Students become filmmakers with the Redhawk Film Club

For students at SEMO, the Redhawk Film Club aims to prepare students for a career as a filmmaker.

The student-run organization offers active filmmaking experience and career-building connections to aspiring filmmakers on campus.

Senior Mass Communications major and vice president of the club Joshua Stroups elaborates on this sentiment.

“To anyone who is interested in film, it’s a really laid back and easy way to sink their teeth into working on sets. We hope to provide them with different masterclasses in specific areas of film to help flesh out different areas of interest that they have.” Stroups said.

The club serves as a place for like-minded individuals to share their passion for film and create art as a community.

Sophomore BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts), TV/Film double major, and club president James Rice shares these thoughts.

“I would describe the club as a place for somebody to come and make connections with people who are filmmakers and people who are just interested in films in general. It is a place for us to come together to make film, learn about film and hopefully go to film festivals in the future.” Rice said.

Meetings for the club take place biweekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Rose Theater.

The club uses this time to socialize, give presentations and plan for the future.

“Most of the time we’ve used the meetings to flesh out creative ideas about what we want the club to do because the club is relatively new. We’ve used it to talk about doing an inside film festival where all of us filmmakers make our own films that we submit ourselves. We also had a presentation that we did with learning how to use the Ursa, which is the Blackmagic camera that the school owns.” Rice said.

In addition to discussions of filmmaking processes, the club plans to bring dialogue on short film ideas to the meetings.

“Next semester will be the first semester we decide on a film to go with. It will be the process of everybody bringing a script and we all talk about them. Then we all can decide on which script we want to do. From that, we all vote on who takes what position in filming the short.” Rice said.

Though creative output as a group is still in progress, the club has introduced opportunities for individuals to find their own filmmaking voice through the Facebook group Redhawk Films. Created by James Rice, it is a forum that aims to connect aspiring filmmakers on and off campus.

“The Facebook group is really for anybody who wants to do anything film-related. Not just inside of SEMO, but outside of SEMO. It’s for looking for contacts and making connections.” Rice said.

Junior TV/Film major and club member Trent Kelsey shares his experience with the Facebook group.

“I had a script that I had put together. I had gotten together with some friends who planned on producing and then we put together this post with all the information. We were looking to get actors and a crew onboard, and I have a spreadsheet now of probably 20 people who have reached out.” Kelsey said.

While the club ensures that the medium of filmmaking remains accessible, this notion also extends to those who wish to join, whether they have a background in TV/Film or not.

“We’re always open to people who write or act. So, it really is accessible. Especially since it is a learning experience for all of us. You don’t have to worry about having too much technical expertise or experience. It is just a way to make those connections, and a lot of us are on the same level.” Kelsey said.

Given the recency of the Redhawk Film Club’s establishment, Joshua Stroups is mindful of why it is important to have this organization.

“The goal of the group is to really network. That’s what our professors have been telling us to do all this time. There hasn’t been a central club to meet everybody. I’m a graduating senior and there are still many people I meet who are interested, either above me or below me in class.” Stroups said.

Anyone interested in joining the Redhawk Film Club can contact the club through their page on the SEMO website.

For those interested in joining the Redhawk Films Facebook group, the link is provided here.