Nicholas Stentzel and Professor Jeff Parkin, Theatre Media Arts
Over the past year I have had the privilege to direct a senior film project entitled “Unhinged,” it is the story of Phillip, a struggling artist who is attempting to complete a final painting for his gallery opening. However, as he works his girlfriend, Mary, continually distracts him and because of his neglectful attitude she finally leaves him. Phillip soon realizes that it is Mary’s presence in his life that allows him to find his true voice.
Throughout this process I have gained a strong understanding and appreciation for the time and commitment required to produce even a fifteen-minute film. “Unhinged” is a film that has become an integral part of who I am, and who I will become in my film making career. The process of making a film can only be touched upon in a classroom; it is through the act of making a film that I have learned the properties of the medium. I have learned more than I could have ever expected throughout this process, even beyond the film itself. I have learned about myself and my own drive and abilities. During the making of this film I have had the unique opportunity to make something that is so entirely apart of me but is ultimately beyond myself.
This film is visually stirring and ideologically motivating. With the financial assistance we received from Orca we were able to transport several major art pieces from California to Utah. It is through these paintings that the film has become more than a student project but stands up to the high production value that we dreamed of. The locations and settings in the film came for life in the presence of the beautiful artwork that covered the walls of both the gallery and the apartment. More than that, the paintings gave the film and the character credibility and believability.
Of the obstacles that we encountered while making the film it is the art that caused me the most stress. It is ultimately a story about an artist so the world he inhabited had to suit that of a painter in the midst of his career. It was important to surround him with items that would work as inspiration and would be unique to his own personality and style. As an established painter he had to be surrounded by other art. This above all was a point of stress, we could not surround him with amateur paintings, he had to be enveloped in a world of beautiful art if we were even going to brush the surface of the reality of the film.
After the film was finally completed it was more than any of us could have expected. We have been commended not only on the art design, but also on the acting performances and on the script. On many occasions we have been told that “Unhinged” is one of the finest visual representation of the Media Arts program. The film is now working through film festivals. It has been submitted to over twenty festivals and we are waiting to hear from many of them. We were accepted to the Beverly Hills Hi-Def Film Festival and the film premiered on December 26th. We are anxiously awaiting responses from the rest of the festivals.