By Dan Colella ’20, Independent Filmmaker and Video Editor

During my time at The College of Charleston, I was fortunate to be the president of the CofC Film Club and the executive producer in the video department of CisternYard Media. In these leadership roles, I fostered collaboration and oversaw creative development, ensuring high-quality productions where students could gain knowledge on film and media storytelling. In the classroom, I was an English Major and a Film Studies Minor, two curriculums that aided me greatly in theoretical dissection and understanding of the creative process.

After graduating with my B.A., I moved cross-country to Los Angeles, where I began my MFA at top-ranked Loyola Marymount University in their School of Film and Television, a challenging but rewarding three-year program that includes tracks in Film & TV Production, Writing for the Screen, and Writing & Producing for Television. Having been accepted into the Film & TV production track, I spent my first three semesters learning all aspects of filmmaking from screenwriting to directing, cinematography, and sound and film editing, while also creating two films during my first and second years. My first-year film, Refraction, was an official selection of the Burbank International Film Festival and Silicon Beach Film Festival which screened at the famous TCL Chinese Theatres. After my third semester, I chose to specialize in Directing Fiction and spent my last three semesters writing, producing, and editing my thesis film. P.E. is a ten-minute short film about a heavy-set teenager who braves the nightmare of P.E. swim class. The film is currently on its festival run and includes one current student and two CofC alumni, Mary Pumper ’18, who plays Ms. Holmes, the gym teacher, Leanna Narcho ’19, the production designer, and the lead, Ben, played by Patrick Whiteside (CofC ’26).

Some of my additional coursework included an Advanced Directing Seminar, Advanced Production – Documentary (with Oscar-winning Documentarian Daniel Junge), Film & TV Development, Feature Screenwriting, and Developing & Selling Digital Content.

While at LMU, I continued my Film Studies education by taking courses in International Film and learning and studying the intersection between Narrative and Documentary films (Docu-Fictions). Although LMU fostered my knowledge of Film/TV production, the courses I took in CofC’s Film Studies program prepared me with the theoretical knowledge to look beyond the surface of the practical work I was making. Understanding subtext and what a filmmaker is trying to say through blocking, framing, editing choices, etc. are what made me a well-rounded filmmaker.

Equipped with my MFA, I have since moved back to the east coast and will be working in Film Development at FirstGen Content, an entertainment finance and production company whose development division is headed by Mollye Asher, the Oscar-winning Producer of Nomadland. Outside of FirstGen, I am working as a freelance videographer/editor while finishing post-production on my Vietnam Documentary centered around my great-uncle, 1LT. Howard Jon Schnabolk, who sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers. The film is set to be completed by the end of 2023 with a festival run set for 2024.

 

By William Swinbank

This summer I had the opportunity to work as a summer intern for Fourward, a leading talent company in Los Angeles that specializes in music, film and TV, and venture capital. It was a perfect opportunity as it allowed me to see so many different aspects of the entertainment industry as well as a look into the business world.

As a summer intern I did a wide variety of tasks. Every day was a different day, where sometimes I was sitting in on meetings with potential investors for venture capital funds, reading scripts for clients, or attending an album release for an artist a part of Fourward. Of course it wasn’t all fun–I had plenty of errands and office work to do, but it was hard to complain while working in Beverly Hills! On top of that, everyone I worked with from the executive assistant to the CEO, Will Ward, were incredibly kind. Plus they are both CofC alumni.

One of my favorite days at work was when the venture arm of Fourward hosted an event in a gorgeous house in Beverly Hills overlooking downtown LA. Although I was on the clock, I met big film executives, heard from successful businessmen, and get advice from those that are doing exactly what I aspire to do one day. It felt like I got to make the kinds of connections that everyone in filmmaking always talks about. The entire internship was a great experience that has motivated me to stay on the path towards a career in film.

