EU Films

Communication students learn film production in a variety of ways at Evangel, including the Film Workshop, otherwise known as EU Films. EU Films is a student organization that supports student filmmaking by providing guidance, equipment and means of distribution. In the Film Workshop, students work on a feature-like film over the course of the semester. They write scripts, audition actors, shoot and direct scenes, and edit the film for the movie premiere at the end of each semester. The film produced is typically 40 to 50 minutes in length.

Students selected for the film staff also learn management skills. Any student may apply for the executive staff positions of producer, director, director of photography and editor. Positions are assigned each semester. A list of films previously produced by the Film Workshop includes the following:

• A Road Less Traveled (2006) – A drama about a young man who loses his way, then finds it again.
• Taking Chances (2007) – An inner-city college student finds life at a upper-class college to be tough.
• Better Than Real (2007) – A young woman suffering with narcolepsy prefers her dreams to reality.
• Save the Phoenix (2008) – Three college kids fight to save an old, downtown theater from closing.
• The Red Seal (2008) – A woman is caught between breaking the law and saving her sister from kidnappers.
• Untitled Track (2009) – A songwriter decides breaking up with girls inspires his music, but this gets him into a lot of girl trouble.
• Parhadis (2009) – An alien flees his troubled planet to find help on Earth. Though Earth cannot help, he finds friendship—but at a cost.
• Double Shot (2010) – A private investigator thinks he has killed a man by accident and tries to blame it on an ex-convict.

The Film Workshop is currently working on a Christmas comedy to be released in December, 2010.

All of the films produced by EU Films either explicitly or implicitly integrate our faith and values into the stories. Good storytelling is imperative in good filmmaking. Students learn to integrate their faith and values into their films and then are guided to polish these stories into screenplays for production.

EU Films uses HD digital cameras (Sony XDCAM) for acquisition, edits on Avid Media Composer, creates special effects using Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D, sweetens sound in Apple Soundtrack Pro and Pro Tools, and projects the final film in HD on the wide screen. Students learn audio recording, lighting setup, videography, directing and many other film-related skills. Once a film has been shown on the big screen for the student body (and anyone else who wishes to come from the community), it is shown on ECTV cable channels that reach both the campus and the city of Springfield. EU Films are also submitted for contests and film festivals. Film clips are available through www.crusadermedia.com.

The faculty advisor for EU Films is Dr. Cameron A. Pace.