By Owen Cox
Staff Writer
Students crowded the J.C. Williams Gallery for alumni Julian Curi and Rocco Ambrosio’s speech titled “The Art of Independent Filmmaking” on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.
Curi opened the speech by discussing films that had influenced him early in childhood, as well as films that often come easily to mind when one thinks of “independent films.”
He explained how the origins of his ambitions to become a filmmaker lay in his viewing of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and several high-quality movies about biblical figures in his childhood.
After attending Franciscan, Curi said he came out as an ambitious young individual with high expectations. He was, in his own words, “finally ready to release my bachelor’s degree and very fine taste on L.A.”
Curi said that he attempted his first project on Kickstarter, failing to get adequate funds. He added that he then proceeded to make a few small films.
After working for Blizzard Entertainment, Curi said he moved back to independent filmmaking and made several short films during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During these ventures, Curi claimed that he learned the highly important lesson of producing “independent of outcome.” This, Curi explained, does not mean producing items of poor quality, but keeping a reasonably high quality of output even when things are not at their best.
Curi said that his new work, titled “Gruff”, has had a successful campaign on Kickstarter and is currently in the process of development.
Ambrosio followed by speaking about his experience as a filmmaker. He described four things to make films look more professional: color grade, depth of field, location and “the texture of the world.”
Ambrosio showed several still shots with different levels of quality in these four aspects to emphasize how important they are to making a film.
Finally, Ambrosio gave one last tip to all aspiring filmmakers, particularly those interested in making sets and costumes.
“Dirt is the secret sauce to everything,” said Ambrosio, who quickly corrected his comment with the phrase “except the wedding dress.”
The Arts and Culture Series on Monday evenings will continue with several upcoming presentations. These include a Musical Performance on October 9 and a presentation on the life of St. Francis on November 6.