Spring Break
Swingtime helps launch actors into field
MICHAEL PROCHASKA
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Variety
Local stardom is just a phone call away in Athens. Swingtime Films, an independent video production company, gives students a helpful launch into the acting field.
Matt Zuk, a theatre major from Suwanee, acted in a spoof of the MTV show "My Super Sweet Sixteen."
"It was basically poking fun at how ridiculous that show is and showing a party for a snooty, prissy Southern girl," Zuk said.
The film, titled "My Super Southern Sweet Sixteen," cost Zuk nothing but time during production.
"The films we've done so far haven't cost any money upfront. Instead, we own a portion of the DVDs, so we share profits," said writer/director and part owner Leslie Hedrick.
Swingtime Films invests in a diverse collection of projects. After making two educational videos, one an instructional golf video and the other a modern Schoolhouse Rock type musical titled "Grammar Jammar," they produced an artistic short film featured at the Dixie Film Festival at Carmike Cinemas in October.
"Repercussions," starring University alumna Meagan Thomas, features a woman struggling with infertility.
"She has a turning point where she can either choose to go farther down [into] despair, anger and anxiety, or she can turn around and see there are options such as adoption," Hedrick said. "The message is that no matter what happens in life, there's always the opportunity to get back on the right path."
Thomas said she learned a great deal from her character because the screenplay written by Hedrick was so raw and personal.
"It was a very personal film ... [My husband and I] did have a loss of a child," Hedrick said. "We definitely don't make films for money or accolades. We do it because it really, truly is our passion."
Hedrick said telling a story is the core of their passion.
"From a writing standpoint, you have to use an economy of words to help visually tell your stories. You make it so that people are truly [enraptured] and want to see more," she said.
Matt Zuk, a theatre major from Suwanee, acted in a spoof of the MTV show "My Super Sweet Sixteen."
"It was basically poking fun at how ridiculous that show is and showing a party for a snooty, prissy Southern girl," Zuk said.
The film, titled "My Super Southern Sweet Sixteen," cost Zuk nothing but time during production.
"The films we've done so far haven't cost any money upfront. Instead, we own a portion of the DVDs, so we share profits," said writer/director and part owner Leslie Hedrick.
Swingtime Films invests in a diverse collection of projects. After making two educational videos, one an instructional golf video and the other a modern Schoolhouse Rock type musical titled "Grammar Jammar," they produced an artistic short film featured at the Dixie Film Festival at Carmike Cinemas in October.
"Repercussions," starring University alumna Meagan Thomas, features a woman struggling with infertility.
"She has a turning point where she can either choose to go farther down [into] despair, anger and anxiety, or she can turn around and see there are options such as adoption," Hedrick said. "The message is that no matter what happens in life, there's always the opportunity to get back on the right path."
Thomas said she learned a great deal from her character because the screenplay written by Hedrick was so raw and personal.
"It was a very personal film ... [My husband and I] did have a loss of a child," Hedrick said. "We definitely don't make films for money or accolades. We do it because it really, truly is our passion."
Hedrick said telling a story is the core of their passion.
"From a writing standpoint, you have to use an economy of words to help visually tell your stories. You make it so that people are truly [enraptured] and want to see more," she said.