By Max Meyers

It’s a Friday night after a long week of school or work. Exhausted from the week but eager for the weekend, you decide that kicking back with a movie is the best plan for the evening. Maybe you open Netflix and scroll through endless categories of suggestions. Or how about you go and find an old Blu-ray or DVD of one of your favorite movies from your childhood? Or perhaps you’re still feeling up for hitting the movie theaters, catching the newest and most exciting films on the big silver screen. But have you ever wondered to yourself: after the film is made, how did that movie make its way from the filmmaker and production team to that DVD or Netflix or movie theater? Sure, big-budget studios like Disney and Warner Bros. have no problem getting that film into theaters across the globe or onto their personally-owned and wide-spread streaming platforms, but what about the small indie film looking for its big break into the film scene? That’s where film distribution companies come in.

This summer, I’ve been working as a part-time intern for Oscilloscope Laboratories, a small, independent-focused film distribution company based in Brooklyn, New York, and their primary objective is the answer to that question: film distribution. They’re one of the many companies that act as a bridge between a movie and its audiences. Oscilloscope Laboratories has been around for about 15 years now, and you may have heard of a few of their films: Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller’s We Need to Talk About Kevin; Kelly Reichardt’s early gem Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams; Denis Villeneuve’s (director of Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune) return to filmmaking in 2009 with Polytechnique; the mind-bending sci-fi thriller Coherence; the technicolor-inspired vision that is The Love Witch; Pakistan’s 2022 submission to the Academy Awards Joyland (which was shortlisted but not nominated); and the newly acquired Daisy Ridley Sundance film Sometimes I Think About Dying. Those are just a few of their catalog numbering to over 150 films, with plenty more on the way.

There are a few elements of film distribution that I have learned over the course of the summer. One area is acquisitions, which involves all things related towards finding films for Oscilloscope to license and acquire in their catalog. My main work helping with acquisitions has consisted of festival research to break down all films showing at upcoming film festivals, and watch screeners of new unreleased films to provide coverage for the acquisitions head and ultimately give my feedback and thoughts on the film. The feedback for coverage is more than just personal opinion about whether it is a good film. It is also about the film’s marketability and ability to make profits. At the end of the day, Oscilloscope needs to make money, so finding a film with tangible markets and audiences is an important part of acquisitions. There may be a fantastic movie that just doesn’t have great marketability for Oscilloscope.

A lot of my other tasks involved working on films Oscilloscope has already acquired, and either are currently releasing, or plans to release in the near future. Helping out with marketing and outreach for films was a big part of the job, too. One recurring marketing task is working on marketing research to discover places of outreach and engagement where that film would be screening. Typically, this meant finding places and organizations with relation to the film’s theme or audiences near an LA or NYC theater where the film was premiering at. Additionally, on the marketing side, I helped with creating or looking over marketing materials and posters for upcoming releases. A few currently upcoming films I researched are Joyland, Moon Garden, Amanda, Love Life, Piaffe, CatVideoFest 2023, Once Within A Time, and a few unannounced films as well.

Additionally, I work on tasks related to the rest of Oscilloscope’s catalog. I completed a lot of work with Oscilloscope’s films streaming on Kanopy, a streaming service free to College of Charleston students (and almost all of Oscilloscope’s films are on Kanopy)! My work with Kanopy includes a project regarding Oscilloscope’s films on Kanopy at various public libraries around the country, as well as a lot of research into Kanopy licenses of Oscilloscope films resulting in a program that’ll involve college universities around the country. Another task related to Oscilloscope’s catalog that I consistently work on is what is called Metadata. Metadata is essentially a spreadsheet filled out that gives streaming services the right information when licensing Oscilloscope films. A few services I completed Metadata for were Pluto, Xbox, Google, and Kanopy. Additionally, I have access to Oscilloscope’s Letterboxd page and work on posting various press breaks about their films as well as musings about various film-related topics. I also make Tik Toks for their Tik Tok account, join various team meetings with the staff over Zoom, and do some work regarding Oscilloscope’s newly released Celluloid Card Game, which is a ton of fun to play and available on their store!

A project I found particularly fun and exciting is what’s called chaptering. To my delight, Oscilloscope values and releases Blu-rays and DVDs for their films. One task I got to work on for an upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release was essentially watching that film and creating the chapters for the film, the ones you’d find when going to the “scene selection” space on a Blu-ray or DVD. As an avid Blu-ray collector myself, this task had me nerding out and was such a treat and honor to be a part of. 

