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Johnny Coffeen said, "Meditation was a must every single morning. It really calmed me down, relieved stress, and put me in the childlike state needed to create such an intuitive film. I couldn't wait until I could take those 20 minutes to myself and let go."
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by Livia Cole at Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, USA, The Review, and by Laura Muzzarelli at Maharishi University of Management website blog
4 October 2016
Johnny Coffeen, a 2015 graduate of Maharishi University of Management's David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts, was chosen as a winner last month in the alternative category of the Student Academy Awards for his thesis film The Swan Girl.
Seventeen students were selected from a record number of entries that included 1,749 films from 381 colleges and universities around the world. He is the first student from Maharishi University of Management (MUM) to win such an award.
The Swan Girl, an experimental short film combining live actors and stop-motion animation, tells the story of an artist mysteriously held captive in a studio who sculpts complex figures to atone for his past mistakes. Mr. Coffeen directed, filmed, edited, co-wrote, and acted in his film.
David Lynch was recently able to watch The Swan Girl and said it was "pretty damn good."
Mr. Coffeen was inspired by Mr. Lynch's approach to Eraserhead, which was to gradually shoot the film piece by piece for six years in order to make a 90-minute film. In the case of The Swan Girl, it took six months to shoot the 15-minute short film.
"Due to the intensity of what The Swan Girl was trying to pull off, we would work 12 to 16-hour days six days a week," Mr. Coffeen said. "Meditation was a must every single morning. It really calmed me down, relieved stress, and put me in the childlike state needed to create such an intuitive film. I couldn't wait until I could take those 20 minutes to myself and let go.
"I would often solve creative problems in that short period following meditation where you’re gently coming back to reality. Truly a life-changing technique for any artist. Another vital aspect of attending Lynch’s program was making lifelong friendships with my classmates."
Regarding his experience at MUM, he said, "“Attending MUM was certainly a consciousness-expanding experience where I witnessed the highs and lows of my ego. I’m forever striving for the middle path. Not to sound so Buddhist, but I’ve always believed in balance. Meditation allows you to confront who you really are, which is absolutely, positively the very most important discovery an artist striving to be innovative and fresh must realize.”
He is a 2010 graduate of California State University San Bernardino with a bachelor's degree in communication studies. He has worked as a music video director, documentary director, and video editor. His 2010 directorial debut, Happy Medium, explored a sculptor's process, aesthetic philosophies, and transition into stop-motion animation filmmaking.
© Copyright 2016 Maharishi University of Management
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