 "Photo: Sonya Ekstrom | The Spectator")
 "Photo: Sonya Ekstrom | The Spectator")
“The Sweatervest of Gyges”
What would you do if you were given a sweater vest of invisibility?
Seattle University students Enrique Cabrera, Andy Osborne and Kai Revius are trying to answer just that in their film “The Sweatervest of Gyges.”
Based on a story in Plato’s “Republic” known as “The Ring of Gyges,” the film explores the question of whether or not a person would still choose to be moral if they had the advantage of invisibility.
The film begins after a mysterious tempter (Cabrera) gifts a hideous sweater vest to the unsuspecting young Gyges (Revius). Gyges takes the gift lightly at first, playing innocent pranks while invisible, before discovering the darker implications of what such a gift could offer.
Cabrera, who edited and had a small role in last year’s film “The Daily Grind,” is more engaged in filmmaking this year as the director of “Sweatervest.” He said one of the things he learned from last year’s festival is that the films that did the best in the competition did most of their filming off campus.
The film takes place at five different locations in the greater Seattle area, following Gyges during his often comic journey through the realm of temptation.
The group decided that having a good story is only part of what makes a great CMF movie. The trio has been trying to balance plot with aesthetics.
Osborne, the primary editor of the film, also put the story into a formal script. Previously, the group had been working from notes but felt a script would give them a greater sense of direction.
“The overall question we want to ask,” Cabrera says, “is what would you do?”
In the scenes where Gyges wears the vest, the viewer sees from his perspective, but the group chose to use this technique for practicality rather than style. They were concerned that, if they shot the invisibility scenes in third person, they would be forced to move objects with string and wanted to avoid being overly campy, which could take away from the plot’s moral implications.
Though their special effects are mostly improvised, the team promises to bring together tech -savvy and Platonic wit in their quirky modern parable.
“Screwed”
It’s a common scenario any college student will experience at least once before graduating: You come home to find your roommate distraught on the couch with tissues and ice-cream, and you can’t help but want to fix it.
This is exactly where Campus MovieFest veteran participant Aaron Klingensmith decided to begin his film “Screwed.”
“Screwed” revolves around two nameless college roommates trying to solve relationship problems—or rather, trying to solve one roommate’s problem of totally lacking a romantic relationship. One roommate is the average, goofy college student who can’t figure out why his method doesn’t work on the ladies. The other roommate is the slightly more suave college socialite.
“I don’t think they’re very far from what you’d find in a college situation with roommates,” Klingensmith says.
The film cuts from conversations between the roommates to scenes illustrating just how talentless at romance a young man can be.
One scene cuts from a conversation discussing the roommate’s desire to turn himself into a stud-muffin at the gym to a scene wherein he beats himself up in a game of racquetball.
Klingensmith, sophomore English and math major, worked on “My Steed and Me” at CMF last year, which won Best Picture at the Seattle U competition. This year, he returns to lead a team of first-year participants in creating a comedic romp through college life.
The group, which also includes sophomore English major Sean Abel and sophomore math major Kia Braha, , had already made another five-minute film before beginning “Screwed.” The group decided they weren’t happy with it because it was overcomplicated and wanted to create something simple that was both “funny and effective.”
After his success last year, it is certain that Klingensmith’s team will share more success than the protagonist of “Screwed,” even if they are looking for viewers rather than ladies.
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