Michael Sparks, a senior who serves as vice president of the Carolina Film Association, was working on multiple projects when campus closed in the spring, including one that was being shot in a cast member’s sorority house full of cast, crew members and other residents.
Months later, that house is no longer a viable filming location.
The statuses of films such as “Tenet,” “Mulan” and “Wonder Woman 1984” have been among the biggest stories in the COVID-19-ravaged entertainment industry this summer. However, student filmmakers at UNC have dealt with many of the same issues, having to delay or cancel several projects due to the pandemic.
While Sparks has been unable to complete that project up until now, the pandemic has not prevented him from continuing to create by posting short films, reviews and cooking videos that he could make by himself on YouTube. He said these projects have helped him become better at planning his films before shooting, instead of improvising on set.
“Sometimes, with a crew, you want to have a plan, but you can make things up sometimes in terms of trying a new thing because you have people there to support and facilitate that,” Sparks said. “When you're doing everything on your own — setting up focus, sound — you don't have the luxury of saying, ‘I want to put the camera here and do this.’”
Instead of posting short films every few months, Sparks was posting videos every week or two, helping him to connect with his viewers.
“It was nice because through making things on my own, it did connect me back with people in a very rewarding way,” Sparks said.
Sparks has also been working with fellow filmmaker and senior Katia Carmichael on a new project entitled "Connections," which follows two people in a long-distance relationship after graduation.
When Carmichael learned one of her principal actors wouldn’t be returning to campus this semester, she rewrote the script so the actor could participate in the film through FaceTime.
