SUBLEVEL 134 (1991)
Believe it or not, film students at Biola in the early 90s were not required to produce an senior film. After discussing the matter with my professor Tom Nash, he agreed that it should be a requirement for future students. As a result, I set the trend by making this short dramatic film.
I had long admired George Lucas' science fiction student film (THX-1138) for using only strange existing locations. I tried to do the same with a newly built electrical plant at Biola. The plant had a lot of machines, generators and rooms that made it a perfect location for a science fiction short story. So I began to write a story around this location.
Writing the dramatic piece was difficult as I never became100% happy with the story. But as my shooting deadline approached, I decided to move forward. For the short, I used actors wanting to break into Hollywood, since they were eager for the experience they were willing to work for free. Unfortunately some of this inexperience came through in their performance. The music was scored by Mark Wangrin and is miscredited in the end credits as Byron Siemsen.
I filmed this in 16mm and premiered along with other student films to a small audience at Biola. This was really the first film festival of its kind at Biola.
