Student-Made Film "Do As I Say" Entered in Festival

Five Middlebury students recently entered a short film, Do As I Say, to the 2012 Vermont International Film Festival "Sleepless in Burlington" 24-Hour Film Competition. The film was produced by David Seamans ’13, Hunter Nolan ’13, Zachary Doleac ’12.5, Matthew Lennon ’13 and Michael Gadomski ’13.5. On Thursday, Nov. 8 the cast put on a special screening of the short film and gave the audience insight to the process behind its creation.

All the films entered in the competition had to follow a particular set of rules. One of these rules was the inclusion of a large mural that looks over Burlington. The film must also feature a line from a Phish song. The crew was limited to five actors, and the line “a storm is coming” needed to be incorporated into the film somehow. However, the biggest obstacle the team had to face is the fact that the entire film had to be made in 24 hours. The team decided to streamline this process by assigning one central role to each of its members.

Seamans was in charge of writing. Nolan directed, Doleac was the head cinematographer and Lennon edited cuts. Finally, Gadomsky was in charge of sound, as well as creating a completely original score for the film.

During the discussion, the group revealed the difficulties of creating a movie in 24 hours — specifically, the fact that a day and night scene were both needed. This made Lennon’s editing, usually the final stage of production, an exercise in speed.

Another unique challenge the team faced was the draft of the actors. As the competition was structured, actors and actresses were not “made available” until the script writing

Unfortunately, the team did not win any awards for their work.

The film tells the story of a man who is discussing a grave issue to his daughter. As the film develops, we are taken to the home of an unhappy family. The family is slowly falling apart, as evidenced by the daughter of the family wishing her father’s store be consumed by arson. For whatever reason, this family is chosen to be the target of the protagonist, who breaks into the store to rob them.

The Phish line that Do As I Say used was “Whatever you do, take care of your shoes” from the song “Cavern”. It was used during the heist scene when the thief came upstairs, and saw that the floor was hardwood. When he realized the sounds of his boots would give him away, he decided to take them off to muffle the sound of his footsteps. But by this point it was far too late — he was caught in the act, leading to a conversation between the thief and the daughter.

The film, while short, was a very interesting piece of filmmaking. The story was gathered through contextual clues, but felt a bit rushed due to the very nature of the competition.

Overall the film was an interesting take on a family down on their luck, and the crazy things individuals are willing to do to keep their heads above water.

The College plans on entering the competition again the following year.