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Faculty, students screen new feature film at Sondheim A 90-minute feature film written and produced by Maharishi University of Management (MUM) faculty, and extensively involving students as part of their three-course sequence in film production last spring, received its first screening last month at the Sondheim Theater. "It was quite satisfying for the students to see their work on the big screen," said film instructor Donald Revolinski, who was the film's producer. "It certainly was for me. We had over 300 people from the cast, crew, and the community join us for the screening." Students were involved in all facets, including assistant director, set design, lighting, props, stunt coordination, transportation, wardrobe, hair and makeup, and visual effects. Written and directed by faculty member Cullen Thomas, The Vindication of Ronald Clay has a 17-member cast that includes MUM alumni, a Maharishi School student, members of the community, Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy, and experienced film actors from Des Moines, Iowa City, Oskaloosa, and Burlington. Shot on location in Fairfield, Iowa, the film is described as a smart, stylistic adventure about the interwoven fables of five patrons to a coffee shop at the center of the universe. Set in an alternate timeline where Napoleon's descendents rule Europe, the movie is equal parts Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, and The Princess Bride, with spies, lies, and machinations, culminating in a confrontation between the forces of good, evil, and the utterly mundane. Mr. Revolinski said that the initial screening wasn't the premiere. "We're still editing it, but we wanted to share the film because we felt that the 50 cast and crew members deserved to see it." He was also eager to share it with the community. The premiere will be held this winter. The film is currently being submitted to forthcoming film festivals. Mr. Revolinski said that it took six weeks to write the script, six weeks to do preproduction, and six weeks to film. But it has now taken 13 months to edit. The editing has been slowed because the film was shot digitally in a "raw" format, which takes more time to transcode in post-production, but also gives the film's creators more post-production control over elements such as colors and lighting. Another reason for the early screening was to gauge how the cinematography, which was done with a state-of-the art Red One digital camera, looked on the big screen. "It looked fantastic," Mr. Revolinski said. He said he's hopeful that the film will get limited distribution, but there is a backup plan in place for a Web release next spring if that doesn't happen. The Web release would be done in episodic fashion, as was done with the earlier student film Wormtooth Nation.
© Copyright 2012, Maharishi University of Management
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