Sam Holdren is finishing his master’s
in film,
while writing and producing movies of his own.
photo by CHIP ELLIS
Sam Holdren is finishing his master’s
in film,
while writing and producing movies of his own.
photo by CHIP ELLIS
South Charleston filmmaker Sam Holdren's lair is a movie nut's paradise.
In the back of the small 10th Avenue house, the 29-year-old has a muscled-up
computer loaded with sound and
video editing software. On the walls are a few framed prints that reference
a movie he's worked on or the film festivals
he's taken part in and the awards he's picked up along the way.
Those include the awards he took for last fall's showing of "Audition" at the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival in Kentucky and the West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival in Sutton.
He took "Best Student Short Film" and "Best Regional Student
Film" in Kentucky and won the "Award of Excellence"
in West Virginia. He's also won awards for his animation at the West Virginia
International Film Festival.
In the front of the house, there's a comfortable chair and a couch suitable for lounging with an oversized bowl of popcorn. Nearly an entire wall, from ceiling to floor, are shelves containing several hundred films and television shows on dvd.
"It's all research," he said. "That's one of the nice things about being a film student. I can write all of this stuff off on my taxes."
Holdren doesn't say how many titles he has, but it's more than an average video store. The meticulously alphabetized and ordered collection is a mix of styles and genres spanning the past hundred years of visual entertainment. He picks them up wherever he can.
"You have to love the $5 bin at Wal-Mart," he laughed. "I like to go and see what other people pull out of there, see what they think is a bargain."
Holdren says people snap up those direct-to-video sequels to the evangelical
end of the world epic "Left Behind." He
looks through the bin hoping for the older gems other people ignore, movies
by directors like Robert Altman ("M*A*S*H") or David Lean ("Lawrence
of Arabia").
He's glad to get whatever he can from the bargain bins. As a struggling filmmaker,
money is always tight. All of the films
he's worked on since he started the master's program in film and art media
at Temple University have been on the cheap, with volunteer cast and crew.
Like every film student, Holdren says he's gone through periods where he's been more interested in one style or another, one director or another. He gravitates toward the kinds of movie he'd watch.
"I tend toward dialogue-driven programs," he said. "Witty comedies masking drama."
His last short feature, "Audition," was a comedy with dramatic elements dealing with an overeager actor going to an audition. It screened at small film festivals across the country last year and will end its run by the end of the summer.
Following "Audition," Holdren has several other projects he's either
directed, written or helped produce. Among them is
a short (10 minute) comedy of manners called "Play," a controversial
"dramedy," titled "The Paradigm Shift," about
a college professor who assigns his students to assassinate the president
and an experimental art film called "Meat."
All of them will be taken around to film festivals over the coming months.
"It's been a good year," he said. "I'm hoping this one is even better."
Holdren grew up in South Charleston. He started making films after his family got a video camera for Christmas in 1989. Within a couple of months, he'd taught himself a few of the camera's tricks and was making cartoons using the camera for school projects.
He studied communications at West Virginia State University, and got involved the Kanawha Players and the Charleston Stage Company. He acted, worked on sound for productions, wrote short plays and directed. He said it was a great experience for him.
"I was given the informal freedom to fail," he said.
Upon graduation, Holdren entered the Temple program. After five years of classes, papers and film projects, he hopes to graduate in May.
"It's May or nothing," he said. "I feel like I've done the work for two degrees. I need to move on."
After May, Holdren will have to decide where he wants to work next. He's
accumulated $100,000 in student debt,
which would be difficult to pay off and work in film or television in West
Virginia.
Currently, he divides his time between Temple in Philadelphia and South Charleston, where he helps take care of his grandmother.
"I can't say how important it really is to develop a relationship with your grandparents," he said. "When I'm here, it's doctors appointments, errands and taking care of her. Both of my grandparents have meant a lot to me. I've learned a lot from them."
