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                     Olivia Snyder-Spak,
Class of 1961 Arts Initiative Student

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Olivia Snyder-Spak   November 8, 2008

Short Biography

I am a Film and Media Studies Major who attended an honors level performing arts high school. My focus turned to film after working as a production assistant on an NYU student thesis film. I then attended the NYU Summer Filmmaking workshop in Ireland, which was a college-level immersion program. Since then, I have worked hard to take advantage of every opportunity I can find to learn all aspects of filmmaking and to bring a standard of excellence to my work.

In addition to my in-class projects, I have shot two films outside of class using a digital HD camera, independently finding the actors, crew and locations. One of the films, which was shot in the Hood Museum of Art, will be submitted to the 2008 Sparky Awards. I was the recipient of the 2008 Laing Scriptwriting Award and the 2008 WRIF Screenplay Award, both in the short screenplay category. I assisted fellow students on their films, working as lighting director, production designer, actor, cinematographer, and editor. This fund would allow me to shoot a much larger scale production, which is an important step toward my goal of working in the independent film industry writing and producing my own work. I am an enthusiastic student, a passionate filmmaker, and a collaborative team member. I would truly appreciate the wonderful opportunity this kind of funding would allow me.


Project Proposal

I intend to produce my short script. The Day of the Rice Cake Coupon, which came in first in the 2008 Laing Screenplay Competition and the 2008 WRIF (White River Indie Films) Screenwriting Competition, both in the short script category. I would shoot in 16mm film. The script is eighteen pages long and takes place in a grocery store, which makes it an especially ambitious project. I plan to shoot over the course of three to four days in November of 2009 and have the post-production complete by Spring of 2010. I would treat this venture as a professional film project, and would submit the completed short to film festivals nationwide. I have included a copy of the script and a rough production schedule to illustrate what I aim to accomplish.

I have two options for the grocery store location. The first would be the Dartmouth Food Co-op, which would be convenient because of its close proximity to campus and which may be accommodating because this is a Dartmouth supported production. Also, their hours are shorter than most large supermarkets, so we might be able to coordinate some after-hours shooting. (As written, the film takes place during the day, but I think the main scenes can be rewritten as night scenes without affecting the story line.)

If the co-op is not willing to let me use their space for a few days or nights, I have an aunt who has been the store manager of a locally owned aocery store in Connecticut for over twenty years, and she has offered that location. I would transport fellow students helping on the project to Connecticut and they could live at my house for the weekend while we shoot.

The location is the most difficult obstacle for this project. I would secure fellow film majors to help on the shoot with lighting, sound, camera work, and production design. Ideally, I would like to have all the pre-production complete by mid-November. On the shoot, I'd like to keep the crew to a minimum with no more than six students helping out because, in my experience, any more than that becomes a burden on the production.

My script calls for a rather large number of extras, which I think will be my second largest obstacle when completing this project. For actors, I plan to audition people local to where the shoot will be. One of my advisors, Peter Ciardelli, is involved with local theater in the Hanover area, and I would use students from Dartmouth for the younger roles. If I shoot in CT, I would use students from my theater high school, who I already know, as the young roles and audition the older roles through the Connecticut Callboard ( ctcallboard.com ).

I am currently the intern for local independent filmmaker, Liz Canner, where I find and compile footage and investigate attaining rights to music and film footage for her current project, Orgasm, Inc., a documentary about the disease-mongering tactics of the pharmaceutical industry in relation to Female Sexual Dysfunction. I recently helped her submit the documentary to various film festivals, so I am confident that once the film is complete, I will be able to find an audience for it.

In keeping the shooting crew small and doing most of the pre- and post- production work on my own, I think the project will be easier to manage. I think my previous experience with film has provided enough background to run this shoot efficiently while not losing the positive atmosphere that is needed to foster creativity. Given the opportunity, I am sure that I can create a final product that will reflect exceptionally well, not only on the talent and capability of students involved, but on that of the Dartmouth Film Department and the Dartmouth Arts community as a whole.

   

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