After UT brought in notable speakers such as Gregg Hale, the producer of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and Fabio Arber, who was a line producer for ‘Miami Ink,’ UT film students gathered to shoot a short film.
The film,’The Source, is about a vice cop named Kevin Waterman who accidentally kills a civilian child while working on a routine case.
At the same time, a new kingpin, only referred to as ‘the source’ is taking over the town. Waterman sees a new goal in catching ‘the source’ and bringing his life back on track.
The movie is written and directed by junior Joshua Long, who worked as an Assistant Director at the Northwest Florida State College, as well as on a number of thesis films at UT, FSU and NYU. He was inspired by watching the Show ‘DEA’ on Spike, where an unknown gangster was referred to as ‘the source.’
Furthermore, this action movie is influenced by his belief in God.
Upon gradutaion, he would like to become a director. Most people see the director as the big guy in charge, Long says, while he sees his role as small. He stresses the importance of being focused.
‘If there is no focus, the film will suffer,’ Long said.
Nevertheless, he enjoys directing through the numerous nights with just three hours of sleep.
On the set, Long focuses on the details, making sure that the people involved are motivated and driven.
The kickoff for the movie was the last Thanksgiving break, when he decided to write the script. After revising it over the Holiday break, he scouted for the perfect location for the setting.
He also looked for actors from around and outside the school. The shoot began last Friday.
Senior Zach Remos, the production designer of the movie, heard about the script and was immediately drawn to the story.
He helped Long revise over the break. Remos assisted in casting the film as well as making sure that the set and the costumes looked authentic.
‘The project is a huge investment, mentally, physically and monetary. But that’s what every film needs,’ Remos said.
Clint Morino, the documentarian, filmed the behind the scenes of the film. He met Long in Professor Tom Garrett’s production class.
After the two dicovered that they like to ‘strike when the iron is hot,’ they decided to work together.
Being aware about the importance of time management and dedicated work he says that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Andrew Ortoski, the director of photography, said that the small budget was mainly used to rent additional equipment, such as the Red One Camera.
‘As A DP, I’m excited to be able to film this project using the state of the art red one camera. It will give us the look of film while having the flexibility of shooting on digital,’ he said.
The shoot is on UT’s campus, in the Tampa bay metro area, Nico’s Diner, The Don Vincente Inn and the Sacred Heart Church.
‘Money is not the issue, they either want you or not’ said Michael Long, professor and producer. Film friendly locations are always an enormous help for student movies, since they have very limited funding.
The movies is supposed to be released in the summer. The crew is looking forward to submit it to a number of film festivals.
Look for ‘The Source’ production on campus. The release of the film is yet to be announced.
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