Cauldron

Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: Sports & Clubs

Media Credit: Priscilla Bigner Director's Cut club members study footage in The Lab with club president Jenaire Jerome.

The University's filmmaking club, Director's Cut, sponsored an event hosted by Houston Film Commission representative Alfred Cervantes on Sept. 25. The films screened were all made in Houston, with the exception of one that was directed by a Rice University graduate and was shot in Tokyo.

"It was really interesting to see the films, especially the one shot in Japan," senior liberal arts major and club president Jenaire Jerome said.

The idea for the club, known to members as "D-Cut," was formed after Jerome and senior drama major David Landry decided during their freshman year that they wanted to become more connected to the UST community.

"David and I were both on the same wavelength in that we wanted to get involved on campus and we both liked movies," Jerome said. "As the time passes, I've seen that maintaining a club is not as easy as it looks."

Director's Cut is not limited to hosting events on campus. The club's purpose, as stated in their constitution, is to "provide an infrastructure to create cinematic material."

The next project, which will be the first Director's Cut movie, will revolve around a student-made script.

"We haven't decided which script to use," Jerome said. "The one that is already written is a parody of 'The Matrix' and the other idea, which is still floating around in my head, is a parody of 'American Idol.' Once we figure that out, we'll shoot it."

There have been attempts by the club in the past to film an entire movie, including a movie treasure hunt on campus, but Jerome said scheduling has been a problem. The technical aspect of directing has also been a setback.

"Taking shots from multiple cameras is difficult, as are special effects - 3-D in particular," Jerome said. "Sound is another problem, altogether."

Currently, the club consists of about four active members and a mailing list of about 30 interested people.

"Occasionally I'll send out an email to let our mailing list know what is going on but I think our membership is small because our advertising isn't very bombastic," Jerome said. "But that is something that we are looking to work on."

Even though D-Cut has had problems in drawing students' attention on campus, Jerome said he remains confident in his vision and hopes to see new faces at the club meetings.

The club's next open meeting will be Oct. 23 at 12:30 p.m. in the media room downstairs in Doherty Library. "Don't be shy to come to meetings," Jerome said. "The camera doesn't really add 10 pounds."

Students interested in pursuing film professionally or as a hobby, and those interested in doing publicity for a campus organization should email Jerome at dcut@stthom.edu.

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