With the projects he's already completed, there's plenty to keep him busy for months, but eventually he's going to have to pack up his lair if he wants to make a living in movies or television.
"Eventually," he agrees, "but there's still time."
To contact staff writer Bill Lynch, use e-mail or call 348-5195
TEMPLE GRADUATE STUDENT'S FILM GAINS RECOGNITION
Publication: THE TEMPLE NEWS
Published: 10/30/2007
Page: --
Headline: TEMPLE GRADUATE STUDENT'S FILM GAINS RECOGNITION
Byline: EMILY GLEASON
Sam Holdren, a 28-year-old Temple University film and media arts graduate
student in the MFA program, is establishing
a name for himself in the film industry.
Holdren, the writer and director of the short comedy film "Audition,"
has won several awards for his latest project including Best Student Short
Film and Best Regional Film at the 2007 Bluegrass Independent Film Festival.
The 20-minute movie
will be screened at the Delaware Valley Film Festival Nov. 2.
Holdren attained his Bachelor of Arts in English: Professional Writing with a Theatre Arts minor from West Virginia University (formerly known as West Virginia College) in May 2002. He also has a Bachelor of Science in communications in May 2001.
He has directed two other award-winning short films; "Unexpected Aphrodisiacs" in 2001 and "Blah" in 2002.
His current film stars Todd Waters, who plays William H. Ashe, a 30-year-old
"momma's boy" with the emotional maturity of a teenager. Ashe is
consumed with becoming a famous actor and believes whole-heartedly in superstitious
"signs,"
a practice he picked up from his mother.
Throughout the film, Ashe overcomes obstacles and rejection with inextinguishable hope for the future. He redeems his immature behavior with his innocence and unmistakably good intentions.
"I wanted the challenge of taking a character that could be very unlikable
… who could potentially offend the audience,
and hopefully illicit some empathy for him," he said.
Making a comedy that actually has an impact on the audience is a difficult task, Holdren said. The casting of Ashe's character was a key ingredient in the film's success and Waters impressed Holdren during his audition for the role.
Holdren recalls that when Waters came in to audition, "I couldn't help but smile. He had the energy in his eyes that I wanted for William Ashe," Holdren said, adding that Water had that a soft, "Baby Huey" look.
Holdren stressed the importance of matching an actor's personalities to their
roles, opening up room for the character to evolve naturally.
Despite a brief role in the film, another notable actor in "Audition"
was Brian Yeshion, a Temple student who was shot and killed in his North Philadelphia
apartment in June 2005.
In "Audition", Yeshion plays the role of a college student who Ashe approaches in the bar of The Windsor Hotel. A photo of Yeshion is shown during the credits of the film in memorial.
Although Holdren did not work personally with him, he said members of his crew described Yeshion, a communications major, as a nice guy, who had ambition for himself.
Holdren said he felt it was important to honor the time that Yeshion dedicated to "Audition", however small.
"He was part of the puzzle," Holdren said.
As for other aspiring filmmakers at Temple, Holdren said it's important to "let go and let people into the process."
"When it's all done, you have people to share it with," he said.
He advocated the importance of teamwork, and explained that he avoided acting
as a "jack of all trades" when working
on "Audition"
The "Audition" production team included some of Holdren's friends
and colleagues from Temple. Holdren also enlisted
the help of undergraduate film and media arts students, many of whom he taught
in the past.
Filmmakers and actors from Holdren's hometown of Charleston, W.Va.., also contributed to the project, as Holdren traveled to back home to shoot the final scene of the movie.
"I consider this movie "Audition" as my audition too,"
Holdren said. "This is my warm up. It's not going to be the last thing
I ever do."
For more information on Sam Holdren and "Audition" go to www.auditionmoviesite.com.
Emily Gleason can be reached at Emily.gleason@temple.edu
LOCAL FILMS HONORED AT FILM FESTIVAL
Publication: GRAFFITI
Published: 10/10/2007
Page: 21
Headline: LOCAL FILMS HONORED AT FILM FESTIVAL
Byline: TONY RUTHERFORD
Do you view life as a daily “audition” by selling yourself, taking on new roles and attempting to win approval?
