On the weekend before Thanksgiving, it was an incredible delight to find the house abuzz once again with the fabulous and well-coordinated activity of another film project by students from the UNCSA School of Filmmaking. (We were gifted another production just two weeks prior, much to our delight.) Directed by Quincy Kern-Johnson, cinematography by Lydia Pope, and written by Neal Moneyhun, the keys and techs and talent spent a day and a half using the dining room as a location to stage a conference room arbitration scene.
Plenty of other rooms were understandably pressed into service, for the video village, hair/makeup/wardrobe, craft services, cameras and lenses, sound design, art department, and even a green room for the talent to hang out in between takes and scenes.
Reduced in scope from last year’s much larger productions, it was nonetheless awesome to still watch the crafting of art, the collegial endeavor, the interplay of ideas and vision.
Neal brings imagination and clever constructions to wonderfully well-woven storylines, and it feels like such great fortune that this is now the second of Neal’s scripts to find the Roediger House suitable for shooting.
Both Quincy and Lydia have previously worked here on films and their return was happily anticipated. Watching them guide the production with grace and joy was its own reward, and they kept the endeavor on track with their gifted touch and uncompromising consideration for all involved.
Plenty of other familiar student and actor faces were included but it was also a joy for a few new friends to be made. The natural staged progression of students through their respective sequences at the UNC School of the Arts offers this treasured chance, with each film, to see individuals pass through in different roles and with increasing responsibility.
I doubt I will ever tire of expressing admiration for their skill and talent, their collaboration, their genuine passion, and the unceasing generosity of spirit to one another and to the happy homeowners.
If more proof is required, please take note above of the sweetest expressions of their thanks!
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