UPDATE FROM KV FILMS EXECUTIVE TEAM:
Knight Vision Films regrets to announce that its intended premiere of “The Lifeline” will not be premiering as announced on April 15. Professor Ronald Johnson, Knight Vision Films adviser, in consultation with production manager Nathan Stephany and executive council member Ethan Pfaltzgraff, came to this decision to allow the post-production team more time to complete the films editing. While we are disappointed to postpone, we recognize that additional editing time will only allow for a more successful presentation of our organization vision, and we hope you all join us in the May Term when we are finally ready to share our work. A new premiere date for May term will be announced as soon as the decision is made. We will still be premiering “Truth” and “SAD” at our Premiere as scheduled.
SILVIA OAKLAND, TRUMPET EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Knight Vision Films, or KV Films, has begun post-production for their fall short film “The Lifeline.”
The eight-minute film, written and directed by Nathan Stephany, will premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, at wartburg.edu/knightvision.
During the Fall Term, the team took proper precautions following campus COVID-19 guidelines and referenced professional film production practices to ensure the safety of the acting team and the production team. What would have taken one semester of editing and filming has now taken two for the organization.
Stephany, KV Films production manager, said the learning experience during COVID was helpful but also caused delays in their production. The teams were masked and wore face shields until filming officially began on set, then the actors would remove masks and shields to recite lines. The set and props were sanitized after each use, including removing actors and the production team from the sets to air out the room.
“Everything moves much slower and since the whole process [of filming] is about having a lot of people in a tiny room you can no longer do that so everything becomes a lot more creative,” Stephany said. “During filming, our schedule got a little more expanded because we had everyone leave our set every few hours to air everything out.”
The organization also had to work with having their advisor be remote.
“Our faculty advisor, Ron Johnson, is remote in Oklahoma due to the pandemic, so this film was only student, hands-on work,”Skylar Cunningham, third-year journalism and communication major and KV films member, said. “Professor Johnson did get to assist us via Zoom, but I am very impressed with how our group was able to be professional, safe and collaborative without our advisor physically present.”
COVID also presented incredible learning opportunities, according to Stephany. One example, Stephany said, was this March the group hosted a “phone film festival” where students only used their phones for filming. The festival consisted of two groups who will each present their films along with the premiere of “The Lifeline. “
“Learning how to operate under COVID, I think, gave us a lot more organization because we were forced to have it.We kind of improvise where we might want to,” Stephany said. “I’m hoping the underclassmen carry that organization to the next few years and without the restriction of COVID are able to use that to move a little faster to produce more content.”
As the academic year continues, Stephany and the rest of the group plans to film one last project in May Term for students who have not had the chance to participate this year. Henry Hahn, second-year journalism and communication major and KV Films member, said he encourages students across campus to become involved in KV Films if they have an interest in filmmaking.
“It’s not just exclusive to journalism and communication majors, it’s open to anyone who has an interest in filmmaking,” Hahn said. “We teach you and we do some training, we teach you how to properly handle and run a camera or lighting and whatnot so it is very easy for people to enter in, without any prior experience.”
To learn more about KV Films contact Stephany at nathan.stephany@wartburg.edu. To watch the premiere of “The Lifeline,” visit livestream.com/wartburgknightvision.
Knight Wire 
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