Liberty grads tame a wild SUV to win USC film competition
January 4, 2011
By Tim Pfarr
Andrew Joncich, Craig Hung, Alex Bell, Trevor Marti Smith and Josh Cumbee (from left) plan the details of their short film, ‘Check Engine.’ Contributed
One day while attending the University of Southern California, Liberty High School alumnus Trevor Marti Smith had a bad experience with his Jeep.
Water seeped through the sunroof, shorting the car’s electronics and killing the battery. He was forced to jumpstart the car, and as the car came to life, the horn began honking on its own.
“I thought I better take it to the mechanic,” said Smith, a 2007 Liberty graduate.
As he drove down the streets of Los Angeles to the auto shop, the horn continued to honk uncontrollably, and electric windows, headlights and windshield wipers began functioning on their own.
“I thought I was going to get shot,” he said.
However, in November, Smith teamed up with four other USC student filmmakers —including friend and 2009 Liberty graduate Alex Bell — to create a short film based on the experience. That film took best picture in the school’s Campus MovieFest.
“We were completely shell shocked,” Smith said about winning.
Per the rules of the competition, the group had one week to create a five-minute film. After considering numerous ideas for their plot, they settled on Smith’s story, and Smith said the finished product turned out surprisingly truthful.
The team drove south to Orange County to film, using unorthodox filming techniques, such as propping the expensive camera on a towel on the back of a convertible for road shots.
“We basically did everything we weren’t supposed to do,” Bell said with a laugh.
The group filmed in one day, then returned to Los Angeles for postproduction, which included an all-night editing session by Bell. Fellow group member Craig Hung applied a slew of effects to Bell’s cut to give the film a professional gloss, and another group member, Josh Cumbee, composed a five-minute original score in just six hours to accompany the film.
The process was a whirlwind, Smith recalled.
“There’s not a lot of time to get bogged down in the little details,” he said about creating a finished film in just one week. “We just have to do what we can and work as fast as we can.”
As the group submitted the film, Bell and Smith recalled that they merely hoped to take home the prize for best comedy. When they took the top prize, everyone in the group was surprised.
“It was really exciting for us,” Bell said. “It was pretty unexpected.”
The group was given a copy of Final Cut Studio — an editing suite worth more than $1,000 — and an iPod Touch for winning first prize.
The group posted the video to YouTube for friends and family members to enjoy. Among the video’s big fans is Alex Bell’s mother, Jayne Bell.
“I thought it was so good technically,” she said. “I thought that’s something you could see on television.”
Next, the group will take “Check Engine” to Hollywood in the spring for the International Grand Finale, where it will compete with winning videos from other colleges. If “Check Engine” wins best picture, each member of the group will receive an iPad.
Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
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