Behind the Scenes
Griffin Sendek |Off The Bluff Magazine | Spring 2021
How a Point Park filmmaker navigates a pandemic on- and off-screen
Filmmaking is a collaborative art, an entirely communal experience consisting of dozens of cast and crew all working together in close proximity — the exact opposite of what is advised in a pandemic.
However, that’s exactly what senior Point Park University Cinema Production student Leia Christ did. Having just wrapped up the shooting of her senior thesis film Camp Moose Tracks, a horror-thriller about a summer camp secretly run by a murderous cult — which Leia both wrote and directed — the biggest challenge of her trial-by-fire has ended.
Leia was destined to make movies. Her parents tell the story of how at 6 years old, Leia, with a head of untamed bright red curly hair, didn’t cower in fear at horror films but rather almost instinctively turned to say, “I could do that better.”
She finally had her chance at Point Park University’s MFA Cinema Program and proved it with Camp Moose Tracks’ completion.
The script began as a simple summer-camp romance, but her love for horror and desire to challenge herself inspired the story’s dark shift.
“I was thinking about one of my favorite films, Midsommar [another film about a cult], and driving through the woods, thinking about the beauty in that film — the cult aspect manifested itself,” she says.
Nearing the end of the program, having worked on over 35 productions, ranging from micro-budget student films to big studio projects from Netflix and Warner Bros, Leia thought she’d be prepared for anything on set.
The chapter on “filmmaking during a virus outbreak” was decidedly missing from her cinema education textbooks, alas.
“Coming into this year was very stressful,” Leia says. “I swear to God I went through the stages of grief but 30 times.”
Her main concern was not how it would be made, but if her film would be made at all. “The biggest fear was being canceled. We barely found out we were making a movie in the middle of July and literally up until the day we left for the camp with our entire cast and crew at any minute, it was terrifying to think, ‘I’m not going to get a senior thesis,’” Leia says.
Leia had the summer to completely rework her script, editing not for quality or runtime, but now to ensure safety.
“It was really difficult for me because I was the first production that left Point Park since Covid,” she added.
Not only was Leia charting unknown and potentially dangerous waters with Camp Moose Tracks, she also had to deal with the university breathing down her neck.
“That was terrifying on my shoulders because the entire university was, like, emailing me about everything, so it was a little stressful,” Leia says.
A lot was riding on the success of her production, as it would serve not only as proof that a Point Park film could be made safely, but also light the way for other student films.
Leia’s preproduction had to be airtight; any flaws could have spelled disaster. The stakes had risen — the film’s quality wasn’t only the line but now the health and safety of her entire cast and crew.
As Leia was scrambling to rework her thesis script, the lives of both cast and crew were also upended.
Actors have never lived under the guise of “job security;” it’s always been a life of adapt or die. During Covid, that phrase became morbidly more literal. But even during a pandemic, a dedicated actor is still capable of finding work.
Jordan Beltz, a recent graduate from Point Park’s acting conservatory, considers herself lucky to be busy working on Camp Moose Tracks and other film projects.
One of the most difficult changes Jordan witnessed in the shift to pandemic filmmaking is the lack of intimacy. Close contact between actors can be essential to convey relationships and emotions, but now that isn’t always possible.
“A lot of our blocking had to get changed for [a different film] because it was husband and wife,” Jordan says. “We had to take all kissing and intimacy out.”
Limitations can be the best seeds for inspiration: They push filmmakers to stop relying on what’s easy but make the best out of what’s possible.
“It was difficult, but it just forced us to think of a new idea, and that’s sort of the beauty of film just the adaptability to change,” she added.
Time is never on the director’s side; making a film is almost always a race against the clock. This contentious relationship with time is even more inflamed during a pandemic.
Previously, getting a set ready was a chaotic assembly line. Social distancing deters close collaboration which, unfortunately, doesn’t make for a snappy setup.
Covid fears weren’t the only snag in production; the university’s laundry list of safety restrictions, though well-intentioned, made Leia’s job significantly more difficult.
“Normally film sets are 12 hours — this year they [the university] were like, ‘okay you have 10 hours and you need to have an hour lunch break,’” Leia explains. “Let me tell you: I’m not exaggerating when I say we went through, I think, 12 shooting schedules.”
Working through university-sanctioned limitations was not only a headache for Leia — it also led to a rushed production.
Between dealing with the university and the virus, making Camp Moose Tracks might have felt like fighting a war on two fronts, but Leia was able to get it done. That’s far more than the majority of freshman and sophomore cinema majors ever had the chance to do.
The program curriculum is designed around its students creating one film each year, a luxury not granted to sophomore cinema student Ryan Peters.
“COVID-19 hit and I haven’t been able to make my film,” Ryan says.
Ryan is lucky enough to have gone in with enough on-set experience and knowledge of filmmaking before beginning the program. He was able to make connections with upperclassmen to keep himself busy and to make his time at Point Park not feel completely wasted.
If change doesn’t happen soon, he sees trouble on the horizon.
Ryan is currently on track to produce a film for the spring semester. Still, with the cancellation and postponement of classes, combined with the pandemic’s uncertainty, there are no guarantees.
“I am quite worried. It’s not that my experience now has been lessened, but I fear that if it continues,” Ryan explains.
Leia has the privilege of seniority; the hardest piece of her student filmmakers’ battle with Covid is over. For Ryan and other underclassmen, their fight is just beginning.
“We’ve got to be ready for anything and I think that’s the really exciting part about it, and you’re always on your toes and it gets your heart jumping, but that’s why we love it,” Jordan remarked. “We wouldn’t do it if it was easy.”
“Filmmaking has always been based on adaptability as every aspect is always presenting challenges,” Leia says. “Perseverance tests filmmakers in how strong they have to believe in an idea.” “I always take each challenge with grace because when you’re forced to make a wild, last-minute decision, the outcome is leagues better than the original plan,” Leia says. ●