Sam Holdren, an M.F.A. candidate in Temple University’s Department of Film & Media Arts, has along with Joseph W. Nig [sic: Ng], now an M.A. candidate in Media Studies at West Virginia State University, collaborated on the screenplay for “Audition,” whose main character William Ashe equates a drifting ‘everyman’ looking for success and a whole lot of hope.
The short screens at 7:25 p.m., Oct. 12 in the Landmark Studio of the Arts, Sutton, W.Va., as part of the West Virginia Filmmakers Festival. It has previously been honored as Best Student Short Film and Best Regional Student Film at the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival, La Grange, Ky.
The Winfield, W.Va. native [sic: South Charleston], began principal photography in November 2004 but the film took two years to complete with scenes shot in Philadelphia and Charleston, W.Va.
“When you’re a student film on a limited budget, it tends to slow down the process,” Holden said. However, aside from financing, graduate school and teaching delayed completion as well as “music, visual effects and sound editing É (they) always take three times longer than you expect.”
However, their character Ashe has hit a meaningful chord with viewers. Essentially, he’s a 30-something loser living at home with his mother who believes in “signs” and has an insatiable spirit.
“People like William Ashe have not found their way in life just yet, but a person with the spirit of William Ashe will go on forever despite naive mistakes or failures,” Holdren explained. “Some people see it for the dark comedy, but it’s gratifying when regular people, colleagues or anybody else sees your work and gets it on a human level.”
How did Nig [sic: Ng] and Holdren formulate the character?
“As folks in the Charleston-area who have seen the film are certainly aware, many qualities of William Ashe are unquestionably inspired by a good friend of ours. This includes the energetic personality and external traits; however several of William’s experiences belong to Joe and I. The actual audition is my own experience auditioning for a movie. But as we were writing the screenplay, we decided that a character like our friend would be more interesting and watchable through all of the absurd things that happen. It’s an abstraction, not a biography.”
So, on the way to the theatre in the big city for a major moment, William suddenly finds himself sidetracked and caught up in murder mayhem and mistaken identity. Not unlike curves, detours and uncomfortable so-called growth opportunities in everyone’s journey? “You ask actors to come and try to create some sense of natural behavior in an unnatural environment and then judge them for it while also trying to maintain natural behavior,” the writer/producer said. Sounds like how many of us often try to adapt and conform to environments and relationships that we willingly or unwittingly stumble into?
Thus, despite the hyperbole of circumstances, he represents anyone struggling along life’s path.
“In practically every sequence, William is auditioning. Everywhere he goes, and for everyone he speaks to, he is constantly selling himself,” Holdren said. “He’s trying to make his mother proud by successfully doing something, anything.”
Aside from the Sutton screening, “Audition” has been shown at Huntington’s Appalachian Film Festival, Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Bare Bones International Film Festival, and Springfield, Illinois’ Route 66 Film Festival, and next month in Hatboro, Pa. at the Delaware Valley Film Festival. Check other upcoming showings at auditionmoviesite.com.
Although Holdren has his thesis mostly on his mind, another short film of his, “Play” will be shown at the inaugural Rockport Film Festival in Texas. Visit: www.playmoviesite.com. While studying at West Virginia State University, he won the West Virginia International Student Film Competition for “Unexpected Aphrodisiacs” (2001) and “Blah” (2002). On his 2008 slate, “The Paradigm Shift,” a short drama, and he recently worked as the line producer Huntington native and NYU graduate student Kim Spurlock’s “Roy G. Biv.”
About the festival
Two films with Huntington, W.Va. roots will screen during the 2007 West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival, Friday, Oct. 12 in Sutton, W.Va. at the Landmark Studio of the Arts.
