Stepping into the Alumni Center on Tuesday was like stepping into another world. With the appearance of organized chaos, people ran back and forth, speaking into their walkie-talkies, moving camera equipment and shouting orders to one another. While it seems like any other set, this film had one major difference; it was set in Muncie.
Producers decided to film "My Name is Jerry," in Muncie because of economic reasons and their own personal ties to the city and to Ball State University. Rodger Smith, a producer for the film, said he enjoyed filming in Muncie because he felt a sense of community.
"For the Institute of Digital Entertainment, one of the first things I did in setting up was to move us downtown," said Smith, who is also the director for the Institute for Digital Entertainment Education. "We were doing the planning here and in Indianapolis, and it just didn't make any sense economically to move from here to Indianapolis."
Another reason the producers chose Muncie as the film location was that even though the movie was on a small budget, the money that was spent on food and on hotels was spent in "our community," he said.
In the production, local involvement spanned beyond just the filming location, Smith said, students were also involved in the production. From a student working as a first assistant director to students working in the wardrobe and make-up departments, students were everywhere on the set.
The film has offered students a chance to gain real world experience that is unusual for the typical college intern. Sophomore creative writing major Layne Ransom said although she was receiving six credit hours, she highly valued the relationships she formed.
"I know a lot of times with creative or artistic-centered majors, there are not really many opportunities to gain experience, especially before getting out of college," Ransom said. "This is a hands-on experience pretty early on in my college career before junior or senior year when most people would be able to get their internships."
The tight film budget and schedule left no room for delays. Executive producer Bruce Economou said 12-hour days were common and that this film was ambitious because they were trying to shoot four to eight pages of the script per day when the norm was one to two pages per day.
Budget constraints led to a need to find volunteer extras on campus and in Muncie. Christine Edgeman, a secretary at the Miller College of Business, said being a movie extra had always been a dream.
"I love behind-the-scenes stuff, so it's really interesting to see what everyone is doing," she said. "It'd be a bonus if I made it into the movie in the back of one of the scenes."
Even though the movie was on a tight budget, Economou said he believed the final product would not reflect the budget size.
"What I like about this movie is that everybody is trying to do it for a micro-budget, and it looks fabulous," he said. "It looks like we're shooting a studio production, and that's what's kind of neat about the entire process. Everyone's working very hard, we have very little money, and time is always short at the end of the day. In the end, we're going to get a really nice production."
The producers also took a unique approach in their public relations advertising campaign by turning to electronic social networking. Jessica Seaton, the director of electronic marketing and a staff member at the Institute for Digital Entertainment Education, said she believed their challenge was unique because they were trying to get people excited about an unknown film in production.
In an attempt to try and involve others in the movie, Seaton said they were filming behind-the-scenes footage and advertising on Web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Youtube. The footage includes videos of actors and crew having fun in their off-time.
In the film, Doug Jones, a 1982 graduate of Ball State, plays Jerry, a man going through a mid-life crisis. Jones said he took the role because it was a movie that "touched his heart" and was something he felt he could relate to in many ways. Jones said his favorite part of the process was working with the students.
"They're fresh-faced, eager and have an open mind," Jones said. "They're absorbing and learning so much. It is truly an immersion project. They're doing jobs with the people in their areas that have been working in the field, and they're getting that hands-on experience right here in Muncie, Indiana. They bring in their vigor and excitement for the business. It's refreshing."
Actress Allison Scagliotti plays Jerry's daughter, Trisha, in the film. Scagliotti said although she had only been on set for two days, she was amazed by the students working on the project.
"I'm so impressed with the level of efficiency and professionalism that these students are operating with," Scagliotti said. "I'm astounded. This production is so unique in that it's the marriage of an education experience and a professional project. It's crewed by a vast number of students, and they're just so boss. They're fantastic."
Morgan Mead, director of the film, shared Scagliotti's enthusiasm for both the film and for working with the students. Mead said this project was "groundbreaking" because it was the first time a film had been developed outside a university and then brought to a university to film. He also said the students working on the project had an opportunity he would have loved to have while he was in college.
"I believe that this film is unique in that everyone - crew, cast, every single person - has something to prove," said Mead, a former Ball State student. "Everyone's stepping it up a notch, trying to prove themselves. I think what goes on behind the scenes shows in the film itself. I think it's going to feel great when you're watching it because heart went into and heart's something you can't fake."
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