By Maddy Hamlin
Gargoyle senior editor
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007, The OG, features

HAVE YOU EVER heard the expression “I knew you before you were famous”? This is exactly the phrase that many Uni students could be using in the future with regard to senior Devin Johnson, who, among other things, is a budding film director.

Johnson, who is president of the club International Filmmakers United, already has several works to his credit, including one of the two student films shown Friday at the IFMU Movie Night. But where did this interest in film come from?

ON HIS INSPIRATION

According to Johnson, his admiration for certain films sparked his own desire to become involved in filmmaking.

“The one movie that really stuck out to me as the first movie that I saw as really art rather than just entertainment was ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,'” he says, remarking that he admired the 1966 Sergio Leone-directed classic for its artful cinematography and dramatic pacing.

Devin Johnson and Scott Sapp perform in a 2006 Big
Show video, “How to Dance.” See below for the
full skit. (courtesy Devin Johnson) (click to enlarge)

Seeing the film inspired Johnson to watch more and more classic movies, all of which have influenced his own creative eye.

“I mean, I don't really go back and say, ‘OK, I'll use this shot,' but it's more like inadvertently soaking it all in,” he says.

In fact, Johnson was so inspired that he participated in a weeklong American Movie Classics movie workshop camp that took place in Princeton, N.J, the summer before his junior year.

The first part of the camp was spent in classes, where Johnson and other participants took crash courses in filmmaking.

“The classes made me really want to study more about film because they were a lot more enjoyable than stuff that I had been taking in high school,” Johnson says.

He especially liked having the opportunity to take classes that focused on the creation of films, a subject that is not covered at Uni.

“I had started becoming interested in making movies, and the camp sealed the deal on making me want to study film production in college.”

After their classes, the creative young minds were released to make their own films, a process that Johnson says was difficult at the time but rewarding later on.

“It was really stressful at first because a lot of it was rushed. We only had a limited amount of time and things weren't going as well. But then, after I had edited it and all … it turned out really well. So that was what got me started on making movies, and I learned more about the process.”

Johnson's film project was titled “The Misconceived Voyeur.”

“We were supposed to make a short film without using dialogue, and I ended up making a comedy,” he recalls.

The movie focuses on the awkward encounters that ensue when a male stranger finds a cell phone and keys that a girl has dropped. In his efforts to return the items, he finds the process to be less than simple, especially because the girl assumes he is stalking her, leading to many comical situations.

ON FILMMAKING AT SCHOOL

When he returned to Uni, Johnson was more inspired than ever to continue making films, especially with his newly developed skills. And hence, during his junior year, Johnson and classmate Jonathon Baron came up with the idea to start a student film club. However, they did not want to overlap too much with the pre-existing Audio-Visual Club.

“The thing was that AVC club was dying,” Johnson comments. “It was on its last legs at that point.”

Johnson and Baron were persistent, however, in their desire to further their filmmaking dreams.

“Our original plan was to have lots of student-made films shown in movie nights, but I guess it transformed into just our club making our own films,” Baron says.

“We didn't really want to join a club or anything; we thought we'd rather start one,” Johnson remarks casually. “So we talked to the people from AVC, who were [then-seniors] Daniel Jacobs and Sergei [Pourmal], and we got together and we formed IFMU.”

IFMU, which stands for “International Filmmakers United,” is Uni's current and only film club, consisting of some 11 regular members and a few occasional visitors.

Johnson emphasizes the group nature of the club, commenting: “There's no way you can ever make a movie on your own. … So, we wanted just to get a bunch of people who were interested in making movies to come together so we could all just brainstorm and make movies together.”

His co-founder agrees.

“IFMU's kind of become our social hub,” Baron says. “All of us [who were there from the beginning] are really good friends and we hang out together constantly, so IFMU represents more than just a movie club — it's kind of our identifying tag. … I think its expansion signifies a growing unity in our class. We're all really comfortable with one another, I think, and there's a lot of creativity.”

