Film students at the University of Central Florida have taken on a new role: producer.<\/p>\n
A group of 28 students in a class this past semester took on the task of producing a compilation of five films by classmates, marketing them online and submitting them to film festivals around the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cFilm schools usually teach students how to write and direct films,\u201d said Rich Grula, film instructor and studio director at UCF\u2019s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy. \u201cVastly more people employed in the film industry have jobs resembling what we do in The Film Producer \u2013 working to support and market films they didn\u2019t create.\u201d<\/p>\n
The end product, \u201cFive Stories 2013,\u201d evolved from an original batch of about 75 short films made by UCF Film students this past year.<\/p>\n
The class met weekly through the fall and screened 20 films short-listed by Grula. Once the final five were selected, small edits were suggested to the filmmakers. Then the students developed websites and marketing, prepared festival packaging and mailed the compilation to 15 film festivals, which Grula said is the primary screening route for short films.<\/p>\n
The annual Five Stories project started in 2004, but until this year was handled by faculty members. The new system gives students the real-world experience in film marketing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, we decided to open the process to students and get them involved on every level. It\u2019s a great opportunity for them to experience the deadlines, hassles and problem-solving skills required by a project of this scale,\u201d Grula said. \u201cThe hands-on skills are applicable to many other industries \u2013 advertising, Internet, video games and much more. Getting that experience here at UCF is invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Financing for the Five Stories project came from the Metro Orlando Film & Television Commission and Studio 500, an educational\/commercial studio complex operated by the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy.<\/p>\n
UCF Film is a program of the School of Visual Arts & Design, which is part of UCF\u2019s College of Arts & Humanities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Film students at the University of Central Florida have taken on a new role: producer. A group of 28 students in a class this past semester took on the task of producing a compilation of five films by classmates, marketing them online and submitting them to film festivals around the country. \u201cFilm schools usually teach […]","protected":false},"author":"","featured_media":false,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"dept":[5],"class_list":["post-1054","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","dept-school-of-visual-arts-and-design"],"acf":[],"approved":0,"site_name":"CAH News","yoast_head":"\n