The lights went off and the audience went silent as the opening scene of Ball State University's student-produced movie "Grove Lake" lit up the Indianapolis IMAX screen.
Craig Mince, sales manager for IMAX, said the theater sold 115 tickets for the premiere Saturday.
"It's fantastic, I mean for the first time of doing this, and [the university wants] to make this an annual event," he said. "It's really good to see all the support."
Filming for the full-length, high-definition movie began last May, and it was the result of a 10-week summer immersion program through the telecommunications department.
Tim Pollard, associate professor of telecommunications and one of the executive producers of "Grove Lake," said about 140 people, 120 of whom were students, worked on the film, including actors from the Muncie Civic Theatre and the Cornerstone Center for the Arts.
Pollard said he and Rich Swingley, co-executive producer and digital audio instructor, came up with the idea for the story. Swingley and senior Kris Knight, the film's director, then wrote it, Pollard said.
Students used Ball State's equipment to complete all the work for the film, including writing, designing posters, producing DVDs and finishing the final cut of the movie.
"What we're trying to do is really emphasize that Indiana and [Ball State] are good places where you can create movies," he said. "We can do it from beginning to end and it really emphasizes immersive experience, which is what the students are getting, and it really pushes the technology we have here at Ball State. I mean, that's why we're top 10 in the country, in terms of the program."
Money from the DVD sales was used to purchase a Blu-Ray DVD burner and player so it could be shown in the IMAX.
The movie cost less than $2,000 to produce, Pollard said, and the money made from admissions at the premiere and from DVD sales will help pay for the movie's expenses.
"It is a very intense, but very rewarding, rich experience for students," he said. "They come out of this knowing from beginning to end the original idea all the way to premiering it on an IMAX theatre in Blu-Ray."
Jeff Laub, senior telecommunications major and producer of "Grove Lake," said he was proud of the film.
"I mean to know that we spent eight months working on this, and then we had the Ball State premiere and at that point you're not sure what's going to happen after that," Laub said. "For it to still be playing, finding venues to be played in and displaying our work, it really feels good to know we've been there since the beginning, and here we are now at the grand showing of it."
After everyone was seated in the theater, Swingley and Pollard spoke briefly about the making of the movie.
"I'm not proud of you, I'm proud for you," Swingley said to the students who worked on the film. "It's your project, not ours."
Swingley then introduced Laub and Knight.
"This is why I wanted to come to school here because of the opportunities it gives us," Knight said. "This is more than a student project, it's a film."
After the 82-minute-long movie, guests were once again allowed to file into the lobby where they discussed the film among themselves and with the people involved.
Pollard said he was happy with the attendance for the film premiere.
"The average that we're told, in terms of tickets presold for most normal IMAX events, is around eight, and we had close to 100," he said. "So, for something that's never been done before, it looks like it turned out pretty well. So we're very happy."
Pollard said the group has begun to make more DVDs because the first 160 the students made sold out.
Marta Lilly, a friend of the Knight family, said after the movie Knight is talented and has a bright future.
"I also think that what Ball State has done with the students and the movie being here at IMAX is going to promote a lot of interest in what they're doing as far as how they guide the kids and students and stuff," Lilly said.
DVD Sales:Cost: $16
Ordering: Send cash, checks or money orders to the telecommunications department, to the attention of Tim Pollard.
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