Since the film’s premiere at local Real to Reel Theatres, “Mindscapes” has became quite a success, for it is, after all, the first of its kind here at the university.
At the close of this year’s spring semester, students were enthralled to be the first to see ETSU’s very first high-definition short film, a production put together by a group of students.
At the April 27 premiere, all 178 seats were quickly filled up, and half of all of the ticket sales went to the Department of Broadcasting. If you didn’t get your chance to see it, you may be in luck … the film is currently under discussion for a review.
“One thing we are really hoping to do with this film is to show people what can be done with high definition,” said co-director Andrew Savage. “We’re hoping to inspire the department to invest in more advanced filming equipment for students to use in the future.”
Although director Tim Altonen states that “the broadcasting department was very helpful,” it simply wasn’t able to provide them with the equipment that they needed to achieve the sort of level that they were aiming for, like the ability to shoot the production in high-definition.
Not familiar with the filming terms? Neither was I. Lo-def, hi-def; if you’re anything like me you probably wouldn’t have even known there was a difference.
Your attention focuses more towards the content of the movie than the quality of the picture, right? Well, actually … you would probably surprise yourself.
“People are use to seeing low-definition television programs and home videos,” Savage explained. “Until recently, most TV shows were low quality … now more and more shows are turning to the higher quality picture delivered … just like you would see in a movie theatre.”
Altonen wrote the script over the summer and the crew logged well over 60 hours into the film over the past two semesters. “We’ve easily put at least 20 hours a week into this thing,” he adds.
Normally the filming is planned out before it’s captured and then edited later when it is cut down to the wanted sections – but they took a different approach.
“We did use a general shot list,” Altonen said, “but specific sequences had to be come up with on the spot … usually the case in action scenes.”
Science fiction and conspiracy fans will find the film right up their alley. “Mindscapes” is the story of a young man by the name of Sam, portrayed by Mark Johnson, and his quest for truth in a life of blurry edges and masked strangers. ?
Kept constantly gassed and drugged by the government for experimentation, Sam is unaware of his own abilities as he slips in and out of consciousness. To the dismay of government official Gutman (Trevor Stout), Sam is getting dangerously close to breaking free. The film, while unrated, contains some drug use and explicit language. “Mindscapes” is 35 minutes long and was shot entirely in the Warf Pickel building.
The script, nominated a few months ago, received the winner of the Murvin Perry Award for Creative Achievement.
The DVD can be purchased in SD or HD by contacting Savage at (423) 794-7144. It will include the trailer and several behind-the-scene features.
The trailer can be viewed at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4466201506647543620&hl=en.

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