FILM: The Projects

CTA 298, otherwise known as Collaborative Film Making, is now in its 4th semester of being offered at UW-Waukesha.  With only two other UW campuses in the state offering this unique program, CTA 298 gives students a rare chance to bring their ideas to life, by creating a 15 minute video clip, covering nearly any subject matter. 

            Damon Schneider is advising the class and he is eager to bring more students into it. He said, “Anyone considering transferring to UW-Milwaukee (which is probably 50 percent of the students at UW-Waukesha) is required to take at least 3 credits relating to Art.  I have already contacted people in the administration at UWM and they said they will indeed count CTA 298 toward that 3 credit Art requirement.”

             The film class is designed to give students a unique, hands-on experience.  The projects underway this semester are being brought to life by four groups of students, who can be found working on various phases of their ideas around campus.  Each project is a fictional piece of work, including a comedy about zombies in the library, college-age students attending daycare, a ghost hunters episode, and a man who has interesting requirements before he can get to sleep at night.

            To conclude the semester, final versions of each film will be uploaded to YouTube by May 19.  Also, the annual film festival will take place May 30 and is open to anyone who wishes to submit a video, even if those involved have not taken the class.  Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Overall Film, Best Student Film, and Best Actor in a Film.

            This year’s event is expected to draw 150-200 spectators.  Hosting this event is the Wauwatosa West High School Theater.  This location has been selected because, “by having the film fest halfway between Waukesha and Milwaukee we will be able to draw more people, in the past a lot of people who live in Milwaukee were reluctant to drive all the way out to Waukesha.  We also hope that by having the film fest at the high school we will bring attention to the students at Wauwatosa West that UW-Waukesha is a good alternative to UW-Milwaukee or UW-Whitewater in terms of the cost of tuition and also that the students at UW-Waukesha have a lot of fun events.” Submissions for all entries are due by May 19.

            Schneider said, “As technology continues to progress, the skills a student will learn in a Cinema Techniques and Media Production workshop will set that particular student apart when it comes to apply for a job; indeed, if you have the basic skills to produce professional looking videos and put them on the internet, you will have a skill that very few other job applicants have.”  He looks forward to many new faces in the following semesters.