The newest filmmaking club on campus hopes to shine a spotlight on the student body.
Lights, Camera, Action! hopes to provide a creative outlet for students who want to make films, members said. The club’s Faculty Advisor and Assistant Professor Daniel Labbato said he wants to create a film culture on campus because film is such a major art form.
“I see film as a universe of ideas, so it’s important to me that this is an interdisciplinary adventure for the students,” Labbato said. “Students could contribute what they’re learning from any department.”
Labbato, who has over 20 years of film experience, said he is there to help the club get off the ground.
“I can help them along in the process [and] explain special pieces of equipment,” Labbato said. “I can advise those things, but I really want it to be the students who decide what they’re going to do, what scripts they are going to do, what ideas they want to tackle.”
Vincent Carnevale, a third-year radio/television production major, said he learned about the club through Labbato.
“I’m very much interested in doing real productions outside of class projects, especially if we get an opportunity to submit them to film festivals,” Carnevale said. “Personally, I’m interested in the cinematography, photography and editing aspects.”
Carnevale said he and fellow club member Gabe Hinter were two of the only people to come to the club’s first meeting. He said they also worked together to create promotional flyers.
Josh Briggs, a fourth-year communications and media management major, said he found out about the club through their poster campaign.
“I joined because I enjoy filmmaking and feel that this club will be great for the Communications and Media Department,” Briggs said.
Labbato said he already has a working classroom relationship with the Theater Department and Larry Carr, lecturer of creative writing and drama. He said he wants to extend the work he’s doing in his classes to the greater student body.
“We have this work flow of bringing scripts and actors through [the communication department], so the next thing is to take this work flow and enlarge it,” Labbato said.
The club is still in its beginning stages, but there has been interest among students,
Carnevale said.
“It’s tough to keep people coming back when we’re really in the beginnings of the club,” he said. “As much as we would all like to just jump into a full-time production, there are logistics that need to be taken care of. That’s the stage we’re in now and the more people who show interest, the quicker we can get to producing short films.”
Briggs said the club is currently in the process of recruiting members, receiving funding, examining scripts and reviewing production ideas for next semester.
Labbato said the university has all the resources necessary for creating films, but someone needed to organize it.
“You have makeup people, staging people, scriptwriters, camera people, editors, philosophers, historians and you put it all together, you would have a film company,” he said. “It’s already here. Someone just has to say, ‘Let’s organize.’ It just seems like the natural thing to do. It’s just waiting for someone to do it.”