Student filmmakers had a chance to show their work at Harper’s Downtown, 131 Albert Ave., Thursday night during a program called Lawn Shorts.
With a big turnout, despite the change of venue from the rock on Farm Lane, Harper’s downstairs club was pounding with noise and excitement but no alcohol. After about 40 minutes, drinks were cut-off to let minors in to see the movies.
Starting off the evening was “the Space Between,” by Mike Compton, a telecommunication senior. Compton, besides making his own film, managed the entire Lawn Shorts project.
Compton’s movie was a look at the split between party/sex life and class. Set to a soundtrack of popular and contemporary music, a random guy and girl hook-up through the nightlife in East Lansing.
Second was “Every Third Hit,” about a graduated student who comes back to MSU to initiate an intramural extreme badminton program. The audience seemed to enjoy watching badminton players get tackled in this short by Matt Beuckelare, who is studying abroad this semester.
“Under Construction: Finding Our Way” was a documentary of the local band Under Construction and its path to success. Made by bandmember and advertising junior Jesse Young, this film brought out quite a few fans.
Jon Schulz’s “Choi Bear” was also a hit with the audience. In this short, a guy dressed in a bear suit named Choi lives in the woods in his beat-up truck but moves to the city to seek his fortune. He can’t speak, but writes in inspirational couplets to bring happiness to the city. And he knows martial arts - go figure.
“It’s a film about a bear that comes to the city to find a piece of mind,” said Schulz, a 2001 graduate. “It’s an age-old metaphysical quest about the balance between personal space and loneliness.”
Tyler Blair’s “the Blair Movie Project” also premiered. Blair, a marketing junior, attempted to film a pseudo documentary about raves this summer in Grand Rapids, but his plans were thwarted by police and ended in several actors being carted off to jail.
“The Blair Movie Project” is a real documentary about the failed original fake documentary with added scenes mocking “The Blair Witch Project.”
English junior Ryan Gaffke’s “Canoes on the Avenue” was the last presentation of the evening.
Reminiscing about the evening, Kristine Sosladil, a music education junior, said she was not sure what she expected from the event.
“I think that the rave one was the most captivating,” she said. “They weren’t planning on it being the kind of movie it was.
“It shows realistically what can go wrong.”
Humanities-Pre-law senior Paul Balog, who had friends involved with Lawn Shorts, said he enjoyed several of the films.
“‘Choi Bear’ had a great sense of humor,” he said. “It was just really funny.”
