It is perfectly quiet on the set of “Term Paper of the Damned,” as cameraman Scott Koleszar ’07, actor Tim Ganske Jr. ’06, and director Joe Evaristo ’06 prepare to shoot a scene.

“What’s my line again?” asks Ganske, who plays Dr. Charlie, a mad-scientist.

Evaristo checks his script and gives the line. He struts around the makeshift set with confidence, describing Ganske’s character’s motivation and how the shot should look.

The film makes its public premier during McDaniel VideoPalooza on Jan. 28 along with five other McDaniel student productions.

A Communication major, Evaristo wants to direct movies after he graduates. In order to get some practice, he urged Assistant Communication Professor Jon Slade to create a Jan Term filmmaking class.

What evolved became “Filmmaking Practicum,” a cross-discipline course team-taught by Slade and Assistant Theatre Arts Professor Elizabeth van den Berg. Students produce, shoot, edit, act in, and score an original short film. Slade teaches the filmmaking skills, while van den Berg coaches acting.

“Students work four to six hours a day outside class,” says van den Berg. “You have to really want to do it.”

“That’s why the students are dead tired for class,” Slade adds. “But they’re great about getting the work done.”

Two Jan Term films are in the works. In addition to “Term Paper of the Damned,” where the cult of sloth kidnaps a procrastinator, Thomas Shortridge ’07 is directing “William Tells All,” the story of a sportswriter looking for love.

With only three weeks to create the films, students must work fast.

McDaniel VideoPalooza, featuring the two movies along with four documentaries produced during the fall semester, will be screened Jan. 28 in Lewis Hall’s Decker Auditorium.

After each showing, audience members can participate in a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers.

The four documentaries include:

-- “The Lost Connection,” by Marcia Robusto ’06, which explores the impact of her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s on her family;

-- “Dying to Get High,” by Greg Raeder ’05, is about heroin use in Carroll County;

-- Four international students describe life at McDaniel as they see it in “Stepping Foot on New Ground,” by Brigid Seay ’06; and 

-- “A Rose by Any Other Name,” also by Evaristo, explores how words can be powerful tools and weapons.

For now, Evaristo is hard at work filming scenes for “Term Paper” that must still be added to the movie.

“Quiet on the set. Roll tape. Action,” Evaristo says. Ganske hollers his line, throws a stack of papers in the air and starts running down a hallway in Lewis.

It’s a wrap. After three takes, the aspiring filmmaker reviews the footage and smiles broadly. Evaristo is one scene closer to the finish.

For more information about VideoPalooza, click here.