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Artful expression through film

When wandering in the Newcomb Hall basement, one might notice films being shown in the theater. Quite often, these films are ones created by students who are a part of the University's Film Makers Society (FMS).

For instance, a movie called "Roskosmos" premiered last weekend in Newcomb, which drew a crowd of about 100, fourth-year College student and Vice President of Production for FMS Steve Robillard said.

There are about 60 active members in the society, but many more students are associated with FMS, working on projects at different times during the year, Robillard said.

"We're really just trying to encourage student film in any shape or any form," Robillard said. "Even if it's just making some comedic, low-budget film with their friends, we try to encourage that, too."

Robillard said there are two types of students who are typically a part of FMS, both of which "are welcome in the film society." First, there are those who desire to pursue professional film and then those who just want to experiment and play around with it, Robillard said.

With meetings roughly every Tuesday, FMS provides discussion-type forums and workshops for students to pitch possible film ideas, showcase their projects, bounce off ideas and learn all aspects that go into producing a film, Robillard said.

FMS is a collaborative organization that operates as a "reciprocal transaction of knowledge" between the students involved, Robillard said. "The main element that keeps FMS afloat is the fact that different people at the University have different levels and areas of expertise."

While FMS provides the means of teaching students how to operate the equipment necessary for film-making, Robillard said students are free to learn individually on a trial and error basis if they desire to do so.

"We're just providing the outlet for them to make films, because a lot of this equipment is very expensive," much more so than most individuals could probably afford, Robillard said.

By paying dues between $15 and $20, depending on whether students decide to pay for a semester or a year, they have unlimited access to any of FMS's equipment. Robillard said most of what the society provides is professional equipment.

While FMS provides forums to bounce possible story ideas around and find the people necessary to carry out the process, it is then up to the "individual student taking the initiative and making the film they want to make," Robillard said.

Second-year College student and member of FMS Ashley Chipman joined the society last year with "pretty much no experience except my parents' old video camera."

Chipman said the people in FMS taught her so much and really took her filming "to a whole other level." Last year, Chipman said she made her own four-minute music video for a song by the band Bright Eyes, which took overall about 30 hours in planning and executing the idea.

FMS "really provides students with the tools and assets for making art in general, whether that's expressing yourself or just telling a story," Chipman said. "Not only do they have the instruments to do it, but they are just so informative and helpful."

FMS serves to bridge the gap between learning about film and actually making film, Robillard said.

"We teach students how to work and use the equipment so that their stories, ideas and instincts can translate and be expressed through the medium," Robillard said. "We try to develop people's styles in film and help them foster a specific signature that is theirs."

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