The coordinators who introduced the program of the night mentioned they had four weeks to storyboard, cast, build the set, and shoot the piece. Some pieces were all set in one spot while a number of others featured various locations, meaning they had to tear down and reconstruct another set within their production period.
As expected, most of the program featured character pieces, such as Mia by Andrea Zuniga-Farias and New Ink written by Alissandre Terriah. The Art of Losing is more atmospheric, highlighting the production design aspects of the assignment in contrast to Mood Candles with its minimalistic look to place emphasis on the zany character-driven situation. One highlight of the program is The Pubescent Panic of Peter Patterson, a comedy by Amy Allison and Brandon Hurd that allows the production designers to be creative with their assignment. It's also one of the few occasions where I thought an over-the-top narrative style worked in favour of a student film.
Considering how well filmmakers handled the material, I can’t wait to see what they can do when they’re given a bit more freedom in their third and final year of the program.
-Henry