When he graduates in May, Kiril Lozinskiy '11 will have spent his entire senior year at Brandeis writing, shooting and editing his own film. Lozinskiy gives justArts a sneak preview into his creative process.JustArts: What inspired you to make your senior thesis a full-year film project?

Kiril Lozinskiy: My thesis is an opportunity to practice the skills that I have learned over the years as well as a chance to collaborate with the talented Brandeis community. I am hoping that by being the first one to work on the Film thesis at Brandeis, I will aid in creating a solid framework that the future Film seniors can utilize and expand. I see this project primarily as a learning exercise for everyone involved as well as a creative and fun atmosphere to work in. I believe that it is necessary to spend a whole year on a project like this to ensure that every participant is able to explore all of the areas that interest him or her, as well as learn and expand on their skill set.

JA: What is the intended timeline of your project?

KL: The first semester consisted of the development and the pre-production stages. During those stages, we developed a story idea, synopsis, character profiles, beat outlines, followed by a draft of the screenplay. Once we had a good version of the screenplay, we were able to create storyboard thumbnails and overheads, plan location scouting, and hold two casting calls and we are planning to hold final casting very soon. This month we are planning to finalize the script, storyboards, budget, production design and shooting schedule. Early- to mid-February, we are planning to start shooting the project. I am hoping that we will have enough time to get most of the scenes completed just after the February break. Once we finish the shooting, the production stage will end and the post-production stage will begin. During this stage, we will do editing and any reshooting as necessary. By mid-April, we are hoping to wrap up all of the editing and reshooting and be ready to present a finished version to an audience.

JA: What has been the most difficult part of the pre-production process?

KL: The most difficult part of the pre-production process has been bringing the screenplay to a state that we are happy with and deciding on what to cut out of the story that makes it unrealistic by our production constraints. For example, if we wanted to film an ambulance leaving a house, the cost associated with arranging such a scene outweighs the reality of a student film.

JA: As you enter this semester, what do you foresee to be the greatest challenge you will face?

KL: I will have to say that shooting will be the greatest challenge due to the necessity to stay on top of the production schedule as well as ensuring successful lighting and sound recording. In my experience, lighting and sound tend to be the two biggest challenges for any film. Lighting plays a key role in the film, and it can take hours to set up for a scene that will last between 10 to 90 seconds. The complexity of the shot plays a big role in how we can place the lights around the set without compromising the desired effect. Sound recording at Brandeis has been notoriously tricky, primarily due to a difficulty in locating a soundproof stage. Quite often, there are loud [Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning] systems and pipes, outside noises or ceilings that are not high enough to give the boom operator the reach to capture the audio.

JA: What is BTV's part in the project?

KL: BTV has been working closely with me on the pre-production by providing expertise and collaborators. In addition, BTV's inventory and production budget eliminates most of my production-related worries and facilitates the upcoming production stage.

JA: What kind of equipment do you intend to use to shoot your movie?

KL: I am planning to use a DSLR-based digital camera to capture 1080p video with a lens kit and an external sound recording device. I want to use a digital camera primarily due to its large image sensor, which is able to capture a better image as opposed to the compact prosumer sensor. Another advantage of using a digital camera is that the lenses are swappable and there is nothing in between the lens and the image sensor. Some of the video cameras that I have used in the past were not designed to work with another lens, which forces a filmmaker to use an adapter. The adapter is a complex assembly that contains many mirrors and adds another layer of complexity to setting up the camera for a shoot.

JA: Can you give a basic synopsis of your movie?

KL: Tracey, Matthew and Amelia are just out of college and are looking for a roommate. Matthew learns that a college buddy of his needs a place to live. Nick is nice, slightly awkward and has some dark history. Tracey tries to see the best in Nick but tension between the four roommates grows when Matthew and Amelia are attacked and Nick gets the blame. Nick has a charismatic friend Ryan, who helps him through tough times, but Ryan has secrets of his own.