It’s rare to see sophomore Matt Tompkins without a camera in his hand. Being involved with Emerson’s Framers Per Second, Women in Motion, National Broadcast Society and Phi Alpha Tau, Matt Tompkins is certainly a busy guy. Despite that already busy schedule, the sophomore decided to take on a BA-level film project of his own creation.
HerCampus Emerson: As a sophomore, what motivated you to create a project of this magnitude?
Matthew Tompkins: Emerson’s a place to take risks and to test yourself. I knew I’d eventually have to throw up a project of this magnitude for a class and I thought it’d be better to take my first stab at it before it really counted. It was a now or never kind of thing. I will be required to do this kind of stuff my junior and senior year. At Emerson, if you aren’t ambitious and can’t stand out, you aren’t going anywhere.
HCE: How did you come up with the concept for your film, G[love]less?
MT: Gloveless kind of came out of thin air. To be honest, I was on Tumblr and saw this beautiful photograph. It was of a girl jumping rope in a dusty gym. From there, I thought of how I could turn it into a story I could relate to, and brought it to my best friend Kevin. We rewrote it together and the rest is (soon to be) history.
HCE: Tell us a little bit about the film itself.
MT: Gloveless is a story about a boy with Daddy problems. He wants his father’s approval, but his Dad only wants him to be a good boxer. It’s not a happy story.
HCE: What are you hoping to achieve with this project?
MT: We want to grow. The director, the producers, and I– we all are really invested in this and at this point a lot is at stake. I think the main thing we’re trying to do is prove that we’ve got what it takes.
HCE: How has your connection to the Emerson community influenced the film?
MT: Our entire crew is Emerson. This school has brought us a lot of talent and a lot of options. All we had to do was gather it up into one crew and pray we received the backing to make it a reality.
HCE: What do you think that you have learned from this process that will help you with your BFA?
MT: Nothing is set in stone, and nothing is safe. Never think– it’s okay, we’ll get there somehow. You physically have to get there yourself. Also, make sure you surround yourself with people as dedicated as you are.
HCE: How does your own project compare to sets that you have worked on previously in terms of rigor?
MT: Well, this project is more to the standard of that of a BFA or BA versus a VM120 or a film 2. VM120’s and Film 2’s are about making mistakes. We have a go big or go home kind of situation here. It’s high stress and it’s risky. We are putting sweat, tears, blood, and lots and lots of hours into this.
HCE: How can HerCampus readers find out more about the project?
MT: Check out our page at Indiegogo.com/gloveless We are funding the project as we speak and could use all the help we can get! Or feel free to get ahold of myself or any of the other core members of the crew.