Swarthmore Unscripted

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For Immediate Release: March 25, 2004
Contact: Tom Krattenmaker
610-328-8534
tkratte1@swarthmore.edu
http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/

The Real World at Swarthmore? Something like that.

Swarthmore brought in a trio of all-star film crews for three days in March to capture on digital video the essence of student life at Swarthmore. From the classroom to the dorm room, the dining hall to the rugby field, the Philly club scene to the famed on-campus party "Screw Your Roommate," the crews shot some 35 hours of digital video for a new film about the College. The first result, Swarthmore Unscripted, went live on March 30.

Vern Oakley and Jon Huberth

Producing the film are Jon Huberth and Vern Oakley of Tribe Pictures in New Jersey. The same pair were behind the much-praised Meaning of Swarthmore video produced three years ago to support the College's fund-raising campaign.

Swarthmore plans to begin using the new film later this year to help introduce the College to prospective students.

"This is an intelligent version of The Real World -- the real world at Swarthmore," Huberth said. "This is an attempt to capture what really goes on during a student's day at Swarthmore, to give an unvarnished, only slightly edited view of this college. It's certainly not the same as other college videos, which are basically advertisements. We wanted to give an honest glimpse of Swarthmore."

Film crew filming students

Plans called for the three, two-person crews to follow two students each over the three days (March 18-20) at Swarthmore, switching back and forth at various points during the day. College officials selected the half-dozen students in advance in consultation with Huberth and Oakley. They were: Anjani Reddy '04, Joseph Dickerson '04, Matt Goldstein '04, Emiliano Rodriguez '05, Chloe Le Pichon '05, and Samantha Graffeo '07. Once work got underway, the producers made the spur-of-the-moment decision to add one more student, Casey Baines '06.

The three cinematographers -- who used hand-held cameras and natural light for maximum mobility -- have distinguished resumes. Buddy Squires has worked with the famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. Steve Kazmierski was director of photography for the critically acclaimed feature film You Can Count on Me, and Anthony Savini worked on the television series Crime and Punishment and The Freshman Diaries.

While the camera people were shadowing their student subjects along with sound technicians Roger Phenix, Peter Miller, and John Zecca, Oakley was overseeing a separate, related filming venture in a surprising campus location. In an abandoned area on the top floor of Parrish Hall, Oakley set up half-hour confessional "self-interviews" in which nearly two dozen students sat down in front of a camera, alone, and spoke about their Swarthmore experiences.

The location -- a library decades ago and now an unused space whose walls are marked by peeling paint and graffiti -- was chosen to create an authentic feel. Very few students have ever been in the legendary room, which is closed off by multiple locks, and none of the interviewees knew in advance the location or the confessional approach to the interviews. On the normally locked door leading to the staircase, Oakley posted a hand-scrawled sign reading, "All who enter must speak the truth."

Oakley explained why he wanted to use what is on its surface one of the ugliest places on campus. "When we were thinking of a place for interviews, we thought of the usual suspects, and there is no shortage of beautiful settings on the Swarthmore campus," he said. "But while working on the last film, I'd seen a photo of the fifth floor of Parrish, and I thought it had an incredible intimacy. I was struck by it being deserted, having this graffiti and peeling paint, these beautiful textures. And I thought the journey up there was really intriguing because you had to walk all the way up to the top of the building, then up another long staircase, and when you finally got there it felt like you were in this secret sanctuary. I felt that students left alone in this beautiful spot, breathing in the magnificent view and sense of history, would be more authentic and revealing."

Samantha Graffeo (center) and film crew

The footage from the self-interviews might be used in the film, and the College plans to use some of the interviews as stand-alone features for the Swarthmore web site.

Overseeing the shoot along with Huberth and Oakley were production manager Rachel Cocozza and production assistant Denny Sheehan, both of Tribe Pictures.

Tom Krattenmaker, the College's director of news and information, assisted the film crews over the three days. Judging from the shooting, Krattenmaker said he was convinced the film would accomplish its major objective; namely, demonstrating to talented high schoolers that Swarthmore is an exciting place where students are having the time of their lives.

"Word gets back to us that some people regard Swarthmore as all work and no play," Krattenmaker said. "Well, the College certainly deserves its reputation as a place for serious academic work, but that's only part of the picture. I think that people who see this film will understand that it's also about what you do outside the classroom and the library -- the extracurriculars, the social action, the friendships, and, frankly, the fun. I just wonder how our students find time to sleep."