Jana Schurig and Dr. Dean Duncan, Theater Media Arts Department
Some of the best lessons of life are found in folk and fairytales and classic children’s stories. The aim of the Theater and Media Art Department’s Children’s Media Initiative is to adapt these tales and stories for the screen in order to produce short films to be aired on KBYU and other networks and film festivals. These films will appeal to parents and children, bringing the family together to watch. Rather than encouraging escapism, these films will facilitate discussion of relevant values and themes addressed in film.
The adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s short story How Much Land Does a Man Need depicts a man whose desire to provide for his family turns into greed. Ultimately, he wants too much land, more than enough to care for his loved ones. The conflict between abundance and sufficiency presents challenges to families living in our contemporary consumer society.
One of the chief features of the film is beautiful landscapes, motivating the protagonist to greed. We shot the film with attention to pleasing aesthetics on 16 mm film stock rather than digital tape. This stylistic decision, integral to maintaining the vision and thematic significance of the story, rendered the project more costly. However, the benefits of shooting on 16 mm and making a professional quality product have certainly outweighed the costs. The visual image of the show is very beautiful. Orca Grant money made this possible and practical.
Many mentoring opportunities have been made possible by the filmmaking. Aside from our principle faculty mentors Tom Lefler and Dean Duncan, who are functioning at the level of executive producers, another faculty member, Tom Russell, serves on a panel to advise and guide us student filmmakers as we work. Other faculty members, whose emphases lie in art direction, have assisted in the different creative aspects of the film. Munn Powell, a professional cinematographer, met with us and made suggestions for shooting techniques and equipment choice. All of the cast and crew have benefiting from the mentoring, too.
How Much Land is not yet in its final form, although I anticipate it will be completed within a matter of weeks. At that time, I will bring a copy of the film to the Orca office so that the generous donors and other interested participants can view it for themselves. The film produced and aired on television will be beautiful, instructional, moving, and was designed to unite families, foster conversations, and build relationships. Students involved in this project had the opportunity to practice the theories learned in classes: planning, pre-production techniques, and understanding of cultural and stylistic functions of film language. The film has inculcated the unique values that result from BYU education. The value of the final product is a direct reflection of education, resources, and honorable objectives carefully encouraged by knowledgeable mentors.
I personally have acted in the role of Co-Producer and Unit Production Manager (UPM). As a producer, I was responsible for acquisition and proper allocation of funding and budgeting within the film. The ORCA application process was an education into the processes that created our film, and the proper use of the grant throughout the film production continued to give me needed experiences for my future filmmaking profession. The film is an example of a quality film suitable for a resume that will also be a reflection of the values I, as a student at Brigham Young University, hold most important such as honesty, hard work, and integrity.
I and the many others I have worked with on this project are deeply grateful to have been given this opportunity to create such a beautiful and meaningful film. We wish to thank the generous donors who made this project possible and encourage them to continue their support of student mentored projects.
Sincerely,
Jana Schurig