http://spartan.ycp.edu/pages/current.php?id=894
C.C. Webster leaves her “Tracks” at YCP
By Andrea Lerew
The York College Humanities Department hosted its final event of the 2006 – 2007 Film Series on Tuesday April 17. The series was created to open up discussion and debate about films. There are generally six films per academic year and for each film, a guest scholar is invited to York College to present the production.
For thi s f ina l eve n t , writer/director C.C. Webster, who holds a masters in Fine Arts from the University of Columbia, presented two of her own short film productions, “Tracks” and “Civil War,” to the viewing audience in DeMeester Theatre.
“Tracks” is a 23-minute film that explains the importance of the “tracks” left behind by our deceased loved ones, such as an inherited junk car or a fingerprint.
The total cost of the film during the eight-month production process totaled to about $15,000.
The film “Civil War” is about a group of awkward, pubescent teen girls who seek out and exploit the weakest member during a field trip to Gettysburg Battlefield. The film illustrates the terrors of the all too familiar stages of adolescence.
In this film, Webster reflects on her experiences as an adolescent where she wondered if she would even survive her middle school years. “Civil War” runs about 15 minutes and had a total cost of about $37,000 to produce during its one-year production process.
After showing the films, a question- and-answer period took place for anyone interested in learning more about the films, the director herself or the industry of film production.
In this session, Webster revealed that she creates films with actors that she and the viewer will be able to relate to. Growing up in the working class, Webster didn’t know the life of luxury and she wishes to convey that homely aspect of her life through her work.
When posed with a question regarding why she got into the film industry she stated, “It was something I never even dreamed of. I never picked up a camera and made films like others did.” She went on to explain how her love of movies and her education at Columbia University took her from being an ordinary woman to a successful film director.
She was anxious as anyone would be about taking such a leap of faith as entering the industry of film — especially as a woman. “I got into Columbia [to study film] and realized, I’m in it and now I’ve got to do it.” Of course, money is always an issue among college students so it was no surprise when Webster was asked how she received funding for the making of her films.
She answered back, “If you got a good script, it doesn’t matter how much money you need to film it.
Just write your dialogue — just write it down. That’s the most important thing.” Not only did she share behindthe- scenes details about each film, Webster also gave a bit of advice at the end of her presentation for aspiring film majors; a bit of advice that all college students should follow being film majors or not. She stated, “The community that you make in the classroom is very important to your success. That’s where you make your connections and hopefully, you’ll be working with the people from that community later on.”
