Two Ball State University students are in the running for a Student Academy Award, following in the footsteps of a fellow telecommunications student.
Travis Hatfield and Samuel Day, both telecommunications students, will travel to Los Angeles on June 10 to find out if their short film "Perspective" will win either a gold or silver Student Academy Award in the alternative film category.
Hatfield and Day spent seven months creating the 20-minute film, which was scripted, performed and produced by Ball State students.
The film focuses on a character named Danny, who is trying to get over an important relationship.
"It's about a young man who is fighting with his conscience to get his girlfriend back," Day said. "You hear both sides and see what's happening in his mind."
Day said the film probably stands out because it is longer than most student films, which are usually only 10 minutes long, and it has a solid plot.
"When you have a 20-minute film that tells a story and keeps the audience's attention, judges notice that," he said.
Rodger Smith, executive producer of "Perspective" and associate director of the Center for Media Design, said Ball State has the equipment and students to create award-winning products, even though the university doesn't have a film school, which most schools competing for the Student Academy Awards have.
"We're in this position because we've got great kids, a great idea and a change in curriculum that encourages them," he said.
The curriculum combines the College of Communication, Information and Media, the College of Fine Arts and the College of Sciences and Humanities to bring students together to train them in how to make high quality films, Smith said.
Hatfield said faculty and staff were a big factor in the students' production.
"Everyone at Ball State is pushing students and is willing to go out of their way to help out," he said.
The faculty didn't let them give up and pushed them to see what they could do on their own, Hatfield said.
Smith said the available equipment allows Ball State-produced films to compete for awards of this caliber.
"With a high-definition camera, it allows our students to compete with the students from the big film schools," he said.
Ball State was able to purchase these cameras and other film equipment with part of a $20 million Lilly Endowment grant the university received in 2001.
The camera used to produce "Perspective" is the same one used to film "Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones," Day said.
Smith said it's spectacular for Ball State to be able to compete with top film schools such as the University of South Carolina and New York University.
People could call Ball State's 2005 win a fluke, but by winning for a second year in a row, Ball State is showing it can consistently produce high-caliber work, Smith said.
"I don't know if people around here really get it," he said.
Smith said the movie came together by simulating the cinema-making process while having the right students involved.
"Travis and Sam are two kids who are really creative and imaginative," he said. "They had a unique concept grounded in story and had the technical proficiency to produce it."
Day and Hatfield said they were proud of the finished product and were excited that it has been recognized.
"Win or lose, I wouldn't have changed anything about the experience."
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