Junior Charley Field, president of the film production club here at Mizzou, loves working with people as passionate about film as he is. The club makes films all year round, and prides themselves on each and every one. He is a strat comm major with hopes of becoming the film producer that he is in his club. Let’s get to know him!
Her Campus Mizzou: Tell us about yourself!
Charley Field: I’m currently a junior, and I’m a journalism major emphasizing in strategic communication with minors in film studies, photography and English. Because I was born in London, I will be trying to live there once I graduate. I’m not British due to citizenship laws in England, but I’ve been fascinated with the country my whole life.
HCM: When did Film Production Club get started? Were you a part of that?
CF: The club first started fall semester of last year, but after putting on a pretty successful film festival last February, it fell apart somewhat. After being defunct for most of this school year, we were trying to get it started back up again, and it will be up and running full steam this fall. In a way, this is MU Film Production Club take two. The original founder of the club was D.J. Shewmaker, who graduated last year, and the group of students who have been restarting it this year are Mara Coleman, Evan Lin, Kyle Burton, Sam Roth, Rachael Ungashik, Brooke Sushka and me.
HCM: What projects are you working on in the club at the moment?
CF: Those two festivals are the main things we are working on at the moment, but we also have several video projects that are being developed.
HCM: What is your job in the club right now?
CF: I am the club president, Mara is the vice president, Sam is webmaster, Rachael is treasurer and Brooke is secretary while Evan and Kyle are both graduating this semester.
HCM: What is your favorite part about being in the club?
CF: My favorite part about being in the club is probably finding all of these other people who are just as passionate about filmmaking as I am. Most of the classes within the film studies department are about the critical analysis of film, very similar to an art history course. So even though you can find a lot of people there who love film, it can still be difficult to find people wanting to make films.
HCM: What can one expect from being in the club?
CF: Well really the only way to get better at filmmaking is through practice and experience. Because filmmaking is inherently collaborative, this can be very difficult, especially when you have just arrived on campus and don’t know where to meet people with the same interest. The club is designed to help student filmmakers by providing a forum where they can meet and by providing opportunities for them to make films.
HCM: How can students get involved and where can we see your work in action?
CF: We are winding down our activities this semester as we approach finals, so the best way for someone to get involved would be to start coming to meetings in the fall. Also, we will be holding a 48-hour film festival in the fall and a much larger film festival in the spring. The larger festival will be open for submissions the first day of classes and won’t stop taking submissions until a week or so before they are screened some time in February. In the meantime, the best thing to do would be to join our Facebook group, where we discuss our club activities and post links to articles and videos we find interesting or helpful. We are also in the process of creating a website where people will be able to see the films that club members have made and find more information about the festivals we are planning.
HCM: What is your dream job?
CF: Right out of school, I’m planning on working as a copywriter at an advertising agency, but I hope to transition from there into entertainment. I’d love to be a film director because to me directing movies is contemporary myth making.
HCM: What is your favorite movie?
CF: My favorite film is Stalker, which is a science fiction film by Russian filmmaker Andrey Tarkovsky, but right after that it would have to be either 28 Days Later or The Lion King.