I thought I would share another experience a current student shared with me this week. Skylar is a sophomore screenwriting student who just transferred to Chapman in Fall 2010. Enjoy!

Skylar Harrison, Screenwriting Undergrad ’12

Although my major is Screenwriting, this past weekend I worked on an Advanced Production set as the Production Designer. I was so excited for this opportunity considering it’s only my second semester at Dodge as a transfer student. It was honestly one of the most fulfilling and exceptional learning experiences I have had as a film student. To be a writer and have the chance to physically make a film was something I have personally been craving since I came to Dodge. As a writer, it is important to me to explore other facets of film, and this experience opened my eyes to so many different aspects of the film industry that I could see myself pursing.

As the Production Designer, pre production was the most stressful period for me. I worked closely with the director, Eric Davies, in order to understand his “vision” for the production design. In his film, there were 12 girl scouts, so we finding the perfect color pallet for the uniforms was very difficult! However, all the hard work was worth it, after seeing the production design and costumes through the camera.

Once on set, however, I had to be prepared for anything, from costume malfunctions to child extras. The best part about this weekend was seeing how a group of 16 film students ranging from freshmen to juniors could come together and produce a film of professional quality. It makes you realize how if you set your mind to something and have the passion to back it up, you can create something that can actually compete within the film world. Although all of us were exhausted, the feeling once we wrapped was beyond gratifying. After one weekend on set, I can sincerely say, we all felt more accomplished as filmmakers.