Student
Caleb Allison
Award-winning independent filmmaker
Caleb Allison, doctoral candidate
“I took Susanne Schwibs’ motion picture production class, which is an all celluloid-based class. And they only shoot on 16 millimeter and Super 8. So it's all film, zero digital. And I was like, ‘This is where I need to be. This is my happy place.’ So I took another class with her, and, again, I was able to shoot on film. And now, next semester, I'm teaching that class. So I’ve really come full circle.
And I think, again, why I'm so enamored and tried to champion celluloid as a filmmaking medium is that it produces new layers. And, especially in my work, I try to butt up the digital and the celluloid together, and I usually combine the formats because I think it does something interesting with aesthetics. And certainly with history, when you have to contemplate and think about these two images, which look very different, but are now sort of stitched together in one place, or through one idea.
Well, certainly, working on film is a niche area, and it forces you to take risks. Because it's easy with digital to shoot something, and then you can see it right there or you can play it back. And with film, at least on our level, you can't do that. You kind of shoot blindly, and then cross your fingers and hope for the best. And sometimes, that's how you have to approach life. You just have to jump in and go for it.
I feel like the skills that you would learn working on celluloid, they just keep popping up and being useful and relevant in lots of different ways that might not be apparent right off the bat.”
Written By Helen Rummel
Photos By Jordan Venckus photography