Strolling through the streets of Boston on a Sunday afternoon on a nice summer day, one might expect to find a pleasant sea breeze, tourists with cameras in hand, or perhaps a film crew-also with cameras in hand. The more nosey among us may inspect the scene with curiosity and find clapboards, CP cameras, boom mikes, and boxes to transport this equipment. There’s a pretty good chance those boxes are labeled “Emerson College.”
So it was on July 10th and 11th outside of South Station when Dawn Morrissey, producer of THE VIRTUOSO a Film III project organized production with directors Ramone Kendall and Steve Cook. “The film is about how the Democratic National Convention can disrupt even the simplest things in people’s lives,” Morrissey says.
“A street musician who plays his violin outside of North Station everyday and has a crush on a business woman who smiles and drops a buck in his case every morning. The convention comes to town and the virtuoso, oblivious to politics and the convention, tries to set up shop outside but is moved on.” The crew shot at South Station because “it doubled for North Station which does not have such a great facade.”
Film III summer session professor Jim Wolpaw says, “This is an interesting project because there are only three students in the class so it’s one film. They’ve built a story that sort of interacts with the Democratic National Convention. They’ll intercut actual television footage with the film footage so that whatever happens interacts with the story.”
Morrissey is enrolled as an adult undergraduate. “I am a mature student so the application process is not too laborious: an essay, a sample of your work and references.” From Ireland she had applied at NYU’s Tisch School and Goldsmith’s in London. She decided on Emerson because, “Emerson has a lot of adjunct faculty who work in the industry. I think they contribute a huge amount to student life at Emerson. You become a realist here after listening to their stories in the field but at the same time you’re allowed to grow artistically and they cultivate that.”
Wolpaw, who has been teaching at Emerson for the past ten years, is one such faculty member. A filmmaker for twenty-five years, his works include the Academy Award nominated documentary KEATS AND HIS NIGHTINGALE: A BLIND DATE and the cult rock comedy COMPLEX WORLD. “I didn’t go to school for film. My only formal film school training was two production classes at the New School. I learned by doing,” says Wolpaw. “One thing I’ve learned [from teaching] is there are just so many different ways of making films that work. What I can do is point out dangerous paths and what makes sense.”
Although he’s taught at Emerson for the past ten years, he’s also taught at the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and Rhode Island School of Design. At Emerson College, he’s noticed that “the student has everything they need to produce a really professional film.” Wolpaw says that what sets Emerson students apart is that they’re very serious about learning film. They see it as a viable career option.
This leads many Emerson students to seek internships at local production companies like David Sutherland Productions. The company, best known for the mini series “The Farmer’s Wife,” currently hires several interns every semester. Associate Producer Erin Anguish is in charge of the interns. “Interns at DSP, Inc. play a major role in the completion of our current film by helping to sort through, log, and transcribe our 2,000 plus hours of footage. In so doing, they are privy to a wealth of knowledge that can only be gleaned by watching original footage from as reputable a director as David Sutherland. Additionally, David makes use of the interns' intimate knowledge of the footage by inviting them to assist him in editing, looking for shots and sounds while providing valuable insight into the story structure as well as intelligibility of voiceover and narration.
“Emerson has been a wonderful place for recruiting interns. The bi-annual career fairs have been of tremendous help to me, and David has spoken at several Emerson events, putting a human face on an online ad. Many interns have actually contacted us after hearing David speak at one of such events, and those interns tend to be the most dedicated and motivated.
“I would say that one area where Emerson interns tend to stand out is the sheer force of their numbers. At least one third of my interns have been from Emerson, a fact that I largely attribute to the school's emphasis on the internship experience as well as their many on-campus recruiting events and unique forums in which students can interact with members of the Boston film community.”
Student life for an undergrad at Emerson involves lecture classes on film theory, hands-on classes with experienced professors, and internships at area production companies, but it also provides extra-curricular avenues for professional development on campus. One such organization is Frames Per Second. Undergrad Jay Pachomski has been involved with FPS for the past few years. “FPS is a student-run organization where students write scripts and choose a few to work on from pre to post-production.”
He describes why he likes FPS “I think it’s two part. First, there’s the opportunity to work on something outside class. Every semester you get to work on at least one or two short films. Second, there’s the chance to meet like minded people, into the same stuff. You can build those relationships that will continue into the real world.” As Jim Wolpaw says, “Students get out of Emerson what they put into it.”
For Dawn Morrissey one big advantage Emerson has are the contacts garnered through recent alumni. “They call me to work on big shoots,” she says. “[Alum] Evelyn Carrigan was working on a Touchstone film in Providence last year and they needed crew. She called me and I was on set a day later with Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, and Jeff Nathanson who directed.” Nathanson also wrote the screenplay for the recent hit, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Says Morrissey, “the Emerson name is well known in the industry and our training is never questioned because the industry professionals know we have received a firm background in film production!”
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