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“The Crypto Diaries: Part 1 – Lizard Man” cast and crew:
Aaron Brander ’15 (Digital Media Production), Director
Matt Brueckner ’15 (Digital Media Production), Sound Design
Seth Gliksman ’16 (Digital Media Production), Actor
Chad Kofahl ’16 (Digital Media Production), Actor, Director of Photography
Heather Mezynski ’16 (Digital Media Production), Producer, Camera Operator
Joe Pallotta ’16 (Digital Media Production), Audio Engineer
Dany Ramdhanie ’16 (Digital Media Production), Camera Operator
Casey Silvestri ’17 (Digital Media Production), Producer, Camera Operator, Editor
Dan Williams ’15 (Digital Media Production), Actor
[/pullquote]The SUNY-wide Film 48 competition pits groups of student filmmakers against one another in a contest that tests their creativity, dexterity and ability to adapt to unpredictable conditions.
The 2015 competition between student teams representing six SUNY institutions culminated in the announcement that the SUNY New Paltz entry, “The Crypto Diaries: Part 1 – Lizard Man,” had won the SUNY-wide Film 48 Grand Prize for fall 2015.
Film 48 deviates from more traditional filmmaking contests in that it challenges participants to work under a set of strict constraints. Chief among these is the 48-hour production window that lends the contest its name; students have just one weekend to plan a story, shoot and edit their work.
Each team was also expected to produce a film in a randomized genre not known to them until the contest began. New Paltz students learned at the last minute that they would be making a comedy.
Their finished product was a hilarious mockumentary shot on location in the Shawangunk Mountains, looking at a day in the life of an eccentric cryptozoologist pursuing the elusive “Lizard Man.”
The student filmmakers attributed their success in this unique trial to the experiences they’ve gained working with one another on a variety of productions in Digital Media & Journalism courses. Director Aaron Brander ’15 (Digital Media Production) cited one particular course, which brings students to the annual Woodstock Film Festival to produce portfolio-quality coverage of that event.
“One of the coolest things I’ve done since coming here was the Woodstock class,” Brander said. “That’s where I met a lot of the people who ended up working on this project. Going out into the real world and working alongside actual professionals, just being able to talk with them and see them interact with each other, I learned so much from that experience.”
The contest was decided by an open vote. The New Paltz team’s victory in that format signals their comprehension that planning a successful campaign to motivate people to watch and support their creation is an important contemporary media skill in its own right.
“The online voting system makes sense,” said Chad Kofahl ’16 (Digital Media Production). “Not only does it demonstrate your ability to make a great film, but also to come up with the PR required to get the film out.”
The College’s inclusion in the contest was facilitated in part by the Media & Journalism Society, a student group led by Co-Presidents Renee Wallace and Ryan Percy.
To learn more about the SUNY-Wide Film 48 contest and view the films, please visit them online.
