Texas A&M University graduate student Lauren Simpson says she is "thrilled and surprised" she won mtv's "Best Film on Campus" national competition, which she entered on a whim. Simpson is enrolled in the College of Architecture Visualization Department's visualization sciences program.
"When they came here (to Texas A&M on Nov. 2), I thought, "That's cool, that's that contest I entered,'" Simpson says. "It was a long shot but I sent it in anyway. I'm thrilled I won, but I'm still kind of in shock."
She was flown to Minnesota, where she directed a music video for a band called "Motion City Soundtrack." The "Best Film on Campus" contest required each entry to include a video pitch for the band. Simpson's video will combine animation and a live musical performance.
Simpson and fellow visualization sciences students Igor Kraguljac and Michael Losure had just a few days to scout their location and shoot the live-action portions of the video. They worked in a state of the art studio with a professional crew and had a $10,000 budget from mtvU to spend on the production. Kraguljac was director of photography. Major portions of the video will be animated back in Texas and edited together with the filmed sequences of the band. Losure will be lead animator of the stop-motion animation sequences.
The master's degree program centers on the digital computer as a primary tool for visualization with strong offerings in animation, modeling and simulation, image generation and manipulation, design communications, time-based media and supporting technology.
Simpson has experience as a director and an actor in student films, and Kraguljac has previously worked on a short movie and music video showcasing Simpson's musical talent.
To view Simpson's contest entry, visit http://www.bestfilmoncampus.com/filmmaker/
default.aspx?filmmakerID=1565&filmID=947
