Grease Gets Inter-MAC-tive

While I acknowledge that title is a horrible pun, I will not apologize. If it's the reason you're reading these words, it did it's job.

This Sunday at 3pm the Get Reel Film Series Presents: Grease Sing-Along, a remastering of the musical-turned-movie classic that includes stylized lyrics at the bottom of the screen to help viewers like you mock Sandy with Rizzo in "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee" or get down with the T-Birds in "Grease Lightning."

From what I understand, they not only added lyrics, but other more campy elements like birds and hearts  around characters in love, giving it a little bit of a Who Framed Roger Rabbit cartoony humor to the film.

As fun as the movie sounds, it's the least of all the fun the MAC has planned for guests this Sunday.

Before the movie plays, audience members who prepared their unique version of a hand jive will get a chance to impress the rest of the audience with their creativity and talent by performing on the Bronwynn stage for about fifteen seconds (about two rounds of their jive) while "Born to Hand Jive" plays on the speakers.

Everyone who participates will get free admission to the show and whoever is the crowd favorite gets a special to be determined prized. If you're intimidated by the idea of getting on the stage, let me set the scene for you. You won't be in front of that many people, definitely less than a hundred. You won't be on the stage for very long. Your jive doesn't have to be complicated.

I've also heard a rumor that students who recently played in their schools production of Grease will come in costume and perform a song.

It's just one more way the MAC wanted to celebrate the delightful, overly nostalgic, quaint experience of a Grease Sing-Along. So come out, show off your jive and sing along.

I Wish I Was At The MAC: Murder at 777 Evening Street

It might seem strange to wish I was at the scene of a murder, but when it's well written and acted, who could resist? For two and a half hours every Sunday the past four weeks, John Ondo taught his students about filmmaking while crafting their very own short film. The students range from fourteen year olds to adults, all interested in different aspects of what it takes to create a compelling story via film.

This Sunday, their film makes its debut before the Get Reel Film Series presents Give Me The Banjo; a comprehensive look at a quintessential American musical instrument, the banjo, from its African roots to contemporary jazz and into the 21st century. 

John Ondo, the class instructor as well as President and Director of Ondo Media, was kind enough to answer a few questions about the film and Intro to Filmmaking class. 

What can you tell us about the film's plot? And how did the class come up with the idea?

Murder at 777 Evening Street is a classic whodunnit. Set at the McConnell Art Center, the story begins with a priceless vase that has been stolen and two security officers who have been murdered. The story unfolds as the detectives try to solve the crime. I wrote the main script, but then the class in a  collaborative effort made changes to it to make it their own.

How collaborative was the class? Was each student given a specific job or did everyone play some part in each aspect of developing and filming?

The class was designed as a overview of filmmaking. Students have been a part of everything from helping to shoot, edit and write and several students had acting roles as well. It's difficult to get too in depth in creating a  short film  in just 12 hours of class time.  I've spent many hours in preperation and editing during the past weeks so we can discuss each stage on Saturday. We will go in-depth with 2 new classes starting this spring which anyone can sign up for. First we will have a 3 week class focusing just on editing followed by a 3 week class to go in depth on shooting video with a digital SLR camera. And we will be offering a week long class for high school students this summer. We believe the MAC can become the place in central Ohio for students to learn and grow in the art of filmmaking.

John showing his students camera techniques 

Could you share one of your favorite moments teaching this class?

 I've enjoyed having some great local directors, actors and writers come into the class and share about filmmaking each week, but shooting the primary story with our volunteer actors  and students in just 6 hours took some real teamwork, and I was so proud of how everyone pitched in to make it all look amazing.

 In your experience, what do students usually gain, after taking this class?

I hope students leave this class and know that they have the basic tools now to create a compelling story and shoot and edit a short film that the whole world could potentially view via the Internet. I'm very excited about the stories the next generation of filmmakers are going to tell.

Can't make the film's premiere? An encore showing is in the works, potentially for next Sunday and the full film will be posted on the MAC's Facebook page, once it's no longer showing in the Bronwynn Theatre. 

Watch a sneak peak of the film here:

http://vimeo.com/59188026