Back in June 2006 just after Warner Bros. left town, Mandy Sherwood, a Huntington native, began shooting her no budget “Sixteen to Life” at locations around the city, including venues like the Keith Albee, Frost Top Drive Inn, the former C & O Piano Bar and Daniello’s Pizza.
Featuring rock music, skateboarding, teenage angst, after-school jobs and dingy music clubs, “Sixteen to Life” follows two girls dealing with family and peer issues. Shelly, the daughter of a local rock musician, has been pressured into guitar playing; Amy, a straight-laced Pakistani girl has a love for music and must fight her fiercely conservative step-father for independence.
As part of the rite of passage, the film’s two leads Sarah (Heather Newhouse) and Amy (Sarah Plata) participate in the competition in which the title song, “Sixteen to Life” is featured. Three bands took the stage at the Piano Bar: Darism Drive, Broken Heart Transistor and Dog Spit.
Writer/director Sherwood, whose parents often provided a ‘catered’ dinner for cast and crew, patterned the production after John Hughes’ “Sixteen Candles.” Sherwood wants her film to appeal to both teens and 30-somethings, as it updates the concepts and perspectives of “Sixteen Candles.”
In addition, David Smith’s “Maneater,” which has screened at both Marshall University and the Appalachian Film Festival, will be shown.
CITY NATIVE'S FILM TO SCREEN AT FESTIVAL
Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 04/19/2007
Page: 15D
Headline: CITY NATIVE'S FILM TO SCREEN AT FESTIVAL
Byline: BILL LYNCH
lynch@wvgazette.com
Filmmaker Sam Holdren talks excitedly, gushing about his 20-minute film "Audition"
that's being shown at noon today at the Appalachian Film Festival in Huntington.
Sitting at a table at Capitol Roasters on Summers Street - across the street
from the Capitol Center Theater, which served as the location for the last
scene in his film - Holdren says that he can't help but be proud of how things
have worked out.
"This is coming home to me," he said.
Holdren was born in Charleston, graduated from Winfield High School and from
West Virginia State College. For the last few years, he's studied film at
Temple University.
His film "Audition," co-written with friend and W.Va. State classmate,
Joseph Ng, follows 24 hours in the life of a painfully eager, pathologically
earnest actor named William H. Ashe. Ashe has traveled to Philadelphia to
audition for a part in a film. Very quickly, the unbelievably optimistic Ashe
is out of his element and wanted for murder.
"It's a very dark comedy," Holdren said. "But there is a certain
level of absurdity that makes it work, I think."
The story came from a back-and-forth dialogue between Ng and Holdren, a scenario
that Ng pitched and Holdren didn't buy until they injected a mutual friend
into the scene. Ashe is somewhat based on that mutual friend, a Charleston
actor who is said to be a bit intense.
"He's got an energy to him that constantly gets him in and out of trouble,"
Holdren said of the friend. "Part of William Ashe is that guy, but a
lot of him is also Joseph, and I can see me in William Ashe, too."
Todd Waters, who portrayed Ashe, didn't actually know that the character was
based on a real person until late in the filming. Holdren introduced the two
while the film crew reshot scenes in downtown Charleston.
"It was a surreal moment for everybody," Holdren said.
Holdren says that he's glad to get the chance to screen his film at the Appalachian
Film Festival and hopes to eventually screen it in Charleston. In the meantime,
he's submitting the film to other festivals and working on his next project.
"'Audition' is my warm-up."
The Appalachian Film Festival runs through Saturday at Huntington's Keith-Albee
Theater. It closes with a 6 p.m. Saturday screening of "Two Tickets to
Paradise," an independent film by D.B. Sweeny ("The Cutting Edge")
starring himself, John C. McGinley ("Scrubs") and Paul Hipp as three
friends on the verge of a midlife crisis who take a road trip to a Marshall
University football bowl game. For a complete listing of events, visit www.appyfilmfest.com.
To contact staff writer Bill Lynch, use e-mail or call 348-5195.
