Written by John Mark Adkison
It’s lights, camera and action for the mass communication and English departments as they begin a joint venture with a two-part film course.The first part of the course, Scriptwriting, will take place in the fall of even years (with the exception of this fall, when it begins) and focus on writing scripts for short- and long-form films. The second part, Script Production for Film and Television, will take place in the spring of odd years and concentrate on the production and filming of the scripts written in the fall course.”The immediate purpose is to provide two courses that can satisfy academics needs … but also be a practical course for anybody interested in exploring their own creativity, either in the writing of or producing afilm,” Dr. John Williams, chairman of the English department, said.Williams said the idea for a two-part course came from one of his students, Grant Dillion, a Dec. 2010 graduate, during the latest 5-Minute Film Festival shortly before Dillion graduated. Williams said he loved the idea of a partnership between the English and mass communication departments, particularly in the area of film.As for who will be teaching the course, it will be none other than Dillion, who has a background in film and television.”I came to Harding in the fall of 2003,” Dillion said. “After two years I decided to leave and attend a film school in Burbank, Calif. While in film school I worked several temporary entertainment jobs. My first job after graduating was on the feature-length documentary, “1000 Journals,” directed by Andrea Kreuzhage. However, after the writers’ strike hit in 2008 and the industry was at a standstill, I left LA to finish my degree at Harding.”Dr. Jack Shock, chairman of the mass communication department, said he is enthusiastic about the class and saw it as another opportunity for students to improve their storytelling skill sets. He said Williams came to him to propose the course, telling him, “We’ll provide the words and you provide the production.””One of my goals as chairman of mass communication is to try to develop a culture of collaboration,” Shock said. “I believe that we should reach outside of our own building walls and work with other departments so that we can learn from them and they can learn from us.”Williams said Scriptwriting (English 315) would not require any prerequisites and is open to all upperclassmen, while Shock said Script Production for Film and Television (Comm 315) would require a certain number of front-end skills in order to use the equipment. Students will not be required to take one course if they sign up for the other.”The scriptwriting course will primarily be a workshop-based course, meaning it will be very creation driven and hands-on for the students,” Dillion said. “Script Production for Film and Television will pick up where Scriptwriting leaves off. Students will receive a stack of scripts written by students in Scriptwriting and be given the task of producing ones that they feel are most likely to succeed in terms of being realistically feasible to produce.”Since this new dual-course approach will be Harding’s first foray into film-studies, a whole new area of creative possibility for Harding students is about to be opened up. I can’t wait to see the results that blossom.”
