Film students present art that speaks

Some feelings can be difficult to express and sometimes words aren’t enough. Luckily, the three UCLA film students behind the Internet advice Web site and new mtvU show “How Do I Say This?” are pioneering new methods of communication for those who find it hard to say things.

“We really want to show that one of the best ways to work through things, reach people and communicate is by creating art,” said Dagmar Weaver-Madsen, a graduate student in the cinematography masters program.

The site features videos, photography, sculpture, music and poetry. One video portrays the dilemma of a girl trying to tell her ex-boyfriend she wants him back. Set in the symbolic foreground of a Civil War battlefield, cannon fire blasts through apartment walls, bullets break pottery, and soldiers struggle around the estranged couple.

This explosive video was inspired by a girl who wrote to the site and it is just one example of the site’s particular blend of YouTube-meets-Alcoholics Anonymous creative process.

Basing their project on sites like PostSecret and Four Eyed Monsters, the creative team of graduate directing student Vanessa Rojas, graduate producers program student Loretta Ramos and Weaver-Madsen created the Web site as a collision of mediums.

Visitors to the site are presented with a problem, and then share their experiences and stories in a forum. Artists, poets, and musicians in residence then create various media inspired by these community responses to post on the site.

Rojas, Ramos and Weaver-Madsen cast a directorial eye over the various user-submitted content; they condense the issue and its solution into a video that is as evocative and varied as the community that inspires it.

“We did a Valentine’s Day episode last year where we made a music video for a band that we approached over Myspace. … We got so much positive response that in the fall, mtvU approached us with the possibility of TV,” said Ramos.

The videos caught the eye of mtvU.com when “How Do I Say This?” was featured on the site’s broadband channel. And this month, a television version of “How Do I Say This?” debuts on mtvU’s fall lineup.

“I think it’s the wave of the future,” said Stephen K. Friedman, general manager and executive vice president of mtvU. “It has a strong interactive element so people get to weigh in, but still provides a strong, clear perspective through the chaos. … It’s smart.”

The show will air 21 episodes total, split into three segments, the first of which starts this fall. Each segment consists of six episodes building to a finale which will be posted online. The video can be sent to anyone whom viewers are having trouble communicating with. The segments will address topics such as how to tell your roommate that he’s a slob, how to come out to friends and family, and another Valentine’s day music video on how to tell your crush how you feel.

The collaboration with mtvU has been a particularly fruitful one, allowing the creators of “How Do I Say This?” to reach new audiences and use new mediums.

MtvU “really loves students and their ideas. They’re really open to out-of-the-box stuff, so they’ll let us do ““ within reason ““ whatever we want to do,” Weaver-Madsen said.

The new show will leverage the artistic resources of the forum community, artists in residence, and various kinds of media to create its videos.

“It’s a great example of transcending a single medium and weaving it across various mediums,” Friedman said.

Added Ramos, “We really want the audience to participate and give us suggestions on how to make that final video. It really is the heart of the site ““ the community action and the support.”

The site’s creators hope to use the combined artistic ability and experiences of the online community to create videos that will help students who just can’t find the right words.

“The fundamental purpose of the site was advice … (and) using the Internet community as something you could hold on to no matter where you are,” Ramos said. “It’s really about trying to help people.”

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