Behind the scenes filming Raccoon Soup
I am incredibly passionate about filmmaking and when it came time to choose a capstone project I knew that I had to take the opportunity to direct a short film. Not only would it benefit my career after school, but the process of making short films touches on many of the values of the Honors College. Anybody can pick up their iPhone, grab a few friends and make a short film, but a substantial amount of money is required to make a short film that is professional and polished. The only reason that I was able to bring my short film Raccoon Soup to life was because of the URGE grant I received from the Honors College.
Once I received the grant I was able to start the process of making the film. If I was going to direct, I wanted to be able to throw myself into the creative process. I needed a producer to be in charge of managing the grant money and handling logistical issues. The first thing I did was approach my friends and colleagues, Emma Barrett and Griffin Dietrick, and asked them to be my producers. Once they were officially on the project, we started our crowdfunding campaign to raise another $1,000 for the project. This involved creating a GoFundMe, making a promotional video, and reaching out to friends and acquaintances to ask for donations. They also helped me recruit our crew of twenty-five UCA film students to be on set with us.
In May, Emma and I began location scouting for a diner in the Central Arkansas area. Our requirements were that it had to look like it was from the 1970s, it had to look a little run down, it had to have at least two days a week that it was completely closed, and of course, the owner had to agree to let us film in the front and back of house. We visited about ten diners and received many rejections from their owners. Finally, in late June, we found Dan’s I-30 Diner in Benton. It met all of our requirements and more. I had no prior knowledge of the diner before Griffin suggested it as a location, but you would have thought I wrote the script based on the real life employees and clients. It was perfect!
At the same time, Griffin and I started auditions. There are three main characters in the script: Lori the waitress, Ricky the owner, and Jimmy the line cook. In addition to them, is an ensemble of regulars who come into the diner to wreak havoc including Candace, Jebidiah, Linda, Jacob, Gary, and Denis. A good actor makes the difference between a good short film and a great short film, so we decided to open up the main characters to a national casting campaign on Backstage. We auditioned over one-hundred women from across the country before we found our Lori, an actress from Los Angeles named Megan Wilcox. Thanks to the money I received from the URGE grant we had enough money to fly her to Arkansas from L.A. To find our ensemble, we scoured local filmmaking Facebook groups and film festivals to find the best actors for the roles.
After months of preparation, we filmed for four days from August 18th to 21st. Now I am working with a former UCA film student to edit the film. It, along with my thesis paper, will be completed in time for Honors Capstone Presentations in May 2025. Making this film was an invaluable educational experience for me. Community, collaboration, and authorship are key pillars of the Honors College and also are foundational to filmmaking. We had a crew of thirty-one members, a cast of nine actors, and a total of thirty-six friends, colleagues, and family members who came out to be background actors. This film could not have been completed without a strong sense of community and the belief that every single person is integral to the final product. As the director, I was the captain of the ship, but we wouldn’t have even left the port without my collaborators. On this journey, my actors, production designer, cinematographer, and producers gave me countless ideas about how to make a scene funnier, how to make a design a better frame, and how to make the mise-en-scène more dynamic. Their experience and skills benefited the film and me as I gained a more interdisciplinary understanding of the medium.
Janie Gentry
Digital Filmmaking
Class of 2025
