“Bad Company” is an hour-long documentary focusing on the changes in the Great Lakes since the end of the last ice age. It shows the effects of different types of invasive species that have entered the area through the creation of man-made canals and other waterways.

Journalism professor Lou D’Aria began producing the film in 2009 with the help of students in his video production class. He also works for the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and has years of experience as a photojournalist in San Francisco.

One of the main points D’Aria wants people to come away with is that one doesn’t need a lot of resources to create good work. The entire documentary was filmed with equipment either he or his students already owned. Certain editing software was the only thing provided to them by the university.

“I want to show people that you don’t need $500,000 worth of equipment to make a documentary,” D’Aria said. “We have no budget for this, we’re doing it for free.”

He enlisted the help of students on the project by asking for volunteers through group e-mails to his classes. Usually, most students came out to at least one of the shootings, D’Aria said. He expressed his passion to help students learn the finer points of documentary video.

“It’s invaluable experience as a student because it’ll come in handy when you get out there,” he said. “Coming into my office and working with me on these things is better than reading out of a textbook.”

Second-year graduate student Hsiao-Han Hung, a student of D’Aria’s, was hoping to come away with inspiration Monday night from the film after hearing about the premier.

“I’m trying to create my own documentary, and this would be a good example I could learn from,” she said.

MSU alumnus Matt Mikus is one of the co-producers of the film. He began working with D’Aria while serving as an intern in his class as a senior. He worked on the film until he graduated, however, production wasn’t finished at that time.

Mikus said his role was to conduct the interviews and gather research. On certain days, Mikus would teach D’Aria’s class while working on the project.

“The documentary is more for general audiences, anybody could get the idea that there’s a lot going on with the environment, and it’s almost impossible to stop,” Mikus said.

The real value of the film to students is in the experience, Mikus said. He applied for a joint internship with the Knight Center and WKAR his senior year, and a year later he was co-producing a documentary.

“My suggestion is for any student that if you see an opportunity that you can afford to take, there’s no reason to say no as long as you’re here (at MSU),” he said.