West Neston Cinema Film Screening

Today we attended the West Newton Cinema for a screening of Bentley student films. The films came from students in two courses at Bentley: Introduction to Video Production and Social Issue Documentary. There were a total of eight films that covered topics from serious documentaries to light hearted comedic skits. We were impressed by the quality of the films that were produced by students who do not focus their primary studies on film making.

One of the particular films that we found interesting was "Don't put a label on me," a film about the underground music scene. We found this movie engaging because we are both musicians and fans of Ben Kweller, one of the interviewees in the film. The interviewees had much to say about how the music industry is run, and how the record companies can often be very controlling of the artists. They elaborated on how the music industry is making a major shift with the emergence of the digital age. With increased availability to download music, record companies are seeking ways to maintain a profit on their investments.

We liked how some of the films touched important social issues such as homelessness and segregation in school systems. It was rewarding to see students using their classes to promote important social issues. By taking a course project and fusing it with important current social issues, the students created a powerful message in the form of a well edited, shot and produced movie. While these movies lacked some "fun" and "vibrance" that were evident in some of the other films, the message behind the films more than made up for it.

In conclusion, the screening at the West Newton Cinema was an interesting and entertaining experience. While the media program at Bentley is still in its early stages, the program is delivering insightful and entertaining media pieces and the program will surely reach new heights in the years to come.

We Need Girlfriends!

I was dabbling on AIM the other day when a good friend of mine informed me of an online webseries called, "We Need Girlfriends." I decided I'd take a look at one episode to see what it was all about. One episode turned into about eight or nine, and I can't wait to finish the rest of the series. If you have not seen any of the episodes, check out the first one and I'm sure you will find it intriguing. Although not a brand new concept, I think webseries are awesome.

This series shows that independent film can be big - with a little help from the internet. Just because indie film makers are generally low budgeted and low resourced does not mean that they cannot share in some success. It is obvious that there was a ton of time and resources put into making the episodes, but the effort has paid off by the publicity they have recieved.

We've decided that this type of film is mid-range in the independent world. It is not so amateur that it is underproduced, or up to the likes of feature films made by Greg Anderson, for example.