TEMPLE STUDENTS FILM THESIS PROJECT AT EASTERN: SEVERAL EASTERN STUDENTS ACT AS P.A.s AND EXTRAS IN THE PARADIGM SHIFT
Publication: THE WALTONIAN
Published: 3/15/2007
Section: News
Headline: TEMPLE STUDENTS FILM THESIS PROJECT AT EASTERN: SEVERAL EASTERN
STUDENTS ACT AS P.A.s AND EXTRAS IN THE PARADIGM SHIFT
Byline: CHELSEA ZIMMERMAN
"Are you guys making a movie?"
This was the question when a film crew from Temple University set up at Bryn
Mawr College and Eastern University on the weekends of Feb. 17, Feb. 24 and
Mar. 3. Their purpose was to produce a 30-minute film, The Paradigm Shift.
The project is a senior thesis for Temple senior and director Jonathan Barr.
Barr decided to film at Eastern on his father's recommendation. Barr's father
attends church with Eastern Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Betsy Morgan.
Generally, when media is made on campus, a donation is made to the Student
Aid Fund. In this case, Morgan negotiated to have five students selected to
be Production Assistants instead.
She contacted communications professor Kevin Maness, who supplied her with
names of students interested in film.
"We got the best deal because of you guys," Temple graduate student
and producer Sam Holdren said about the P.A.s from Eastern.
The P.A.s were senior communications majors Amanda Dawson and Kelly Harrington,
junior communications majors Sarah Silveri and Chelsea Zimmerman and senior
English major Tim Olshefski.
Dawson, Harrington and Olshefski each spent a semester at the Los Angeles
Film School Center. They each had their own film experiences in L.A., including
acting and directing.
In addition to supplying the P.A.s with DVDs sampling the Temple student films
of 2006, Holdren spent over an hour going through his production book with
them.
The P.A.s each had goals on the film set.
Harrington wanted to know about casting in Philadelphia. Holdren supplied
her with six different Web sites to explore. Her goal is to stay local and
to own a production company.
Dawson fulfilled her goal of learning lighting. On the fourth day of filming,
she was able to arrange the lighting according to directions given to her.
Silveri wanted to see the production process. She learned about lighting from
Temple senior Christian Alsis, who spent 10 minutes on set with all of the
P.A.s explaining lighting differences.
Zimmerman had worked on a 30-second film shoot for CBS 3 and wanted to compare
that experience with the experience of doing a larger production.
She said the experience is very similar except for running overtime in the
Temple production.
Olshefski had experience in post-production sound and had the opportunity
to control sound during production on the first day of shooting.
Also, Eastern's theatre department got involved providing becoming extras.
These actresses were sophomore English major Tara Quinn, sophomore sociology
major Allison Kohler, junior theatre major Natalie Cisternas and senior English
major Mary Cromwell. They heard about the filming through Director of Theatre
Mark Hallen.
"It was amazing how much time and effort they put in filming a minute
and a half scene," Cisternas said. "All the camera angles, lighting
effects, different views to see things; it was all so fascinating and time
consuming."
The filming took between 12 and 13 hours every day.
Dawson has advice for those considering a film profession.
"Get involved. You'll know right away if you like it or not," she
said. She plans to move to Los Angeles in 2008.
The plot of The Paradigm Shift is a classroom of college students with an
opinionated professor (Dr. Collins) who asks them to write a plan to assassinate
the President of the United States. It is loosely based on true events from
the Vietnam War, according to Morgan.
Although most scenes are filmed at Bryn Mawr College, Eastern scenes feature
Morgan's office and Walton 3.
There will possibly be a viewing of The Paradigm Shift on campus in early
May. More information on that is to come.
