Fourth-year world arts and cultures student Kristen Harkey scored a front row seat at Bruin Bash her freshman year. Despite her close proximity to the stage, it was the bright yellow Campus Events Commission shirts that she remembers most distinctly from that night.
Harkey has now been a member of CEC for the past four years, and is currently the director of the annual Shorttakes Film Festival, which will be taking place Tuesday night inside Ackerman Grand Ballroom. The event will showcase 10 student-made short films, and the night will include raffle prizes, free food and a panel of guest judges.
“I became passionate about film by joining CEC,” Harkey said. “Film is a competitive field and the event’s a great way to network, even if you’re just doing it for fun.”
One finalist, fourth-year Design | Media Arts student Alex Takacs, is no stranger to video production. As a kid, Takacs said he grew up making videos with his dad and long-time friend and co-director Joe Nankin, with whom he co-founded the production team Young Replicant in 2008. This is Takacs’ third year competing in the festival, and his past films have been awarded “Best Drama” and “Best Live Action.” This year, Takacs is submitting two music videos, which he refers to as “labors of love.”
Takacs describes the process of collaborating on the films with a team of up to 15 people as quite a challenge.
“It’s about having authority but knowing how to delegate and knowing when to let other people follow their instincts,” Takacs said. “If there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, it can fall apart really quickly.”
Another finalist, second-year economics student Donna Du, also describes the challenges of working in a group.
“It’s hard to give someone else your ideas and let them run with it,” Du said.
Du’s interest in film was sparked as a senior in high school when she made her first film for an English project. She has written, shot and edited 10 short films since then. A self-described detail-oriented person, Du said she has taken up to four weeks to edit a three-minute video.
“Attention to detail is what distinguishes a great film from an OK film.” Du said.
Despite the time-consuming challenges of video production, Du said she hopes to pursue it as a future career.
“The amalgamation of film, visuals and sound is the one medium where I feel like I can express myself,” Du said.