Film students showcased short films they worked on throughout the semester at a premiere held in the library building on Friday.
Radio, Television and Film Professor Lauren Wagner said the event was the result of RTVF 350, Intermediate Filmmaking. Students enrolled in August and it was announced in September who would direct each film project. The class voted for which projects to work on, who would direct and then formed teams to work on said projects.
“Here we are in the middle of December, the end of the semester and we get to see them on the big screen. So they worked really hard to make this happen,” Wagner said.
Wagner said because RTVF 350 is only held once a year, the film department tries to host a screening every semester the class is taught. Last year Wagner contracted COVID-19 and she couldn’t be a part of the 2023 event. She said she was glad to be a part of it this year.
There were a total of nine films shown, ranging from documentaries, mockumentaries and comedic or dramatic short films.
The documentary “Baby Makers” was directed by 24-year-old film and TV production major Grace Giammona, who said the filming started in the second week of October and wrapped up production at the end of November.
Giammona said she pitched the concept as an interview project for the single-camera class that is taught at CRC. She said she wasn’t going to be present on filming days for that class and forfeited her directorial spot, but saved that spot for the RTVF 350 class.
Giammona said the post-production process was extensive and she put more work into that than the filming of the project itself. “It was really important for me to tell the story I wanted to tell,” Giammona said. “So, I put as much energy and dedication into making a perfect documentary and bringing my vision to life.”
Biagan Dela Cruz, a 22-year-old film and digital cinema major, directed the suspense and horror film “Under the Door”. Dela Cruz said the filming process took place throughout the entire semester with filming taking six to 13 weeks with principal photography ending after eight weeks. She said the rest of the process was editing, which only took 10 hours.
Dela Cruz said she personally didn’t think this film was her best work, but was more happy the group came together in this project to show off their skills. One of her goals is to transfer to somewhere international and do other things in film, Dela Cruz said.
“I think the RTVF program at Cosumnes River College is great for experimenting in different roles that come in film,” Dela Cruz said. “I think it’s more helpful than starting at a four-year institution because you get to make mistakes and you get to experiment with what you like and what works best for you.”
Jerius Banez, a 19-year-old film major who wrote and directed the film “Stalemate,” said he was happy with the final product because he had an amazing crew and wanted to focus on their strengths they put into the process of making it.
“I am really happy with how each and every one of us worked as hard as we could,” Banez said.
Another documentary shown was titled “Cosplay Crafters,” directed by 24-year-old RTVF major Z’Tierre Gordon. The documentary was an interview with a cosplayer that only took two hours in one day for the interview and another two days for the post-production process, Gordon said. Cosplay is the activity in which a participant dresses up as a character from any form of media, be it film, television, anime or video games.
“It was one sit-down evening,” Gordon said. “We wrapped it up in two hours, so it was really fast. We have a good crew.”
Gordon said she was grateful for the final product and was happy to do this documentary on this subject.
“I’m really grateful to have this opportunity,” Gordon said. “This was my first year as a filmmaker.”
