as Training Day (2001) and The Island (2005). I’d only spoken to him once in the intervening years and didn’t know he was a part of this highly anticipated film. The morning he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Avatar I called him and had a nice conversation about his nomination and our various adventures in high school. He was coming to town for a Q&A before the Oscars, so I was determined to see him. The event went off quite well and Mauro couldn’t have been humbler and more gracious. Before the evening ended, we vowed to stay in touch.
My high school friends Paula, Ron, Michelle, and John all came over to watch the Oscars that year. When Sandra Bullock announced that the winner was Mauro Fiore, we all let out a big scream! We were beyond excited for our old friend. We tried phoning him to congratulate him but got his voicemail. As the following days and weeks went on, it became clear that I was not going to hear back from him. I was frustrated and a bit peeved because I really liked Mauro and was hoping to bring back that friendship in some capacity. He was inspiring in high school and certainly an inspiration after winning the Oscar.
I decided to let the variety of feelings I had out into a screenplay I wrote called Carlo From Calabria (Mauro was from the Italian city.) I did a linear re-telling of my relationship with Mauro with a few fictional scenes thrown in. I had Paula and Michelle read it, but the latter questioned who might be interested in the story other than us. I showed it to two of my colleagues at DePaul, John and Ron, and they gave me some solid notes. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do anything with the feature-length script. In fact, it felt more like a major exorcism of a lot of buried feelings I had about Mauro than a project I truly wanted to produce or get produced.
Because writing Carlo From Calabria was pretty emotionally draining, I decided that my next script would be for a short film. Scotty Works OUT reflected experiences I had working out at my local Lifetime Fitness. It had a comical tone and felt light and breezy.
Around the same time, one of my former students Jason was working on his own feature-length film called Searching For Venice. He was well underway to getting it produced and directing it himself. I offered up some money to get the project finished and secure a producing credit on the film. (Students at DePaul would often talk about other professor’s IMDB pages and credits.) This would give me, at least in my mind, more credibility. Jason also needed a home in which to shoot one of the film’s scenes and I offered up our home in the suburbs.
The shooting day was a revelation to me. I so wanted to get more involved in projects like this. When I told Jason about the scripts I’d written and specifically Scotty Works OUT, he said, “let’s make it!” Because Jason had already made a few shorts himself he was well-connected to other students and young professionals who could handle many of the crew spots needed for the film. He also helped me audition some of the actors. We ended up casting several students I’d had at both Moraine Valley (including the aforementioned Dave) and DePaul. One of my colleagues Ken was offered another role and the director of my program at DePaul, Matt, was interested in another. The latter concerned me because it was my first “real” film and I didn’t want to mess anything up that would make me look like an incompetent director and thus, perhaps an unqualified film professor. By this time, I’d been teaching for sixteen years but always wanted to learn more and be taken seriously in the classroom.
The shoot became one of my highlights of 2013. One of the great things about teaching in DePaul’s film program was that I was able to take out all of the necessary equipment needed to produce a project, including the very expensive Red camera. Fortunately, the crew members knew how to operate everything making that aspect of the filming not an issue. It was such an exhilarating thrill to be directing the project with so many deeply committed people. Very few would be earning any money from the film (including myself) but the experience was what mattered the most. As soon as we finished shooting, one of my graduate students, Steve, and I went to the editing bays at DePaul and began a week shaping the short film. Working with Steve was also a highlight. He was patient with me – one of his professors and was open to all suggestions I had.
I began submitting Scotty Works OUT to film festivals all over the country and was beyond excited when, six weeks after we’d finished shooting, the film was accepted into the Palm Springs LGBT Film Festival. This was beyond my wildest dreams, and I certainly had Jason and my other students and colleagues for making it all happen so quickly and efficiently. (While writing this I only now realize that I was wearing a Palm Springs t-shirt during one of the shooting days! See the video above.)
Around this time, students were asking me to appear in their films. I was thrilled to do it because a part of me always liked the idea of being in front of a camera (see the first installment in this reflection series!) The first was simple, I was Man Who Steps in Gum in one of my student’s films. That was a lot of fun even though the gum wouldn’t stick!
For another student I was asked to play the sickly father of a young man involved with crime. When I read a line that my character would say, something to the effect of, “I’m getting older and not well. I won’t be around much longer” I said to my student, “How old do you think I am!” He said he cast me based on my long hair which the actor playing the son also had. Okay. I had more lines in that film than any other which I actually found to be quite a challenge to learn. Nevertheless, the film turned out well.
In another student film I was asked to play a drug dealer who gets violently shot upon opening his front door. I had no lines but I was hooked up to several squibs that would blow when the special effects expert on set got the cue. We only did one take and when it happened my expression was one of true terror as I felt the intensity of the squibs for the first time. As soon as the scene was shot, a few of my students making the film came up to me concerned saying, “Are you all right Mr. Pal?!” They were apologetic but I never let on that I really felt some pain and did end up with some red marks on my chest for a few weeks. I was so thrilled to be asked to be in their film, and they were such great guys, that none of it mattered. It was great to be helping my students with the project.
All in all, this movement into filmmaking was a lot of fun and I got to work with some great students.
Next Up: Making films with students, Part 2 and some disillusionment
Thank you for sharing. And teaching! Great stories. Great life!