THEATER GROUP SPOTLIGHTS LOCAL TALENT BUT KEEPS IT SHORT: THOSE BEHIND SHOW HAVE JUGGLED A VARIETY OF ROLES
Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 01/16/2003
Page: 1D
Headline: THEATER GROUP SPOTLIGHTS LOCAL TALENT: BUT KEEPS IT SHORT THOSE
BEHIND SHOW HAVE JUGGLED A VARIETY OF ROLES
Byline: D.B. SHAWVER
FOR THE DAILY MAIL
IN today's busy world, it can be hard to find time to fit in cultural enrichment,
unless, of course, you'd put watching television in the category of culture.
Maybe television has its moments, but there is nothing like live theater.
"But who has the time to go see a play?" you may ask.
If you're in that predicament, Kanawha Players has the answer, at least for
tonight. "Briefs and Shorts," an evening of two one-act plays, is
billed as a way to "get your theater fix and still get home by 10 p.m."
One of the shows, "Burnt Sienna" was written by local director/
filmmaker and playwright Sam Holdren. "Arabian Nights," by David
Ives, is the second piece that will be performed.
You get just one chance to see this production.
"Briefs and Shorts" is the umbrella title for a series of short
performances that Kanawha Players has been putting on nearly every month since
last fall, Holdren said.
As in most community theater groups, the people creating the show have to
juggle various roles. Holdren not only wrote "Burnt Sienna," he's
directing it. He will also play a role in "Arabian Nights." Hannah
Toney, director of "Arabian Nights," also is performing in it.
Asked about the technical crew for the plays, Toney said, "A crew? Imagine
that."
Holdren and Toney laid down the stage, and the set for "Arabian Nights"
is described as "stuff from Toney's home." One of her roommates,
Phil Perry, helped her haul the set over in his van.
Sometimes from such humble beginnings, greatness is born.
This is Toney's first onstage performance in the Charleston area, as well
as her directorial debut locally. But Toney has worked backstage for just
about every theater group in the Tri-State area, including the Charleston
Light Opera Guild, Kanawha Players, Charleston Stage Company, the Paramount
Arts Center and the Charleston Ballet, just to name a few.
"Instead of going to a larger place - where I was kind of 'expected'
to go to further my career - I thought I'd head back to Charleston and see
if I couldn't lend some sort of hand in making the arts a viable career choice
in West Virginia," the Nitro native said. "It seemed too easy to
just run away and go somewhere else where a base was firmly in place, why
not stay here and try to help establish one?
"It's harder, and it's infuriating most of the time," she added,
"but it seems more worth the time and effort."
Holdren is currently working for several arts groups in the area and is planning
to go to graduate school to study filmmaking soon.
" 'Burnt Sienna' is a simple 10-minute play," he said, "about
a cocky football player who goes into a library and asks the wrong girl out
- and he gets more than he bargained for."
"The cast is a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old," he added. "The
outcome may not be what an audience might hope for, but it's based on a strong
character, on what the character would actually do."
Holdren, also a Charleston area native, has been involved with Kanawha Players
since last spring. His tasks have run the gamut from selling ads for programs
to composing music. He recently finished an undergraduate degree from West
Virginia State College - he now holds a bachelor's degree in communications
and bachelor's in English/professional writing.
Kanawha Players is hoping to expand "Briefs and Shorts," and is
looking at more original works from local playwrights.
"The best-case scenario would be one performance every month," Holdren
said. Performances also have been held in Taylor Books.
"This provides a stomping ground for new artists, new playwrights, people
who don't have time to participate in a full-length production," he said.
"We're looking for new voices, and variety."
Holdren and Kanawha Players are interested in receiving new submissions and/or
in hearing from people who might like to become involved in any capacity.
To make a submission or to get more information, send an e-mail to Briefsandshorts3@aol.com.
"I would hate to be the only playwright to contribute to this program.
It would be wrong," Holdren said.
Added Toney, "Directing is the big picture. It's having a huge say -
THE say - on lights, sets, props, costumes, and the final performance product.
You have to allow the performers and designers to create and have ownership
of their theatrical product, but as the director you are the direction - you're
the concept and you have to hold the other pieces together and make sure everyone
is on the same page."
