ENTERTAINMENT
SETTING THE
SCENE
Student movie makers come together to tell stories on the silver screen. BY KATRINA CARLSON | PHOTOS BY ELLIE HABEL | DESIGN BY ELLIE SABATINO
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n an interview with Hollywood Outbreak, Michael Keaton once referred to filmmaking as “the ultimate team sport.” The sport of filmmaking encourages the coming together of diverse and creative minds to produce art that makes a couple hours feel like a minute. Like any other sport, filmmaking teams in Athens need a stadium. The Athena Cinema is a historic and beloved hub of Ohio University’s college town, and its long-term existence serves as proof of a legacy of film on campus. According to the Athens County Visitors Bureau, the Athena opened in 1915, making it over a century old. After owner changes and a fire in 1988, the Athena is now owned by OU and operated by the College of Fine Arts. It is used to house new releases, classic and independent work and most notably, student produced work.
OU offers several opportunities for students looking to produce their own work. As the home of both AVW Studios and Rough Cut Collective, the university’s two major film production organizations, students can join a team of like-minded individuals to gain experience in filmmaking. Created in 1980, AVW Studios originally served as a telecommunications network for students and has since evolved into film production, according to AVW President Akira Jakkson. Akira Jakkson, a senior studying integrated media production, is the current president and treasurer of AVW Studios. Jakkson says the focus of the organization is to “give students handson experiences on film sets with the newest technologies, and we also want to elevate and include diverse stories that may otherwise go unheard or unseen.”
Rough Cut Collective functions similarly; many students participate in both organizations or collaborate on projects with one another, according to Jakkson. Turner Burton, a junior studying music production and recording industry and the treasurer of Rough Cut Collective, says he joined Rough Cut when looking for ways to get involved. He grew to appreciate its unique qualities compared to other opportunities on campus. “There’s nothing else really like it on campus,” Burton says. “I don’t know of many clubs that have a focus on learning film. It’s such a low stakes environment where people can be creative, and there’s an opportunity to try everything that you want to try.”
Rough Cut members in the studio during the production of a new short film titled Submarine Movie.
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backdrop | Spring 2023