It’s the time of year to meet your (potential) crew!

One of the most important days of the year for Cinema Arts + Science MFA’s (whether directing or producing), is the day of the Meet and Greet. The Meet and Greet is a way for the MFA students to mingle with Columbia’s talented undergraduate students with the hope of finding crew members for upcoming projects. The Meet and Greet was held on September 18 in the 1104 S. Wabash building. During the process of the Meet and Greet, my fellow Directing MFA’s and I were looking for potential Directors of Photography, Sound Recordists, and Line Producers, among other crew members, in order to crew our Directing for Character final project.

The final project for my Directing for Character class is the first time within the program that any of the MFA Directing first years will be able to audition actors, scout location, and hire crew for a short film, so you can imagine how excited we must be! The requirements for the project are that there are two characters, one location, one time, and the final running time is no longer than 5 minutes. My story focuses on an ex-couple who must come together at Christmas to exchange belongings left at the others apartment. I will contrast the communal nature of the holidays to that of the newly isolated existence each character dwells in.

Look at these snazzy Directors! Everyone is waiting for the perfect Director of Photography to walk through the door ;)

I was very excited to be able to pitch my film idea to potential crew members. It was the first time I had actually scouted potential members of a crew, and while I was nervous to put myself and my idea out in the open, I came to the realization that this process was actually quite fun. Not only was I able to express myself and promote my project with pride to a group of talented artists, but also received feedback and interest that will lead to the completion of my film. I was able to meet an incredible amount of talented people, who I hope to work with in the future. The enthusiasm for work shown by the undergraduate students only added to my excitement for what is to come for the rest of the semester, and the semesters to come.

Look at all those names! Eager undergraduate students ready to take charge and work on some graduate films.

Each director was required to bring to the Meet and Greet what is called a “leave behind,” which has information about each of us and a logline for the film we anticipate making this fall. The leave behinds work as a way to entice others towards your project, while also expressing your artistic state of mind.

My film will be shooting the weekend of November 7.  I have so much to do in order to prepare, but I am excited to get to work!