Spotlight on...Timothy Leavitt

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Tim Leavitt is a senior film major from Amherst, N.H. with a passion for production. To view video clips of Leavitt's past projects visit www.drippleproductions.com.



The Middlebury Campus: How long have you been interested in film?



Timothy Leavitt: I've been interested in film and all sorts of visual media ever since I was a kid. I used to make short home movies on my family's video camera when I was seven or eight years old. Claymation shorts on our dining room table, very rudimentary, but still a lot of fun. After that, I just sort of progressed into a general interest in technology. Then, in high school, I was fortunate enough to go to a school with a really good television department that offered classes in television production. I took a full year of basic classes and then one year of independent study working in the school's TV station. The school put on a morning news broadcast in every homeroom, so we had the chance to help out a week at a time with different crew positions. That's when I got really interested in doing some of the behind the scenes work. By the time I came to college, I knew I wanted to do something visual. I didn't know if I wanted to major in film specifically, but I knew I wanted to go to a school with a good film department. Out of all the NESCAC schools and all the liberal arts colleges where I looked, Middlebury definitely had one of the better programs.



The Campus: Did you have any specific influences?



TL: Not really. I just kind of fell into it. I declared the major my freshman spring and thought, well, if I want to change it I can. I felt a little pressure from people saying, "Are you sure you want to do something this arty and not something more traditional?" But my parents were great and supportive about it and I thought, "This is what I really want to do."



The Campus: Do you know which specific route you want to take in the film industry?



TL: I'm leaning more towards production than critical studies. That's why I wanted to go out to Los Angeles and University of Southern California (USC) or my semester abroad - to get some experience and just be in the film production center of the world. I'm thinking now, after taking a lot of classes and really analyzing my interests, I may want to do something in post-production or editorial-type work. Now, I'm looking into what it would require after I graduate to be a picture editor. It's all pretty exciting, but definitely a little daunting.



The Campus: You went to study film at USC for the semester. How was your film experience different there from your experience with film at Middlebury?



TL: It was really different from here in a lot of ways. First of all, all the film classes at USC meet once a week for three or four hours a time. Also, the classes were more production-oriented than the classes here, so I was really able to get some hands-on training. I took a cinematography class where I actually worked with 60 millimeter film and I took an editing class where I learned to use the standard Hollywood program for editing films. That was definitely useful.



The Campus: After USC, you had a subsequent internship. Where was it? What were your responsibilities? How did it affect how you look at the film industry?



TL: I found the internship through Middlebury's Student Employment Office. I applied for about eight or nine different internships at very small production companies in L.A. and ended up landing one at a place called Echo Lake Productions - a production company that finances and assists independent films based out of Beverly Hills. I worked there about 20 hours a week all summer, mostly doing office work, researching for executives, reading scripts and sitting in on board meetings. Working at a small company, I got to see how the whole process works. I even had one-on-one interaction with the president of the company. He knew my name. Hopefully he'll be a great reference in the future.



The Campus: What are your future ambitions for your last year at Middlebury and beyond?



TL: I did a junior thesis film last fall and now I might present a senior honors thesis this spring. I've got some ideas working in my mind. After graduation, I think I'll give L.A. a try. Who knows, if that doesn't work out I may end up back on the East Coast, maybe even Vermont. While Middlebury may not be the epicenter for film that Los Angeles is, I wouldn't trade my experience here for anything.