DACC film class shoots short film, gains hands-on experience

Bulletin report

Doña Ana Community College’s Film Crew Training II class shot its first short film, “Count On It,” in February in Las Cruces, said Dan Williams, the movie’s co-writer and DACC course instructor, who directed the film and supervised students’ work on it for instruction and grading purposes.

The script was written by Austin M. Lucero, a New Mexico-based still photographer and former production assistant, Williams said.

Williams, a 16-year member of IATSE Local 480, New Mexico’s IATSE Studio Mechanics Local, having served four years on the local’s executive board as vice-president of grip, light and sound, has been teaching the course for DACC since 2008.  A writer and producer as well as a below-the-line technician, Williams has worked on many high-budget film productions in New Mexico as a grip or a lamp operator and has produced various short films and web pilots in the past.

Former Las Cruces resident, now Los Angeles-based actor and print model Kevin Blake Chandler will play the lead in “Count On It,” Williams said, and Film Crew Training students Michael Gorbitz, Alan Gomez, Jeremy Logston, Michelle Johansen and Erin Wendorf will play supporting roles, along with local actors Jayce McCormick and Alycia Jameson.

Students in the below-the-line technician training program this semester, who are getting hands-on experience in their chosen craft areas, Williams said, include Julissa Garcia, sound; Isaac Garwood, lighting and grip; Alan Gomez, talent/set construction; Michael Gorbitz, locations; Emanuel Guevara, editing/music supervisor; Allen Gutierrez, sound supervisor; Michelle Johansen, first assistant director; Aundrea Lilley, propmaster; Jeremy Logston, director of photography; Seth Lujan, camera assistant; Diaz Martinez, talent/sound; Andy Martos, production assistant; and Erin Wendorf, casting/script supervisor.

Williams said local motion-picture car provider and transportation captain Shelby Kyle LeMond (providing a police car and an ambulance) will provide support for the film, and local artist/production designer Tiffany Del Guidice will provide some pieces to be used in the movie. 

The completed film will be shown in various film and short-film festivals and will ultimately be available for viewing on YouTube, said Williams, who is also president of Tecolote Films, LLC.

“Students completed the first semester of DACC’s Film Crew Training course last fall, during which they learned some of the history that has led up to many of the accepted modern-day techniques of filmmaking, had hands-on experience with various pieces of equipment and participated in activities related to location scouting, set operations and lighting activities,” Williams said. “During the second semester of the course, they conduct pre-production, principal shooting and post-production of at least two projects. A documentary about Las Cruces’ thriving Lowrider restoration and enthusiast community is planned for later this semester,” he said.

“This course is worth 15 days toward the required 30 to join IATSE Local 480,” Williams said. “A degree or certificate from a film program at an accredited university or community college is good for that, but this program is the fastest way to satisfy it, conferring a certificate within one year of study.” 

For more information, contact DACC Creative Media Technologies Department Head Matt Byrnes at 575-528-7310 and mbyrnes@nmsu.edu.