enterprize

It’s not easy to get into the film industry. It’s even harder to navigate anywhere once inside. However, one University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh student film may find its way onto the DVD of a feature-length documentary in the future.

“Artisan Bloodworking,” a student documentary short, is directed by senior Erik Cieslewicz, 23, who co-edited it with his cinematographer Tim Ziegler, also a student.

The film is mainly an interview with Tom Sullivan, who designed props and did gruesome visual effects for director Sam Raimi’s cult-classic “Evil Dead” films.

Cieslewicz was also proud that they got some “great footage” of Sullivan interacting with his fans.

The “Evil Dead” trilogy tells the story of Ash, played by Bruce Cambell, who, among other things, finds a book that releases evil forces into the world.

“There were a couple things we forgot to get in the interview that we'll need to cut around, making our lives a little harder,” Cieslewicz said. “Copyright may become an issue further down the road depending on how lax some people are about fair use and educational rights to copy written material.”

Richie Yates is in the process of making a feature-length documentary on Sullivan.

“I don't know much about the man myself,” said Cieslewicz about Yates. “Tom actually got the idea of getting our work into his hands. It's still very early in the communication stages right now for that, but I guess we'll see.”

Sullivan was in Oshkosh on April 30 visiting the House of Heroes comic shop. He displayed his “Evil Dead” museum, which contains props and stills, signed autographs and showed “The Evil Dead,” the trilogy’s first installment, complete with live commentary.

He also screened other shorts from the 1980s by Raimi’s usual gang of Scott Spiegel, Rob Tapert, Campbell and Josh Becker. One such film was “Within the Woods,” a film Raimi made to raise funds for “The Evil Dead.”

In the early ’80s, the film industry was looking for young directors with spunk who could connect with audiences, Sullivan explained.

The scene seems a tad rougher today.

“They don't usually get jobs in film,” said Al Folker, director of television services on campus, about Oshkosh radio/TV/film graduates who focus on film. “Most end up [in] TV. It's extremely tough to get into film.”

“I don't know of any in independent film,” he further said.

“Sadly, most film grads feel they have to go to LA to get work, and many do,” said lecturer Francis Perkins, who teaches the documentary class for which Cieslewicz and Ziegler made “Artisan Bloodworking.” “That leaves Wisconsin without homegrown creative talent.”

“It is better if the student has not just focused on film,” she said, “but focused on a particular aspect of film, like post production - then they can better attack the job market, zeroing in like a rifle instead of scattering like a shotgun.”

Cieslewicz hopes to take aim at a distinct market after he graduates in the spring of 2006.

“I'm applying to Southern Methodist University's Guildhall, which is a program geared towards getting a job in interactive media – the fancy way of saying video games.”

The Guildhall program, according to the program’s site at guildhall.smu.edu, is “an intense, 21-month (seven-term), professional development program for digital game developers.”

“I'm also looking into other graduate programs,” Cieslewicz said, “such as [University of South Carolina]'s graduate program in interactive media, as backup plans.”

He wants to go into writing and design and explained how last year the video game industry pulled in more money than movies did.

“As interactive media becomes a more closed-ended, aesthetically pleasing experience, writers are needed to give the game a narrative push,” Cieslewicz said.

Folker emphasized that broadcasting was a promising field, but there are, as Cieslewicz’s case indicates, other areas an RTF student can look into as well.

“Corporate videos are everywhere, in every state, even in the Fox Cities,” Perkins explained. “Commercials are less certain than a full-time job, but pay very well. I freelanced in New York on commercials and broadcast promos almost exclusively, and it's lucrative as well as having a low-time commitment. Not weeks and weeks like a feature film, more like a few days.

“But, you are always worried about where the next job is coming from when you are a freelancer, and a lot of people don't like that feeling. Also, Oshkosh is not in a market where you see freelance production people working all around you, like New York or LA, so [students] don't think of it as a viable option. Even Milwaukee and Madison have a very small pool of freelance producers and crew members - they are out there, but not very visible.”

“More and more, companies are finding that if you understand the moving image,” assistant professor Troy Perkins said, “you can be valuable in producing all types of visual media.” Troy is the husband of Francis and specializes in film and video production.

“I truly believe that the next great art form is video games,” Cieslewicz said. “With so much in the hands of the audience, the player, a new form of narrative is emerging that allows even more interpretation and exploration by the audience. Rather than just riding the rails of the writer/director/etc, the audience is invited to weave the narrative themselves and explore a whole new world of being.”

However, Cieslewicz and Ziegler still have some ideas for “Bloodworking Artisan,” such as putting it into short film festivals and competitions.

“We may still do a new edit for those types of venues,” Cieslewicz said.

“If it were easy, everyone would do it,” Frances Perkins said of filmmaking. “So you have to love it, love it beyond worrying about whether you'll make The Great American Movie or whether you'll pay your bills. You just know you can't do anything else.”

Troy Perkins said the most difficult things are “working long hours on film shoots, getting your foot in the door and being recognized by the people who can hire or the people who have the money to fund films.”

“Entry level pay is poor,” Folker said. “Hours are often not very attractive.”

More successful graduates of the RTF program, as remembered by Folker and Troy Perkins, are Kim Cybulski, producer of “CSI”; Ralph Berge, vice president of Paramount Pictures; Don Smiley, Milwaukee Summerfest director; Kevin Wehrenberg, production manager of “Fear Factor” and Mike Bauman, a professional union gaffer working on Hollywood features.

“Luckily, the skills you learn in our industry and at Oshkosh specifically, meaning all three disciplines of Radio, TV and Film, mean that you can also work practically anywhere,” Frances Perkins said.

“[It was a few years ago and] I hadn't worked in a TV station in 10 years,” she said, “yet in three weeks I had a position as a writer/producer at the local ABC station in Milwaukee. If you're good at what you do, you'll always work.”

“The first and foremost goal of an artistic endeavor, for me, is to have fun,” said Cieslewicz. “And I think we've definitely been doing that so far as we work with the project. However this is a class project, so making a very good film that can get us a good grade is always a plus! I hope, more than anything, that we create something that is a little unique, and above all, utterly entertaining.”