On the road to stardom
Communication students direct first feature-length movie

By John Schulter

Three people sit in a room discussing the creepy, suspicious events happening in an old mansion. Suddenly a character by the name of Detective Ralph Graves enters the room and reveals that an inmate known only as “The Creeper” has escaped from an insane asylum.

This is a scene from the highly anticipated Rider University Network feature-length movie. It is the first time that specialized writers, actors and musicians at Rider all came together to work on such a daunting task of making a 60-minute feature, which will first be aired on the RUN network in a six-episode series. Communication department seniors Chris Cook and Chris Hunt developed the idea.

“We started the planning in November of 2005, [and] we wanted writers from the English department to write it for us,” said Hunt. “We were striving for a professional feel from the beginning.”

According to Cook, the film has been a dream four years in the making. He said he has
wanted to do such a project since he arrived at Rider.

“I always wanted to do a huge production with writers, a script, a cast and crew,” he said. “Now is my chance.”

The two students have since attained that opportunity, incorporating writers from the English department, actors from the theater department and a professional composer to provide music. However, when writers were not conveying the vision they had in mind, they turned to an idea Hunt had, inspired by a play he saw in high school.

“It was called Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a murder mystery,” he said. “The concept and plot seemed like a cool idea to dabble with.”

Cook, however, was hesitant at the time, but knew he had to make a quick decision.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it, but we were running out of time and it seemed like a logical choice,” he said. “I guess it grew on me.”

They started casting calls for theater majors, which made Hunt nervous.

“We had never done anything like this before,” he said.

Once they assembled the cast, crew and script, they began filming. But before Cook and Hunt could say, “Lights, camera, action,” they ran into several hurdles, including the search for a shooting schedule that worked for both the cast and the crew.

“It was tough to get everyone together at the same time, especially when it’s volunteer work and students are so busy,” said Cook. “We had to keep the set energized and fun throughout the shoot.”

The group began shooting in early March and finished around the middle of April. Both Cook and Hunt agree that their first feature-length film, which will eventually premiere in its entirety in the Bart Luedeke Center theater, was a success and that they learned a lot in the process. Producing the film redefined “hands-on experience” for them, said Hunt.

“It teaches you to manage a crew, writers, cast and more,” said Cook. “You learn about how to even manage yourself, you learn about what you can handle, [and] how to be a good and productive worker for the future.”