‘Polaroids’ captures issues of homeless living on the street

For nearly two months, the Motion Picture Production class has been working hard on their latest film, “Polaroids,” which is the working title for the movie.

Students Chloe O’Connor and Danny Brown are the directors of the film and 13 of their classmates have been helping them as actors and crew members.
[podcast]https://www.obusignal.com/podcasts/chloeoconnorpolaroids.mp3[/podcast]

O’Connor wrote the script in the Script Development class her sophomore year. She was inspired by a trip to New York City during the Christmas break before the spring class.

“While I was there, I was really moved by the problem of homelessness in New York City and how people just walk by them on the streets and don’t think anything of it,” O’Connor said. “I wanted to write a script about someone who is that person and how that person can change if they know the story behind the person they see on the streets.”

The film follows the story of a college-aged student named Greg, played by student Greg Schwartz. He is a senior at a film school and is assigned to make a documentary on the homeless in his town.

“While he is making this documentary, he makes a friend who is homeless,” Brown said. “His friend’s name is Cory and he is played by Trey Baldwin. The story is just two friends hanging out, but for the most part Greg is learning life lessons from this homeless man.”

A central element to the film is a Polaroid camera. The character Greg takes a Polaroid picture to begin his interviews.

“That’s how they open up and talk,” Brown said. “It’s kind of like an icebreaker.”

The class started filming Sept. 10 and they hope to be finished by the end of November. They want to premiere the film next semester and hope to enter it in a few film festivals.

O’Connor and Brown are planning a shoot for all of the night scenes on Nov. 14 from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. These scenes will be shot a local church, Young Auditorium two Lancelot apartments and the Amtrak station.

“I would love if people could come out and be extras,” O’Connor said. “We’re going to send out e-mails, and we’ll probably do a Facebook event. Even if you can only come for one scene, we would love to see you there.”

The class received a $500 Kluck Student Enrichment Grant which completely funds their film. Despite their low budget, the class has put much effort into making this project into an impacting quality film.
“People will hopefully get something out of this film,” O’Connor said. “It has a message, but it’s not pushed. You can enjoy the film and still feel like something needs to be done about the issue of homelessness.”