COLLEGE STUDENTS WIN FIRST PLACE AT MAY FILM FESTIVAL
Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 06/14/2001
Page: 11
Headline: COLLEGE STUDENTS WIN FIRST PLACE AT MAY FILM FESTIVAL
Byline: MARY E. SANSOM
METRO STAFF
Part eros with an undercurrent of Kubrickesque edginess, "Unexpected
Aphrodisiacs" won first place in the independent film category for college
students at the West Virginia International Film Festival in May.
Marlette Carter of Poca, Sam Holdren of Scott Depot and Nicole Pridemore of
Logan collaborated on the eight-and-a-half-minute film, which was a requirement
for Steve Gilliland's filmmaking class at West Virginia State College.
Contest judge Jacob Young, the filmmaker who gained national attention for
"Dancing Outlaw" about the life of Jessco White, called "Unexpected
Aphrodisiacs" an "excellent effort" in his written critique.
While Young thought there was a problem in interpreting the filmmakers' meaning
and apparently didn't care much for the end of the movie, which parodied of
the Energizer battery commercials, he did praise many aspects of the production.
"Since such a stylistic arthouse approach was taken on the production,
the film's meaning may have been unintentionally unclear. In any case, there
was a lot of interesting work put into this project. There were several good
decisions made in constructing the music track, and music was even used to
provide occasional sound effects to back the film. Careful lighting helped
to create the soft dreamy look of the piece. Overall the production was stylistically
bold and completely transcended the little joke about the batteries that it
seemed to be centered on."
Pridemore, in only her second acting stint, portrays an innocent, white-clad
woman who finds herself in a hell-like underworld populated by beings with
mask-like faces and lights in their chests that glow red whenever they're
feeling amorous. Pridemore's heart doesn't glow like the others, until one
of the beings discovers that the batteries that power her heart light are
dead. With replacement batteries, her heart glows. The movie ends happily
ever after with Pridemore frolicking with a white-clad man who makes her heart
shine.
And then, in print, comes the Energizer bunny punch line: "And they just
kept on going and going and going."
The movie was filmed entirely without dialogue, one of the restrictions imposed
on the project, and the filmmakers did double and triple duty, with all of
them doing time behind and in front of the camera.
Pridemore came up with the original concept, while Carter did makeup and costumes,
and Holdren did the treatment, composed the film score and did the bulk of
the editing.
"If any one of us had faltered, it wouldn't have been as good,"
said Holdren.
They filmed the movie last fall in Kanawha State Forest using a 16 mm camera,
which they said was more difficult to work with than the Super 8 format that
most of their classmates used. For one thing, the 16mm film was more difficult
to obtain than 8mm film and more expensive. They had to special order it from
California at a cost of about $17 for a 100-foot roll, plus $25 to develop
it. They used seven rolls of film altogether, which along with other incidental
costs such as costumes, heart lights and gas, put the cost of the production
between $500 and $650.
They can't even tally the time they spent working on the movie. Holdren and
Pridemore spent countless hours in what Carter called "massive battles"
and in what he called "constructive debates" as the three decided
the course of the movie.
For their first-place effort, they won $400, which went for a thank you pizza
party for all the people who helped them with the production.
While none of the three plans to become a filmmaker, all three communications
majors want to pursue a career in the arts.
Holdren, 22, earned a bachelor's degree in May, and plans to attend State
for one more year to get another degree in English before going to graduate
school.
After Carter and Pridemore graduate in August, the 20-year-old Carter plans
to move to Chicago to work in the theater. She recently starred as Lucy in
the Charleston Stage Company's production of "Dracula."
Pridemore, 26, plans to take another year of art classes and then to attend
graduate school.
Reporter Mary E. Sansom can be reached at 348-4840 or by e-mail at putnam@cnpapers.com.
BECOMING THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS
Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 3/21/2008
Page: 1D
Headline: BECOMING THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS
Byline: BILL LYNCH
8 ARTICLES