Overall, this has been a tremendously fulfilling experience. I was first introduced to the Oscilloscope team last summer when I completed an internship with Intuit Mailchimp doing Film Programming work for their streaming service Mailchimp Presents. Being able to reconnect and work for them a year later has been such a rewarding experience. My career interest is definitely in the film industry, and this has been such a great introduction into that world through the lens of film distribution. This internship–and everything I’ve taken part in at CofC with Film Studies and the Film Club– has affirmed that working with film is what I want to do in life. I’ve loved working for Oscilloscope Laboratories and the small but mighty team that runs it, and definitely hope to cross paths with them again in the future, one way or another!

With the Spring academic semester coming to a close, Film Club wraps up another successful year! Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, we watched 26 films as a club. Some of the biggest highlights from our most recent semester include: watching the German expressionism classic Metropolis (1927), which turned out to be a surprise hit with members; Mission Blue as a collaboration with with CofC Women in STEM; the 1973 animated film Fantastic Planet for a member’s choice vote won by member Matthew Norton-Baker; watching Chef (2014) with the CofC Cheese Club, all while serving grilled cheese during the screening; and closing out the year with the 1990 film The Freshman, which saw Matthew Broderick getting wrapped up in a NYC mob headed by Marlon Brando—essentially playing the Godfather once more!

Our most notable event outside of our screenings was the 18th Annual Student Film Festival! Click here to read more about it, but it was certainly a success and an unforgettable night. We premiered Roses, CofC Film Club’s official submission to the festival, written and directed by freshman Film Club member Natalie Dixon! Production for Roses took place in late February, and numerous film club members volunteered to produce this short film.

Additionally, a few Film Club officers were invited by the Gibbes Museum of Art to participate in the museum’s annual Film in Focus movie series. President Max Meyers, Vice President Bristol Barnes, and Treasurer Keller Holllingsworth helped lead a talkback at the series screening of Princess Mononoke (1997). Princess Mononoke was one of three films included in this year’s Film in Focus series (titled “Forest Gods”), which centered around themes of environmentalism as inspired by the Gibbes’ art exhibit, “Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art.”

Film Club hosted a variety of events for members this year, most notably our camera workshops, Trident Tech filmmaking workshop, and Oscars Watch party! Celebrating all of the fantastic wins and crazy moments of the 25th Academy Awards was such a great time. We also  held two fundraisers this month, both of which raised money for FilmClub short film budgets and for our members to use in their own future projects! The most recent fundraiser was Film Club merch; we’re super proud to be able to offer merch to students again, so plan on more merch drops with a variety of other items in the upcoming school year!

Overall, it was yet another fantastic year, with so much more in store for the future. Stay up to date with Film Club by following the instagram @cofc.filmclub! We’re so excited to return and do great things next year!

 

Article by Film Club President Max Meyers

Thank you to all who attended the 18th Annual Student Film Festival! The night was an incredible success and we are so proud of all who submitted short films. Five of the eleven filmmakers to submit films this year were from The College of Charleston and we would like to briefly highlight their work. 

Noah Futch wrote and directed his immensely creative horror short “Shudder” about a college student and her haunted camera. Bristol Barnes directed and co-starred in “Crash [Cymbal]”, a film with impressive improvised acting about two band members on their way to sell a drum set. Keller Hollingsworth directed “Hung by a Rubbish Hangman”, a scene from Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen where a man on death row protests his innocence. Max Meyers directed an abstract short capturing the beautiful atmosphere at the Battery one early spring evening titled, “Stories from the Pink Pier”. Natalie Dixon wrote and directed “Roses”, a breathtaking story about accepting fate and dealing with difficult decisions. Natalie’s screenplay won the Fall Screenwriting Contest and was produced by Anna Deason, Thea Eiland, Caroline Drinnon, and the other Film Club Officers.

Following the film screenings, Dr. Colleen Glenn and Dr. John Bruns of the Film Studies Department honored all of the graduating students within the department.

This year’s panel of judges consisted of Dr. Jeffery Youn, Dr. Garret Davidson, Dr. Colleen Glenn, and Professor Perrin Moore. Awards were given to first, second, and third place winners in addition to an honorable mention and, for the first time, an audience’s choice award.

