Keepsake

The clock struck at noon as the crew briskly set up the minefield of cords, lights and props. The actresses sat around rehearsing the lines that they will bring to life once the director shouts “action.” All of these elements piece together Senior Media Arts major Paloma Hernandez’s film.

Hernandez is a first time director with her upcoming production, “Keepsake.” As her senior year is approaching to an end, the idea of creating a movie “dawned” on her.

She explained that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to use this kind of equipment after graduating, or have people who could help her accomplish something creative. So, she decided to go forth with the production.

“I’m graduating in a few weeks and I just thought ‘why not?’” Hernandez said. “I just had the script for a little while and I just wanted to do it and get it out of my mind. I thought that it was doable.”

“Keepsake” is comedy about a girl named Emily who struggles with kleptomania, someone who has an impulse to steal. She realizes how her actions could affect others when she steals a purse containing medication from an older woman named Mrs. Marshal. Emily gets into trouble but she is lucky and escapes. She faces her problem by deciding that it’s time to change and seeks help.

The idea of the film came about when Hernandez would go to the supermarket with her mom and always left her purse in the shopping cart. She thought that no one would come by and steal it, but her mom would always tell her not to do so. Then, she saw on the news about an elderly woman who stole purses at stores.

Hernandez realized that her mother had a reason for why she nagged her and thought that it was a fun idea to create a comedic angle of the situation.

“I was like ‘Oh my God’ that stuff is hilarious,” Hernandez said. “I asked myself, who would do such a thing and how did she get away with that?”

Hernandez does not feel intimated to fill in the shoes of a director. She had worked on six short films this semester and observed the role.

She never enjoyed the production process which included hand-written shot lists and story boards however, she wanted to make it right because “Keepsake” would be her first professional production.

Hernandez was grateful that her friends were a part of her film and she felt lucky.

“To me, it’s just a very small project that I had been wanting to do for a very long time,” Hernandez said. “Just getting to share, having more stories on my reel, of course, and just having fun.”

Hernandez explained to the cast and crew that when the project is complete, if she thinks that the production has potential, she plans to share her work at a film festival.

Senior Media Arts major Jacqui Davis is the audio producer of the film. Davis had extra time on her hands to help Hernandez with the audio. She said that her experience in working on “Keepsake” had been great.

“It’s way less stressful than any other project that I’ve ever done,” Davis said. “It is much easier to work on films when other people are helping you.”

High school sophomore Ellie Anderson played the main character. She received an email to possibly play the role of Emily and when Anderson read the script, she loved it. She thought that it was funny and accepted the role.

“I like playing roles that I’m not like in real life,” Anderson said. “I think that they are fun to expand my view of life.”

Senior Media Arts major Natalie Pence is the Director of Photography for this project. Pence said that Hernandez helped her with everything she needed for her production, especially with set designs. Pence explained that Hernandez wrote a good script and always thought that she should do her own work.

“I wanted to help Paloma with her film,” Pence said. “Because if she did a film, I think she would do a much better job than anyone else.”