We spoke to the Filmmaker’s Society about the production of their new film

The CIO overcame inexperience and tragedy to make ‘Monotone!’, the longest-running film in club history

The Filmmaker’s Society has produced a 32-minute film called Monotone! based on an idea executive producer Stephen Dwyer had a few years ago about a creative what-if scenario.

“I was just kind of running an idea in my head,” Stephen said, “where you follow this one guy throughout his life and every stage of his life is a different genre, but the catch is that the whole time it’s monotone.”

Stephen with the film’s team

After noticing this past fall that the Society was filled with students who were really interested but needed a big project to test out their skills, Stephen remembered his idea.

“I pitched this idea for Monotone! where this girl makes a wish that all these guys are monotone, and then you follow her four best friends’ lives as they deal with this wish.” He wanted a different writer, director, editor and genre for each of these four stories.

They assembled a team, with no one but Stephen having any prior experience in filmmaking, including a passionate associative producer Pearl Lee.

“It was a fantastic learning experience,” Pearl said. “The thought of making a film was so intimidating to me until I got involved with this project.”

They worked on planning, screenwriting, casting, and getting a crew together for months until they were ready to start filming in February when a family tragedy struck.

Stephen said he “called Pearl, and I said, ‘I need you to be an executive producer because I’m going to be gone for a month.’ And without hesitation she was like ‘yes, I’ll do it, whatever you need,’ and she did so much.”

“Most people will be there if you need them but few people really take that extra mile for you,” Stephen said, “and Pearl took 10 extra miles for me and the entire Monotone! crew.”

Stephen was especially impressed with how efficiently and passionately the team worked. They were able to start filming the week he got back to UVA.

He said the only reason the film still happened was because of how “amazing, capable and supportive” the team was.

Pearl also credits her peers for the film’s success.

“Being around other creative, like-minded, talented individuals is inspiring, and crucial to developing your craft,” she said. “We have some incredibly gifted creators at UVA, and it was a privilege to work with them.”

While the team worked so diligently, they also had a lot of fun as well, through impromptu scenes and a party on set when they completed the final scene, which Stephen himself directed.

Stephen finds that having a good time on set is just as important as making the film itself.

He said, “In the end if you have a bad film but good memories, that’s great. Of course you want a good film with good memories, but we’re just students and it’s all about learning. So make sure to enjoy it.”

In addition to making and screening films, FMS holds a Virginia student film festival with contests and prizes for college students all over the state, has a screenwriters guild and has a videography group that works with a number of organizations on grounds including the bookstore, a capella groups and even Dean Groves.

You can watch Monotone! in full on Stephen’s website.

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