Spring Break
URI alumni live for 'reel life'
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: News
10/15/08 - As the University of Rhode Island gets more and more exposure on the silver screen, like in Richard Gere's "Hachiko: A Dog's Story" or the Farrelly brothers' "Outside Providence," the campus has seen its fair share of reel life.
It should come as no surprise then, that at least one independent film company is using URI as a launch pad into bigger and better projects. Patrick Bosworth and Jamie Dufault, both recent graduates of URI, have been making short films since they started their college careers.
After founding Tiny Penguin Films, the pair - who are housemates in Narragansett - have been putting out short films for the past few years and have been receiving consistent recognition for their work. Their first film, "Breezehaven," won first place in the open narrative category of the URI Visualizations Film Festival. It was a short horror movie filmed on Block Island in conjunction with one of their friend's film company, Night Owl Productions.
"We didn't really have any collective yet, we [were] just kind of aimlessly working on other people's projects," Bosworth said. "I needed something to call my own films, so I just came up with the name Tiny Penguin Films."
The pair won first place in the open narrative category of the URI Visualizations Film Festival for four consecutive years, and two of those won best in festival. They said although these are helpful in getting much needed prize money - up to $400 per win - and exposure, festivals do not go all the way in producing their films. Everything from free working actors to Home Depot gaffing and lighting equipment has been used to make the films as inexpensively as possible.
"A lot of the time we've actually made most of our equipment," Bosworth said. "It's about getting it done any way possible, but not compromising on quality."
Dufault said the camera dolly they use for just about every film was built from scratch, and although it is not very pleasing on the eyes, it has served their purposes well during the years. In the actual film itself, they said, aesthetic value is quite a different story.
It should come as no surprise then, that at least one independent film company is using URI as a launch pad into bigger and better projects. Patrick Bosworth and Jamie Dufault, both recent graduates of URI, have been making short films since they started their college careers.
After founding Tiny Penguin Films, the pair - who are housemates in Narragansett - have been putting out short films for the past few years and have been receiving consistent recognition for their work. Their first film, "Breezehaven," won first place in the open narrative category of the URI Visualizations Film Festival. It was a short horror movie filmed on Block Island in conjunction with one of their friend's film company, Night Owl Productions.
"We didn't really have any collective yet, we [were] just kind of aimlessly working on other people's projects," Bosworth said. "I needed something to call my own films, so I just came up with the name Tiny Penguin Films."
The pair won first place in the open narrative category of the URI Visualizations Film Festival for four consecutive years, and two of those won best in festival. They said although these are helpful in getting much needed prize money - up to $400 per win - and exposure, festivals do not go all the way in producing their films. Everything from free working actors to Home Depot gaffing and lighting equipment has been used to make the films as inexpensively as possible.
"A lot of the time we've actually made most of our equipment," Bosworth said. "It's about getting it done any way possible, but not compromising on quality."
Dufault said the camera dolly they use for just about every film was built from scratch, and although it is not very pleasing on the eyes, it has served their purposes well during the years. In the actual film itself, they said, aesthetic value is quite a different story.
