In the Arts

In The Arts

Challenges of Covid-19 in the Arts

Just four months after the Covid-19 Pandemic began in 2020, the Division of Fine Arts was faced with the question of how Northeast Mississippi Community College’s (NEMCC) Theatre Department would survive without the benefit of a live audience for college productions. Beginning March 10^th, 2020 – our school’s faculty, students, and the public couldn't meet for in-person classes, much less assemble in an enclosed theater. 

Christopher Schager, Director of NEMCC's Theatre Department, describes his efforts to keep theatre active during the pandemic:

"In July 2020, NEMCC English Instructor Amanda Burcham-Garvin sent me a script she had penned during the COVID isolation about her great-grandfather, George Bullard. Small Town Prisoner (STP) is an authentic story about a Booneville, MS native who served as a fire commissioner for the city’s Board of Alderman. A short script, I felt that it’s local story would be a good fit for our community college program due to the town’s familiarity with the subject matter. I offered Amanda the opportunity for us to film the play for three reasons: first, my attraction to original scripts for the last 25 years. Secondly, I could shoot the short film piece-meal while observing COVID-19 protocols, and thirdly, our NEMCC students could still mount a fall production - and perhaps gain a much wider audience on YouTube and Zoom than they ever could with a live theater audience.

With Amanda Garvin’s approval, we moved ahead with pre-production for the film on July 1^st, 2020. We acquired both local and NEMCC alumni actors, adjusted our Theatre budget for film, and acquired professional talents Steve Miller for set design, Chris Dunn for sound design, Rene Pulliam for costume design, Patrick Hudson for lighting design, and Justin Tyler for makeup design. The cameraman was an Oxford, MS native Matt Wymer, who served both as cameraman and overall advisor on film production for Northeast Theatre. The shooting was scheduled for September 21^st and 22^nd, and the editing was completed on December 2^nd, 2020. The cast and production team for STP were very proud of their new film, and we celebrated it’s premier the following February with a presentation offered by the author herself, Amanda Burcham-Garvin."

Not As Easy As It Looks...

Schager describes the experience of filming Small Town Prisoner: 

"It is worth noting that as an instructor – I was dissatisfied with the lack of efficiency and productivity that the older film technology had to offer us during the days of production. We found the film equipment required for our production to be bulky, touchy, and temperamental. It’s true we had no experience with the equipment thrust upon us, but the labor-intensive machinations of the gear seemed to overwhelm us. Mostly however, we found the set-up period for such equipment too time consuming to mount and operate, especially with our lack of experience. Our first day of shooting began two hours late due to constant setbacks with the technology. The sound equipment was inconsistent and tiresome to operate. The space required to prepare, store, or even secure the equipment was problematic. The high-end gear was both fragile and extremely expensive. It was very stressful, not to mention disappointing that my students were sidelined from the filming experience due to equipment only the cameraman could handle. We couldn't use our scheduled shooting time to train the NEMCC students on distant technology – and it was distressing to watch the students lose heart during the slow pace of achieving even a single shot. In full disclosure, we spent 45 minutes on 2 faulty microphones on our first afternoon session. There’s an expression in the film industry on days of shooting when great delays can occur due to technical difficulties, “hurry up and wait.” I often wonder if this sad practice is nothing more than a ruse for film crews and production companies to pad their bottom lines with jargon filled excuses.

The iPad Initiative, Student Empowerment, and Miss Ida’s Magic

When planning the play for Spring 2021, Schager reflected on the college's iPad initiative and harnessed resources that were already in-hand to meeting the challenges that Covid 19 had caused:

"I latched onto this initiative when it came to our newer film endeavors for several reasons: the students already knew the technology’s capabilities, they could film using updated digital options and memory, and finally, the students would only require a tripod and iPad camera. One of the greatest advantages, however, was the reduced editing time using any of the various programs the digital industry has to offer. With the support of our College’s Apple coordinator Carlena Benjamin, we pressed ahead with our 2021 Spring endeavor, Miss Ida’s Magic (MIM). This is a short play written by Disney staff writer Jason Milligan – a long-time friend whose One Act plays I produced in Oxford, Mississippi 23 years ago. Like Amanda, Jason is also a Mississippi native, but from Oxford. Already having published 23 One-Act plays with the publisher Samuel French by 1997, as Artistic Director, I thought he would be the most appropriate playwright to launch what is now called Theatre Oxford. 

Miss Ida’s Magic was originally commissioned by Theatre Oxford’s 10-Minute play competition in the Spring of 2021, and Jason allowed me to carry Miss Ida to NEMCC for our Theatre program. This would be a great advantage, for I could hand off trained, professional actors to my inexperienced students who could now focus their attention more on the film technology and its production standards. At the helm for Miss Ida’s Magic as Director would be NEMCC freshman Melissa Hart from Kossuth, Mississippi. Sophomore student Deklan Powers, now a University of Mississippi film student would serve as Cameraman, Justin Holbrook, Tana Bates, Michael Cooper, and Jackson Turner would also serve in Production roles for the film – but it was Melissa Hart who would storyboard and manage the days of production. One week before the shooting date, I instructed the students to use their iPads to practice running from shot to shot. Thanks to Northeast Theatre’s Production diligence, we had access to a newly finished set one week in advance. This careful planning allowed our students to research their different goals: These overlooked items from the fall filming of STP included specific goals of accuracy, continuity, framing choices, fully realized lighting, alternative angles, and artistic options.  Frankly, I was determined to eradicate the general film industry’s cliché of “hurry up and wait” when it came to my students’ planning film work. What happened next however, was an interesting turn of events when it came to the unforeseen technical obstacles the iPad units presented."

Adapting to Challenges with Technology

Melissa Hart, NEMCC student and Director of Miss Ida's Magic describes the filming challenges presented by the iPad:

"Immediately following our preparation and practice for the various shots in the set, I noticed an issue.  Due to the small size of the sensor designed for the the iPad camera, the picture was zoomed-in, and as such, the field of view was dramatically decreased. Given the size of the set, which was already built and decorated, there was no room to back up enough to get the proper shots of the actors. I had an idea for an alternative. I had an iPhone 11 and a tripod that was adjusted to fit a phone. After a quick test, I realized the phone would be much more effective. The sensor size in the iPhone camera was larger so we could get more of the set in one shot; likewise, it was no longer excessively zoomed-in as the iPad camera. After a quick chat with Mr. Schager, we made plans to use my iPhone and tripod.  In the interest of efficient time management, I brought a couple of portable chargers to ensure that no time was wasted.

With the technical troubles resolved, we were able to work quickly and efficiently. Deklan Powers worked the camera as I directed shots and angles, and Montana helped us keep track of the script and storyboard. This was the first time I had ever worked with professional actresses. I was able to collaborate with them and hear their interpretation of the characters. Their input and acting were pivotal to the success of the production.

After we filmed all of the reaming content, I was able to airdrop all the scenes to Mr. Schager’s desktop where I would later edit the movie. I spent weeks in between classes to edit it to the best of my ability. Near the end of the semester I met with Mr. Chris Dunn, the director of campus country, to talk about the music for the movie and the ghost sound effects. Thanks to all the help and support I received, I had a beautiful soundtrack that supported the film to perfection and was able to add it and wrap up editing and credits."

NEMCC Productions

You can watch both Small Town Prisoner and Miss Ida's Magic below.