Friday Films at Fox
Reported by Alyssa Derania
Photography by Joseph Bishop, found on Unsplash.com
At the start of spring term, one student’s goal to help his friends blossomed into a program to support George Fox University (GFU)’s cinematography major. I sat down with Scott Gaede, Sophomore Cinematography major and coordinator for Friday Films at Fox, to learn more about the development of his new program.
According to Gaede, Friday Films at Fox originated from a need for a practical film viewing space for his friends and himself on campus.
“We didn’t really have good setups in our homes to do that, so I was trying to figure out how I could rent the [Lemmons 4 classroom] space,” Gaede said.
Scott Gaede’s quest for better film viewing began in the first two weeks of Fall 2019 Term. Gaede found that there is an educational requirement for students to host events in campus spaces, such as Lemmons 4, where Gaede and Co. hoped to watch films. In order to create a curriculum that would span several months and fit the educational requirement, Gaede worked with GFU professors Steve Classen and Dawn Ford.
It wasn’t until the beginning of Spring 2020 Term that Gaede received the permission he needed to kickstart the project. It was difficult to get the program running on late notice, but Gaede managed to coordinate six film viewings focusing on the science fiction genre: “The Matrix” (1999), “Blade Runner” (1982), “Aliens” (1986), “Star Wars Episode IV” (1977), “Moon” (2009), and “Akira” (1988). Showings were held on a large screen in high definition and 5.1 surround sound, courtesy of Lemmons 4. Refreshments and concessions, such as pizza, caramel corn, soda, and whole candy bars, were provided to attendees.
Due to the university’s campus-closing procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program’s last showing, “Akira” (1988), was cancelled.
Thus far, the program’s attendance has been on the smaller side, attracting audiences between six and sixteen students. Unfortunately, many of the viewings conflicted with larger George Fox events, such as the Sadie Hawkins Dance and Bailemos.
“This might sound terrible, but I think a lot of times the film students aren’t the people to go do activities…having them on the days when activities [coincide] is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Gaede.
Because this project was backed by the Cinematography Department and was aiming to further the education of film majors, only majors were invited to attend. In the future, Gaede hopes to offer the viewings to film majors, film minors, and students taking cinema courses to attract a larger crowd.
According to Gaede, “The goal is basically to educate the students more and to be able to discuss films on campus because I think a common problem is that people come into the major…they haven’t taken the time to explore the medium. They want to do [cinematography], they want to pursue it, but they haven’t read or watched enough films, so this is a good platform to build from.”
Next year, Gaede hopes to have a curriculum in place to offer eight films per term, with a focus on specific genres. He and his fellow coordinators discussed offering a romance series, studying production elements, tropes, and common motifs. Gaede hopes to craft a lasting program that will benefit cinematography students for years to come.