A Ball State University telecommunications student's film garnered the praise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Sunday.
Jaron Henrie-McCrea, who graduated in May, took the gold medal in the Alternative Storytelling category for his film "Knock Knock." He is the first Ball State student to take home the award as well as the first producer of a Ball State high-definition film.
"It was pretty overwhelming and stressful because you want to make a good impression on everybody," Henrie-McCrea said of the ceremony. "You don't want to be awestruck when you're talking to people. On the other side, it was completely exhilarating and one of the best times I've had in quite a while.
"It seems to me that the people who are really making it out there are very passionate about what they do. That, to me, says that were all artists and were looking to forward the art of cinema."
He also said that the film's success can be attributed to the approach that he took in creating it.
"I think the more collaboration the better," he said. "That can be very beneficial as long as everybody's open-minded."
The film has garnered attention from various outlets, including billionaire businessman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for his high-definition television venture HDNet. However, Henrie-McCrea said that there are no current plans to air the film on television as of yet, because airing the film on television would disqualify it for a shot at an Oscar. When a student wins the gold medal at the Student Academy Awards, the filmmaker gets the opportunity to submit a film for Oscar consideration.
However, this does not mean that the film will not have an audience until then -- Henrie-McCrea said that he plans to enter the film in the Heartland Film Festival, the HBO Comedy Arts Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.
Henrie-McCrea admitted that being in the Student Academy Awards spotlight has sparked interest in his work, but said that attention hasn't kept him from reaching his goals.
"There were a lot of producers and agents and other parties interested in doing other projects," he said, "but I want to learn more."
Henrie-McCrea will be attending Columbia University in the fall, seeking his master's in fine arts for film directing. As a part of the program he will be required to write a feature script and film the movie.
"I've never done a feature, and I'm really looking forward to it," he said.
"Knock Knock" was one of two films in the Alternative Storytelling category. Henrie-McCrea was competing against Columbia University student Tala Hadid, whose film is titled "Your Dark Hair Ihsan" and tells the story of a man returning to his native city to rediscover his past and the mother he lost as a child.
Henrie-McCrea said that the idea for his film came from overhearing a conversation between visitors to his house.
"I had some people over at my apartment one day and heard somebody use two tautonyms in one sentence," he said. "I don't remember who it was, but I became aware of it, and then I became obsessed with them. For two or three months, I compiled a list of them.
"The mechanics of how the story would be told came to me over Christmas break, then I spent up until Spring Break writing the script. The day before we started shooting, I finished the script."
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