Campus filmmaker Allen Shoff Speaks
The Collegian met up with senior Allen Shoff during the shooting of his second film on Tuesday night for a special Q&A
Joel Pavelski
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Beyond
You're making a new movie - What's it about?
The film is called "Roland." The best way to describe it is a crime drama that harkens to the film noir style. The Venetian blinds, the trench coats and fedoras, even the methods of speech are all straight out of film noir, even though it's a modern story line. It's about one detective named Roland Payton and his battles with a new foreign gang lord that comes to town.
Why are you shooting here tonight?
The Resident Director here in Niedfeldt gave us permission to use his room, so we changed it up a little, make it look more lived in, and it's where we're shooting this scene. It's been awesome to have the opportunity.
Did you write the script? How did you get the idea?
Aaron Kilgore, Mary Claire Andwood and I wrote it together, in about five days last semester. It was a huge project. It's a 120 page script! I got the idea during the film noir CCA two years ago, and I hashed out the plot over the summer for fun. The three of us worked off that basic plot, and when we all came back after Christmas Break we figured out the details.
This is the second film you've made at Hillsdale. Did you enjoy making the first one that much?
The first film was a great experience. I worked through the school on that one, I was doing an independent study for credit using space, equipment and actors provided or suggested by the faculty. This project is independent, but I'm applying all the lessons that I learned during the first one, things like professional lighting and working with actors. Plus, this second film is a bit longer, feature length, clocking in at about two hours.
There's quite a group here. Who's all helping you with this project?
Well, there's the producer, my sound man, of course. Elliot Gaiser is officially the director of photography, and he's in charge of making sure the lighting works. Costume design is by Mary Claire Andwood. The bad guys are vaguely eastern European but recently from Prague, so Gwendoline Tuma is teaching the actors to speak Czech. There are scenes with violence and gun battles, and Matt Noble is in charge of those practical effects. He's built me a rain machine and breakable glass.
Have you thought about going into film professionally?
It's entirely a hobby. I have no interest in pursuing a career in this. I've been interested since high school in making and filming my own movies, and this film has taken up the majority of my time this semester, but it'll always probably just be my hobby.
Are you filming entirely on campus?
Most of it will be on campus or at least in Hillsdale township. There are a couple of locations we've secured off-campus but all in the town of Hillsdale. We're hoping to have one day during spring break to get establishing shots in Akron, Ohio, Detroit and elsewhere around Michigan, places where you can get a feel for the city that you can't get in Hillsdale.
How long will this film take you to finish?
We've got 6 weeks of production that we just started with filming. We'll film as many nights of the week as we can and take a break during finals. I'll be editing the first month of break, and then Elliot Gaiser and I will be writing the score. We'll score the film during the fall semester and then try to premiere as early in the fall semester as possible.
Do you have any other projects up your sleeve?
Not sure. This has been pretty demanding. I always have so many ideas rolling around in my head, but I think that this would be a great project to end with at Hillsdale. I always want to end on a high note.
When is the premiere?
I'm not sure when it will be yet. There is a Facebook page for my company, Stolen Fire Films, so we'll post updates and production photos there. That'll be a good source to check for when the premiere might be in the fall.
Stolen Fire Films on Facebook:?
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Stolen-Fire-Films/19894188247)
The film is called "Roland." The best way to describe it is a crime drama that harkens to the film noir style. The Venetian blinds, the trench coats and fedoras, even the methods of speech are all straight out of film noir, even though it's a modern story line. It's about one detective named Roland Payton and his battles with a new foreign gang lord that comes to town.
Why are you shooting here tonight?
The Resident Director here in Niedfeldt gave us permission to use his room, so we changed it up a little, make it look more lived in, and it's where we're shooting this scene. It's been awesome to have the opportunity.
Did you write the script? How did you get the idea?
Aaron Kilgore, Mary Claire Andwood and I wrote it together, in about five days last semester. It was a huge project. It's a 120 page script! I got the idea during the film noir CCA two years ago, and I hashed out the plot over the summer for fun. The three of us worked off that basic plot, and when we all came back after Christmas Break we figured out the details.
This is the second film you've made at Hillsdale. Did you enjoy making the first one that much?
The first film was a great experience. I worked through the school on that one, I was doing an independent study for credit using space, equipment and actors provided or suggested by the faculty. This project is independent, but I'm applying all the lessons that I learned during the first one, things like professional lighting and working with actors. Plus, this second film is a bit longer, feature length, clocking in at about two hours.
There's quite a group here. Who's all helping you with this project?
Well, there's the producer, my sound man, of course. Elliot Gaiser is officially the director of photography, and he's in charge of making sure the lighting works. Costume design is by Mary Claire Andwood. The bad guys are vaguely eastern European but recently from Prague, so Gwendoline Tuma is teaching the actors to speak Czech. There are scenes with violence and gun battles, and Matt Noble is in charge of those practical effects. He's built me a rain machine and breakable glass.
Have you thought about going into film professionally?
It's entirely a hobby. I have no interest in pursuing a career in this. I've been interested since high school in making and filming my own movies, and this film has taken up the majority of my time this semester, but it'll always probably just be my hobby.
Are you filming entirely on campus?
Most of it will be on campus or at least in Hillsdale township. There are a couple of locations we've secured off-campus but all in the town of Hillsdale. We're hoping to have one day during spring break to get establishing shots in Akron, Ohio, Detroit and elsewhere around Michigan, places where you can get a feel for the city that you can't get in Hillsdale.
How long will this film take you to finish?
We've got 6 weeks of production that we just started with filming. We'll film as many nights of the week as we can and take a break during finals. I'll be editing the first month of break, and then Elliot Gaiser and I will be writing the score. We'll score the film during the fall semester and then try to premiere as early in the fall semester as possible.
Do you have any other projects up your sleeve?
Not sure. This has been pretty demanding. I always have so many ideas rolling around in my head, but I think that this would be a great project to end with at Hillsdale. I always want to end on a high note.
When is the premiere?
I'm not sure when it will be yet. There is a Facebook page for my company, Stolen Fire Films, so we'll post updates and production photos there. That'll be a good source to check for when the premiere might be in the fall.
Stolen Fire Films on Facebook:?
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Stolen-Fire-Films/19894188247)
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