Jake and Elizabeth capture their shot while our actors do their thing.

By Elizabeth Derstine

So, in less than two weeks I will be done at Goshen College (not done with college though; I have the opportunity to attend the Los Angeles Film Studies Center for my final undergrad semester.) It feels more than kind of crazy to me that I am beginning to prep for real-people world. Just this week I began the process of applying for jobs that don’t pay by the hour.  While working on my resume and cover letters I was startled by how much I have done at FiveCore. This semester alone, I saw 9 videos from preproduction to completion and helped shoot five or six others. Specifically, the Good of Goshen campaign allowed me to work in every part of the video creation process. Each of the partners (Goshen Community Schools, Goshen College, the Chamber of Commerce, and the City) receive four videos–one of which is a 60-second commercial. And I was given the reins on the the Goshen College commercial.

We have the whole gate to ourselves to get the perfect shot.

I became involved while the script was still being tampered with, and was able to share my opinion on how best to convey the commercial’s message in the tight 60 seconds.  The brunt of my work, however, was scheduling. This probably sounds like far from the most exciting part of film production, right? Nope. I loved it. Finding times that worked for our cast and crew and location was like putting together a giant puzzle: a multi colored one with the aid of Google Calendar. The cherry on top was organizing a shoot at the South Bend airport. To begin with, I had to send really professional-sounding emails to the communications coordinator at the airport to see if it was even possible for us to film there and how to require the permission to do so. Next, there needed to be a very fine-tuned idea of what we needed to capture while there, since we had to be supervised by a security guard the whole time we were at the airport (it felt super legitimate.) Finally, a timeslot that both our cast and crew could set aside for the trek over to the airport (about a 45 minute dive). After having nightmares the night before about the airport refusing to let us in because our cameras were too fancy or some other dream logic, the shoot went without a hitch and I walked away with a solid story for an interview.

Keep checking the website for the commercial “The Job” to be posted!