1st Place Winner – “Hung by a Rubbish Hangman” dir. Keller Hollingsworth

2nd Place Winner – “Anthony Damir” dir. Ally Suyat

3rd Place Winner – “This Too Shall Pass” dir. Corey Connor

Honorable Mention – “What’s Left at the End of the World” dir. Connor Kelly & Charlie Parker

Audience’s Choice – “This Too Shall Pass” – dir. Corey Connor

Congratulations to all of the talented filmmakers and thank you again to all who attended! Special thanks to James Seezen, Kate Stribling, and Matthew Norton-Baker for volunteering their time. Thanks to Brian Porter and the Queen Street Playhouse for allowing us to use their fantastic space. Lastly, thanks to Claire Oliver, Kate Culpepper, and Ethan Cole from CisternYard Video for photography of the event and conducting interviews with filmmakers. We’re already excited for next year’s festival!

Join us Saturday, April 8 from 6-9 at the Queen Street Playhouse in downtown Charleston for the annual CofC student film festival! Admission is free. Hope to see you there!

 

The Film Studies program is delighted to announce that Dr. David Greven, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of South Carolina, will present a lecture, entitled “‘She Isn’t Quite Herself Today’: Psycho Before and After Queer Theory.” In addition to being a scholar of 19^th-century American Literature (particularly the work of Hawthorne and Melville), Dr. Greven is a scholar of film, television, and popular culture—specifically of the work of Alfred Hitchcock—as well as of Psychoanalytic Theory and Queer Theory. In the area of Hitchcock Studies, Dr. Greven has published two books, Intimate Violence: Hitchcock, Sex, and Queer Theory (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin (University of Texas Press, 2013), as well as articles in Hitchcock Annual, Screen, and Studies in Gender and Sexuality. Outside the area of Hitchcock studies, he has published several books on gender and sexuality, including Queering the Terminator: Sexuality and Cyborg Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2017) and Ghost Faces: Hollywood and Post-Millennial Masculinity (SUNY Press, 2016).

The talk will be at 5:00pm on Monday, April 3, in Addlestone Library, room 227. The talk is free and open to all faculty, students, staff, and public. The talk is co-sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, and the Nuovo Cinema Italiano Film Festival.

ENGL 212-01* The Cinema: History & Criticism Dr. Glenn Online	ENGL 212-02* The Cinema: History & Criticism Dr. John Bruns TR 10:50-12:05
ENGL 212-03* The Cinema: History & Criticism Dr. John Bruns TR 12:15-1:30	ENGL 351-01* Studies in American Film: Hollywood Genres Dr. John Bruns TR 1:40-2:55
LTIT 370-01** Studies in Italian Cinema: Mafia in the Movies Dr. Giovanna De Luca TR  1:40-2:55   JWST 300-01*** Jews and Comedy Dr. Ezra Cappell W 4-6:45 Literature and TV/film content   LTRS 270-01** Studies in Russian Film Dr. Irina Erman Online	ARTH 294-01*** The City & Cinema Dr. Jeffrey Youn TR 2:10-3:25   THTR 488-01*** Screenwriting II Michael Smallwood TR 10:50-12:05 Note that this course meets concurrently with Playwriting II

* meets the requirement for Cluster 1 of the FMST minor
** meets the requirement for Cluster 2 of the FMST minor
*** meets the requirement for Cluster 3 of the FMST minor

ENGL 212-01* The Cinema: History & Criticism Dr. Glenn Maymester Online	CLAS 270-01** The Classics in Cinema Dr. Noelle Zeiner-Carmichael Maymester Online
ARST 240-01** Arab Cinema Dr. Garrett Davidson Summer 1. 6/5-6/30/23. Online	LTRS 270-01** Studies in Russian Film Dr. Irina Erman Maymester Online
HIST 210-01*** Horror Films: Terror in the Aisles Dr. Scott Poole Maymester TR 8:30 am.- 12 p.m.

* meets the requirement for Cluster 1 of the FMST minor
** meets the requirement for Cluster 2 of the FMST minor
*** meets the requirement for Cluster 3 of the FMST minor