Meet the Interns: Needing a creative outlet
Interview with Jason Simpkins
Screen studies and psychology major Jason Simpkins '04 was one of several students designated as a Bickman Music and Arts Summer Intern for 2004. In a recent conversation, summarized below, he discussed his interest in film theory and production, and the movie (set at Clark) that he is creating.
Why did you decide to apply for the Bickman Music and Arts Summer Internship, and what did the application process involve?
Although it's called an internship, it's basically a request for project funding. I wanted to make a feature-length film set at Clark, and that required equipment. To apply I had to write a proposal and provide a budget detailing the equipment I would need and the costs. My faculty advisor, Tim Shary, sponsored my proposal.
I'm extending the project into a senior honors thesis, which will include the film itself and a substantial paper.
Did your interest in screen studies develop after you arrived at Clark?
I'd always been interested in creative expression and had written short stories and an unpublished novel. I've always needed a creative outlet. Eventually I found that, for me, film was the best medium for creative expression. I studied a lot about film history before coming to Clark. But I hadn't expected to major in screen studies: when I came to Clark I planned to major in psychology. But when I saw the depth of the screen studies program here, I decided to major in that in addition to psychology.
When did you start on your movie?
I'd been working on the script for a while. By December 2003 I had written three short stories set at Clark, and then I decided to add a fourth one and incorporate them into a single script. One character is an incoming student, one is a sophomore, one is a junior, and the final character is a senior about to graduate. I wanted to cover the whole scope of the Clark experience.
The script, about 127 pages, was done by April 2004. Then I had to cast my actors and I was able to get about a dozen of Clark's best. The next step was to get equipment, and, thanks to the Bickman funding, I was able to purchase some of what I needed.
Where are you in the process now?
I'm about midway through filming.
What prompted you to focus on Clark and the Clark experience?
My own personal experiences at Clark. I wanted to deal first with issues over leaving home and joining a new and different environment; those are represented by the freshman student. For the senior, there's the fear of moving on. My years at Clark have been so great. I've learned so much and have so many friends. Now I'm heading towards a future indefinite. And in between there's fun as well as decisions that have to be made about where I want to do with my life.
Are the stories about these four characters separate from each other, or are they intertwined?
They're intertwined. They're part of an extended group.
This project sounds like a tremendous amount of work.
And since I'm developing this into a senior thesis, it has to have an academic foundation. I'm not just interested in film production; I'm interested in film theory as well. I'm developing my own theories about what I call the "personal perspective" in film. How do we construct something like film--a third person medium--so that the audience really identifies with the characters? As I move forward in my career I'll most likely remain interested in both production and theory.
Are you working with any faculty besides Tim Shary?
Yes. I'm working both with screen studies professor Marcia Butzel and psychology professor Michael Bamberg. Professor Butzel teaches a seminar called Film as Narration (SCRN284) that discusses the primarily literary creation of a narrative that is then supplemented by the work of a director. Professor Bamberg, as editor of the journal Narrative Inquiry, can provide a social sciences perspective on narrative and the personal perspective.
Is there any particular challenge that you've had to meet in creating this film?
I'd say the logistics of working with the actors and crew has been difficult. They're not under any obligation to me. I'm not paying them and they're doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, to get a little experience. I not only have to work around my schedule, I have to work around theirs.
Also, I wanted to make sure I had the proper permissions to film on campus. Elaine Cinelli, Clark's Vice-President for Public Affairs, helped me with that. Some locations were more of an issue than others. For example, I wanted to film in the library, but a library isn't a place where people want you to make noise. I also wanted to film in the introduction to physics class and had to make arrangements to use lab space. When I wanted to shoot in the Bistro, there were problems with blocking people coming in and out. I had to work with the Director of Food Services on that. Unlike with real filmmaking, these hadn't been prearranged for me.
Is this movie the first you've had a chance to direct?
Last semester I took a course called narrative filmmaking and was able to direct a couple actors from Gino DiIorio's Actor as Thinker course (TA212). But this time I'm directing twelve actors. I'm also asking some Clark faculty and staff to appear in roles similar to those they actually play. For example, admissions director Maria Furtado is playing an admissions counselor and Tim Shary will be playing a screen studies professor. So it's on a much larger scale than anything I've directed in the past.
Can you comment on the difference between doing this sort of thing as opposed to learning about it in the classroom?
I've taken two film production courses at Clark, and in those you learn how to use the equipment, but then what you use it for is yours to discover through experience. So I learned how to use editing software and how to use a microphone. I learned about different types of microphones and how sound is mixed. There's only so much you can learn about the technical aspects of filmmaking without being able to experience it.
Last semester I made a one-hour training video for potential film projectionists at Clark. That was a stepping-stone to what I'm doing now, even though the training video didn't require as much effort. The training video was an instance of my taking what I'd learned and playing around with it a bit more. I was able to create something that was distinctly my own, that hadn't been assigned to me. I got a great grade on it. It really paid off. I hope I'll be able to say the same for my current project when it's completed.
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Something distinctly my own
