Making films is nothing new for Cal Harris. He entered the recent Morehead Film Challenge with high hopes for his film, "Into the Fires of War and Destruction." This film was among 12 he has done, including one that aired on KET and one that was shown in England at "Zombie Fest."
Out of nine films entered, Harris' film took first place. "Into the Fires of War and Destruction" is a film about a small theatre company that is trying to make money by making a bad WWII film starring MSU theater majors. They came up with their idea Friday evening, and presented it Monday.
"It was definitely a group effort," Harris said. "Everyone that was in the film also helped write it, produce it, and make it."
Harris said the group tried to think of the easiest way to make a war film without all the costumes and special FX. The film could be described as a mixture between "The Office" and "Tropic Thunder" but the group tried its best not to copy the films.
Harris said he picked the topic because it is his specialty.
It's a lot easier for his group to be funny than dramatic, Harris said, adding, he wanted the audience to believe the actors were real people in the film and that it is a real situation. He didn't want anything spectacular like a large-scale war scene.
Harris said he and his friend Matt Hatfield wrote the script around the actors. They knew what the actors could and could not do, and tried to base their film on what they thought the actors were capable of. They tried to decide what they thought would be funny for the individuals to act out.
Harris said he started writing the film Friday night, started filming at 12 p.m. Saturday, and edited Sunday. He said it took four hours to film, and five hours to edit.
Harris entered the Film Challenge because that's what he has a passion for. This is his third year entering the challenge and he said he thinks it's a great opportunity to have fun and create a wonderful piece of entertainment in just one weekend.
Harris said he wasn't surprised when his group won.
"We all work very hard on the film challenge," he said. "I have a lot of creative people to support me in my work. I'm always nervous during the film challenge. It's more of an excitement than nervous just because I worry that people might not like the film."
This will be Harris' last Morehead Film Challenge because he's graduating. He encourages other students to enter the Film Challenge, saying it's a great opportunity to create really wonderful works of art.
"There's nothing better than seeing your film on the big screen and hear the audience enjoy it," Harris said.