by Anna Kozaczka
May 3, 2024

Everyone has probably heard the saying “a picture tells a thousand words” at least once in their life. If a still picture can tell a thousand, imagine how many a video can tell. Film Club is a student organization overseen by Professor Barry Chow. In this group, students work to develop, write, film, and edit a short film of their own making. Throughout this journey they gain experience working behind or in front of cameras, using visual storytelling, and so much more.

This semester, members of the Film Club worked on a short film titled One Sided exploring the challenges of long term friendships through change and growth. Following two childhood friends reuniting after separating for college, viewers and characters alike quickly realize that the friendship is not all it once was. The time and space of school caused a rift between the two, but the audience may question if it was for the best that they grew apart. Using creative writing skills, members learned how to write scripts, quickly pulling together the story and dialogue.

Preparing to begin filming, club members searched for locations across the Western New York area and found many challenges in securing a location without funding. Despite obstacles in finding a unique filming spot, students settled on filming at various colleges in the Batavia and Rochester area as well as at a local park. A few members of the club volunteered to act, and filming was ready to begin.

Day one of filming took place over a weekend. The goal was initially to spend the entire day filming all the required scenes, unfortunately the weather was uncooperative. The Film Club took to the road in the early morning while the rain poured down, dampening hopes for quality filming. Luckily, as they reached Rochester Institute of Technology, the rain started to slow down. After a few shots under the safety of an umbrella, the crew moved on to the second location, the University of Rochester. With scenes captured at both these locations, the club headed back to GCC to review the footage. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that the majority of the audio was compromised by the high winds rushing over the microphones. This required any dialogue to be dubbed over or recorded and added in the editing phase.

Day two of filming faced the same problem. With heavy winds, all audio was rendered useless. After brainstorming ideas, the group scrapped the park and settled on filming inside of GCC. With a bit of creativity, members were able to create a coffee shop-like environment to film in, without venturing off campus grounds. In a few hours nearly all filming was completed.

The majority of the story took place in the coffee shop, so the actors and crew were working hard all afternoon. Once completed, it was time to begin editing. Sorting through footage and audio, cutting it together to make an engaging video, the editing process is the most time consuming. One film member stepped up to head the editing and spent hours in front of a computer, trimming footage and audio, adding effects, and bringing it all together. After a month’s worth of meetings, edits were finalized leaving the finished product. Arrangements were made with the Theatre Department allowing for a viewing of the finished film.

This special viewing will be hosted on May 9, 2024 at 12:30 in the Stuart Steiner Theatre. All are invited to attend and enjoy the short film. Wrapping up this project, the club is already looking forward to next semester where they will begin a new film endeavor. If you are interested in joining Film Club, contact the club advisor Barry Chow at bbchow@genesee.edu.