Last Thursday, an A-State student held a premiere for a student film that he directed for his senior project at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry. 

I was able to interview Colby Thompson, a senior creative media production major from Conway, Arkansas to discuss his film, “Aluminum Man,” and all of the work that went into bringing it to life. 

Give us a quick summary of the film. 

The film is the story of a sleep deprived college student who becomes convinced that aluminum foil is the best way he can save Arkansas State from impending doom. 

Where did that idea come from?

The idea came from a podcast my friend Austin Sweat and I recorded for my Audio Production 1 class. I was supposed to do an audio interview and instead of interviewing a real person, I thought it would be fun to interview a made-up character and Aluminum Man was born out of that. There was a plan to make a film for that class, but that didn’t happen, so the idea sat on the shelf for about a year. When it came time to make a film for my Media Production Practicum class it was the best idea that came to mind.

How was the process of making a student film?

A key thing for me in making the film was trying to find people who I believed were more talented than me in key areas. For example, Jacob Osborn is a much better cinematographer than me and so I asked him to film the movie. Hannah Rainwater is a much better writer than I am and so I asked her to be the writer for the film. The film took around 6 months to make. It was originally supposed to be done within the half-semester course of Media Production Practicum but I wanted to make something I was really proud of and so I started working on it before the class started and worked on it much longer after the class ended.

What were some challenges you faced during production?

This was my first true short film to direct and so I vastly underestimated the time it would take to film the scenes. We ended up having to double the amount of days of filming that I had originally planned on. I was so grateful to be working with such a generous cast who didn’t make me feel bad about this oversight. 

What has the response been like so far from those who have seen the film?

The response has been pretty positive from most people who’ve seen it. A lot of people have found it to be pretty funny. Before its release, I sent the film to some more experienced filmmakers than myself. They pointed out some issues with the film which I tried to address in the current version of it.

How do you think this experience has helped you develop your skills and prepare for creative work after college?

This film has already been accepted into the Oasis Film Festival and I’m hoping it will be accepted in others. This film is my ticket to these festivals where I hope to be able to network with people and hopefully find work.

A behind the scenes video documenting some of the creative process behind “Aluminum Man” is available to watch online here: https://youtu.be/HEzak69Vkb4

Categories: Life