By Sarah Fishman
A group of UC Santa Barbara Film students spent four days up in Lompoc earlier this winter, but they weren’t on vacation: it was strictly business. With cars packed full of camera equipment, these undergraduates put their professional aspirations into action shooting a short film called “Overture.”
Overture tells the story of a young boy, who is both blind and deaf, overcome by his love for music as he experiences the vibrations of sound.
The film’s director Iris Ortega, left, Schultz, right, and other members of the crew during production. Photo by Raziel Espagña.
It’s one of four films being produced through the Crew Production class in which the Film and Media Studies program supports student scripts through the entire creation and production process, as students manage all aspects on their own.
Allen Schultz, a Writing and Literature major specializing in film and screenwriting, took on the job of production manager. He described the role as "pretty fluid,” saying that he discovered early on the best way for him to help was to be his producer’s right-hand man.
The work involved lots of logistics, making sure that everything came together down to the details of transporting and feeding cast and crew. Schultz helped oversee the process of developing floor plans and creating in-depth scene breakdowns in preparation for shooting.
Schultz was careful not to reveal too many details ahead of the film’s release, but he said the character “lets his imagination get the best of him and distort reality in ways that he and the audience don’t fully figure out until a little bit into the film.”
As with any good project, the team hit unexpected bumps—and experienced unexpected victories. When a plan to film at a house in Isla Vista fell through, the crew had to quickly pivot. “We kind of had to scramble to find a house in Lompoc but it really truly did work out for the best,” Schultz recalled.
Allen Schultz, who described directing his own film at 21 as “exciting but scary.”
In addition to featuring a completely original orchestral score composed by one of the students, Overture employs distinct visual effects (VFX), including challenging work with green screen technology. In the end, the crew got all the shots they were looking for, and is now making the magic happen in post-production.
Schultz is also directing his own short film: “Disposable.” It tells the story of a stereotypical ‘frat bro’ living in Isla Vista, who rediscovers memories of an old love interest—and of his old self—through a camera given to him by a girl at Jewish sleepaway camp.
The character has never gotten the photos processed despite holding onto the camera for all these years, up until it gets damaged in an accident with an IV biker. The film follows him and the biker as they attempt to fix it, while “shedding the fake personas that they’ve put on for Isla Vista and becoming more of their natural selves again.”
The film delves into the niche, unexplored world of Jewishness at sleepaway camp. “I love the idea of putting more Jewish stories out into the world,” Schultz explained. “I think it's something that the world could really use right now, and any way that I can help out with that is something that I’m more than happy to do.”
A publicity shot for “Disposable,” featuring a prop from one of the scenes. Photo by Allen Schultz.
“Disposable” explores individual experiences and has universal meaning. “At the end of the day it's really lightheaded, doesn't really take itself too seriously,” he said. “But I think it definitely has a message that hits home for a lot of viewers.”
As director, Schultz wants to give every team member a chance to voice their creativity throughout the process. He’s achieving this through conversations with crew directors about maximizing the role their passions play in the film.
“Disposable” has its own student-run music team that’s working with Schultz to put together three completely original songs. The process for each song incorporates feedback from lots of people, including a music producer up in Oregon, to make it truly a team effort.
Schultz believes that every good story is tied to someone’s reality in one way or another. “I think there are always more stories to tell, and always more stories that need to be heard,” he explained. “I think that all of us are better off hearing other people’s stories.”
He encourages student filmmakers to take the plunge. “If you feel like it's a story to tell, then more times than not you’re going to find a whole lot of crew members within the Film and Media Studies department that agree with you…and they’re going to do their best to try and make that [film] happen.”
More than anything, his goal is to inspire. “What I hope to be the biggest takeaway is for people to watch [the film] and go ‘that was cute, that was funny, I’m going to go do something that I’m passionate about right now.’”
Sarah Fishman is a third-year Communication major and Applied Psychology minor, pursuing a second minor in Professional Writing, at UC Santa Barbara. She wrote this piece for the Writing Program course Digital Journalism.