Last year, the club was able to produce its first film, a 20-minute production titled “The Planetarium Secret.”

Johnson is careful in describing the film, which he directed and co-wrote with classmate Scott Sapp. The film, he says, “stars Sapp as Joe, a socially inept teenage boy who is put on a blind-date TV show. Joe's story is told in flashback form by his older self, played by [history teacher] Bill Sutton, to a young boy, [current senior] Rohun Palekar, in an attempt to teach the boy how to get girls.”

Also appearing in the movie are English teacher Elizabeth Majerus as Joe's mother and current senior Amelia Breault as Joe's date.

“The Planetarium Secret” was screened twice at Uni: once at the premiere of last year's Social Advocacy II class project and once during lunch, both last spring. Johnson remains proud of the group's accomplishment, especially because it “starred a lot of different people, including teachers, which was pretty cool.”

Johnson is also enthusiastic that the movie is now available to all Uni students. Before winter break, Johnson & Co. eagerly advertised an official holiday membership to IFMU.

In purchasing this membership, which was available for the low price of $5, all patrons were promised a free DVD containing an excellent selection of films, including not only “The Planetarium Secret,” but also last year's Big Show.

“The Planetarium Secret” was the only film completed by the club in 2005-06. Johnson explains that, because he acted as the movie's director, he has become the club's president. Despite the success of the film, Johnson and the other IFMU participants have decided to stick to making less-lengthy features this year.

“We've realized that it's better to just do short films and guarantee that they'll get done,” Johnson states.

Adds Baron: “Despite our low budget — or maybe because of it — everyone has really banded together to get the job done, whatever that may be, and the end result is always fantastic. More people should come to the club, because it'd only add to our creations' sophistication.”

Overall, Johnson is pleased with the direction of the club, which premiered two films Friday night at Uni: “The Bathroom,” written and directed by Johnson, and “The All-Nighter,” written by Sapp and directed by Johnson.

“This year it's really cool because we've gotten a lot more people [to participate] ever since we debuted our first film,” Johnson says.

However, he admitted that the club members, who are mostly seniors, have also had difficulty balancing their filmmaking pursuits with their regular homework load and college planning, especially in the fall semester.

But Johnson's plans do not end with IFMU. A college major in film production is a definite, he says. Johnson eventually wants to write or direct professionally, although he is quick to add, “You know, things change in college and all that stuff.”

So what movies does this young filmmaker recommend?

Johnson cites favorites such as “Mulholland Drive” and “all the Wes Anderson movies,” which he claims have influenced him greatly. However, never able to settle on a single choice, he also adds
Stanley Kubrick to his list of influences. Oh, and then … well, he could go on.

“There's just a lot of different genres and types of film out there that I like to soak up and incorporate, and that makes lots of things really enjoyable,” he says.

ON BEING AN ACTOR

However, Johnson's dramatic pursuits have not been limited to behind-the-scenes work, as he has played prominent roles in Big Show last spring and Student Productions this fall.

“What I've done so far is mainly comedy,” he notes. “It's just that, I like to make people laugh and I do that at school, during class, wherever, whenever pretty much. And to do it onstage is just a natural transition. It just makes it a wider audience.”

Because Johnson had not participated in previous Uni theater productions, many students and teachers alike may have been pleasantly surprised by his Big Show performance.

History teacher and Big Show sponsor Chris Butler agrees that the 2006 show was a success, saying that as an actor Johnson “tended to have a lot of creative energy. … He's done some very funny, creative stuff. … I've enjoyed it.”

Despite his Big Show success, Johnson maintains that he is most dedicated to his directorial pursuits.

“Honestly I'm more of a filmmaker, a director, than an actor,” he says. “That's what I consider myself better at and what I want to do later.”

RELATED: BIG SHOW 2006 SKIT

As you wait for Big Show 2007, which will be held May 11 and 12, here's Devin Johnson and the rest of the cast in a skit from last year, “How to Dance”: