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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 5, 2008 - 47 Film students have reel fun Local students working in Toronto studio By Ryan Bolton SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER It was films like Star Wars and The NeverEnding Story that hooked a young Christopher Giroux into filmmaking. From an early age, Giroux aspired to be where he is today: behind the lens of a camera waiting for the snap of the clapperboard and for the call of "Action!" Sheridan College's advanced film and television program has RYAN BOLTON / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER been at Toronto Film Studios the READY, SET, GO: Sheridan College's advanced film and television program has been working at past couple weeks shooting three- Toronto Film Studios to get the real feel of the business. minute shorts using 35mm film to get a real feel for how the to back six times directed, pro- making was my life, and this year I have realized that industry works. "Very few film schools actually duced, designed and shot by dif- filmmaking kind of became my life." Desormeaux, who has produced various Canadian have that kind of situation and ferent teams with different actors." TV shows and movies, including Due South, is very we're very lucky," said Jean Giroux and Chatley decided to proud of not only the Sheridan students, but the proDesormeaux, program coordinarename their film A Ghostly gram. tor of Sheridan's advanced televi"Oakville should be very proud to have a worldsion and film program. "They can Affair, which is a droll comedy about a man who finds his wife class institution like Sheridan in its territory," he have the best near-professional experience, so that when they go cheating on him, but she makes said. "Our philosophy here is to train filmmakers as her husband believe that the mys- to opposed to making film." for a job, none of this is new." The renowned, quick-paced terious man is in fact a ghost. To stick to industry standards, post-grad course has 42 students the groups had to shoot their who have broken up into groups shorts in 35mm film, to take respective albeit many in the rolls as directors, "Students are industry have shifted editors, continuity, benefitting from to digital filmmaking. light and sound this because not "As educators, we directors and protoo many people feel that if we can ducers, such as are shooting 35mm offer our post-graduGiroux's role in his anymore." ate students a 35mm group. experience, this may The concept is Jean Desormeaux be the only time in pretty simple. Program coordinator their life that they Dubbed the 3X3, actually get to work each group selects a with 35s, because today is a digital three-minute script, casts three said Desormeaux. actors and shoots the film all in world," "Students are benefiting from this one day at a staged set, which was built by Giroux's production team because not too many people are shooting 35mm anymore." at the professional film studios. Although the most expensive The program prompted the method of filmmaking, shooting Toronto writing community to provide scripts for the shorts in in 35mm was possible with the the summer. After receiving 35 help from industry heavyweights submissions, three were elected to Kodak, Panavision, PS Production be made: A Suicide Sonnet, A Services, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group and Fuji Film. Ghost Story and Paint Her. The students in the course take "I'm a big fan of comedy and their work very seriously, right this script (A Ghost Story) is clearly a comedy," said Giroux on down from picking the script, set at Toronto Film Studios. "It pitching their ideas, casting actors just really stood out to both of us and, of course, shooting and edit(director Ali Chatley and myself) ing the end product. Many plan to send their productions off to film and we decided to do it." Although the groups cannot festivals as a means to enter the read just the screenplay or the dia- über-competitive industry, such as logue, they can bring their own Canadian Filmmakers Festival, Toronto Film Festival and the interpretation to the story. "Film isn't always something Niagara Indie Filmfest. "We are really hopping that you personally design, it's somethese films are our first piece of thing you interpret," said Desormeaux. "It's really exciting getting into the industry," said to see the same script appear back Giroux. "I always joked that film-