Thousands of talented filmmakers have learned their craft while studying at BYU. After years of studying, talented seniors competed for limited resources to produce a 419 project – a senior film; an epic, industry-quality film that represents the pinnacle of this journey and launches the filmmakers into the professional world. This year a shift occurred in the way these films are made and why: the 419 program was redesigned to become the capstone program. With Bread to Kill paving the way, the new and improved capstone model offers students the perfect balance of resources and limitations to create world-class short films.
Bread to Kill is the first film to utilize the new capstone model, which requires shorter scripts and smaller budgets than previous years. By shrinking the scope of each film, limited resources are extended to benefit more students, and filmmakers can focus their energy on story quality instead of logistics. Bread to Kill was successful in reaching these goals and champions the new capstone model as a powerful, entertaining short film with a festival-winning destiny.
Originally titled Against the Grain, the project was re-titled Bread to Kill to better serve the dark, comical nature of the story.
Impact
In many ways, Bread to Kill was designed to have a small impact by utilizing the smaller scope of the capstone model. But all of this streamlining was to create a much larger impact where it counts. This film led the way for coming generations of film production at BYU, proving that films can be made better, faster, and with a smaller budget. It is also making a powerful entrance into the festival circuit by winning gold and Director’s Choice at the Park City Film Music Festival. By winning festivals, Bread to Kill brings acclaim to the TMA program and opens doors for all students involved. Our production involved over 60 students, 15 professionals, and another 7 students from other colleges and schools. Because these volunteers generously donated their time and creativity to the project, our limited budget was focused on acquiring the best actors, props and locations.
Budget
We were so frugal with our spending that we actually finished a few dollars under budget! So why did we need an ORCA grant? Because a film needs much more than its production budget to succeed. It’s common for a student film to deplete its budget after production, powerless to pay for festival fees, marketing and other distribution costs. For this reason many student films never make it to any festivals. Exhibition is crucial to the growth ad reputation of the TMA program and its students, so we’re using our ORCA grant to send Bread to Kill around the globe and win festivals for the university and the students involved. We recently won Gold and Director’s Choice at the Park City Film Music Festival. We expect success among the many other festivals we’ve entered.
This generous grant gives our film the power to explore the festival world, creating future opportunities for TMA students and bringing the TMA program the acclaim it deserves.
Picture 1: As the director (black shirt) I focus on actors. In this photo I’m explaining the scene to the actor (white lab coat) and her complicated dialogue and action. Meanwhile the director of photography (green shirt) works with his assistant (blue) and the gaffer (white) to set up the shot and design the lighting. My assistant (glasses) hurries me along so we stay on schedule.