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Madonna University’s Capstone Film Class collaboration with Detroit musicians might sound like a few students making videos for friends, but it’s much more. Led by Capstone Adjunct Professor Jennifer Champagne, these students are dedicated to their craft and, in the past few years, they've won several Student Emmys and a Detroit Music Award.
You have a well-established career in film. What made you want to teach this Capstone film class?
Jennifer Champagne: I did a lecture at Madonna and sitting in on that first class, I was blown away by how much these students didn’t know about the film world. I enjoyed their energy and how much they wanted to learn so when I was asked to take over the class, I said yes. I’ve been very lucky in my career to have amazing mentors and this is my way of giving back. It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to teach student filmmakers who are passionate about their craft and see them through it as a result of the education that they’re getting.
Why is it so important for the students to establish a family-like relationship?
Champagne: The real film world is like a family. Because you spend 30-90 days on set together, you have to learn to be able to work together, to communicate and to drive someone else’s vision while adding your own contributions to that. This class is a year long and there’s no way the students could get through that year, if they didn’t have that ideology.
Christopher Merbler, 2013 cinematographer: I feel like the closest thing I can compare to the Capstone family would be a sports team, especially with the amount of time we spend together. We’re with each other for 20-30 hours a week, planning, getting things ready, meetings or just building our relationships and hanging out.
Kevin Connor, 2013 director: We are each so different artistically and spend so much time together working through our projects that we aren’t always on the same page. We have learned how to communicate our visions, find compromise in the resolution, and despite wanting to rip each other’s heads off at times, we’re a family and have respect for each other.
Aside from the knowledge that you’ve gained about film, what is the number one lesson you will take away?
Connor: Communication. That’s the biggest thing: how to be able to disagree with each other, and still have absolute respect for one another and be good when it’s over.
Chelsea Jenkins, 2013 producer: Before this class, I had a hard time speaking up. I wouldn’t talk even if I had good ideas. Now, I know how to communicate with everyone and handle difficult situations.
Ian Wolffe, 2013 gaffer: I’d say confidence, just how to carry yourself in a way that reflects what you know and can do. In the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to people who have been in film for a while and know what they’re doing. If I talked to them last year, I’d be a stuttering mess who couldn’t carry on a professional conversation.
What role has building relationships with people in Detroit and in the rest of the industry played?
Champagne: One of the things that I did when I took over Capstone was bring in industry mentors from Hollywood. What I found this year was that we had so many more Detroit mentors. I can call into Hollywood friends, but for the student to actually physically be interacting with people like Dave McNutt, Erik Rubner, Amber Fritz, Ele Bardha or Gary Pillon is incredible.
Lauren Mora, 2013 Producer & Location Manager: The locations and connections that have opened up to us in and out of Detroit have been amazing. The locations range from the Heidelberg Project (Hard Lessons) to Town Pump’s rooftop in Detroit (Mike Leslie Band) or the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (Paulina Jayne). The biggest location we got was the DSO’s Max Fisher Theatre for the Infatuations Music Video. We worked on that for 7-8 months. Because it is a union set, they wanted to charge us an ungodly amount of money but the union agreed to work with us for free.
What prompted you to work with local bands and create music videos for their songs?
Champagne: Students are not ready to just jump into making a film out of the gate. Music videos are mini-films. You have to emote a story whether it’s a performance piece or a secondary story. It’s about the visual aesthetic that could be location, set design, how it’s shot, how it’s lit, how it’s edited. A music video is a stepping stone to bigger projects like commercials and then film.
On Nov. 27, three of your music videos will be premiering at the Magic Bag. These include the Infatuations, “Yesterday Morning,” Paulina Jayne’s, “He Doesn’t Know it Yet,” and the Mike Leslie Band’s, “Weather Vane.” Ashley, you directed both the Infatuations and Paulina Jayne videos. How did those two projects differ?
Ashley Benton, 2012 producer/director: They were two very different processes. The Infatuations video took nearly eight months. We picked the song before the fall semester of 2012. We worked with the band, Herschel Boone, and former Madonna University music professor Kevin Wilt to rework the song. We then went through a long process of finding a stage to use for the music video, finding an orchestra, and a choir to perform with the band.
On the other hand, the Paulina video was a very quick turnaround. The process took two and a half weeks total. Luckily, things went a little smoother with all of the production aspects of that video.
Why was the Infatuations video a challenge?
Champagne: That was the hardest project of my career. We lost the DSO on our first round a week before we were due to start shooting due to a scheduling conflict. Then, two weeks before our second shoot 6 months later, the DSO informed us that their youth orchestra had another obligation.
Mora: Somehow, we picked up the Detroit Youth Orchestra a week out but we still couldn’t find a gospel choir. We reached out to everyone in Detroit we could think of and on the day of the shoot, we still hadn’t found one.
Jenkins: So, we became the gospel choir. Ben Berg spoke up. “We have singers in Capstone!” We were all like, “Well, you can sing and you can sing. Let’s try this.”
Champagne: Kevin Wilt took 10 of our Capstone students, assembled them around the DSO’s concert piano and taught them the song in an hour and a half. The hardest thing about that was that we don’t ever let the [Director, Cinematographer, Gaffer and Script Supervisor] know what is going on because they need to focus on everything else getting done. The whole music video was falling apart around them and they had no idea.
Wolffe: I remember being on the walkie-talkie telling my team what I need. I kept looking around and the only person I saw doing anything was Kevin. I was getting really ticked off. Then, I was notified that the gospel choir was coming out and there’s my entire grip team wearing choir robes.
Mora: It was a big project that we had worked on for 7 months. That day, we had to be out of the Max Fisher Theater within 12 hours. It was a lot and I kept thinking “How are we going to pull this off?” But it turned out to be amazing. It was awesome how we pulled together. The last shot of the day, I remember sitting there, watching the band, the choir and the orchestra perform. Jennifer was next to me and she grabbed my hand and I could see tears streaming. I looked around and everyone was emotional.
Finally, the third video you will be premiering is for the Mike Leslie Band. How was that experience?
Connor (director): I think the Mike Leslie Band video was the perfect combination of all the elements that make Capstone incredible. We had amazing lights, phenomenal cameras, a kick-ass location on top of Town Pump Tavern, a great performance by the band, and a fantastic crew. Working on this video really showed off the collaborative effort of Capstone.
See more: Facebook page.
Capstone Film Class will premiere three music videos next Wednesday, Nov. 27 at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. Doors open at 8 p.m.. Tickets are available at www.ticketweb.com.
