Spreading Creative Roots: Filmmakers at Mines

A film begins like this: a young man exits an elevator in a large, empty building. He makes his way downstairs to a hallway; though, to cross, he must crawl under lasers. The task is difficult, but he emerges unscathed and finds a mysterious case sitting on a table. He cracks the case’s code, unlocks it, and it opens to reveal something, something that causes him to whisk it away through the building. But two men in black watch him and noiselessly follow him, then all-out chase him through the building, and a brawl ensues!

This exciting adventure is not a Jason Bourne film, but a creation by the Filmmakers at Mines club. The organization was established just this semester by sophomores Stephen Agee, Easton Bornemeier, and Daichi Jameson, and their film can be found on their YouTube channel, Filmmakers at Mines.

“We kind of started this off of the fact that we were surprised that there wasn’t a club dedicated to this on campus,” stated Bornemeier, president of the club. “We each have a passion to make videos.”

Filmmakers at Mines has hit the ground running; the club has been commissioned by the school to film all sorts of campus events and is planning to create recap videos for E-Days.

“This semester we’ve already been a part of filming the TedX talks, we filmed the veritas forum, we’re planning on filming the Tesla coil and a bunch of E-Days stuff as well,” stated Bornemeier. “Next year we’re hoping to do the E-Days promotional videos and the follow-up videos.”

Bornemeier also expressed hopes to work on videos with other clubs and events and generate campus awareness and involvement in all that Mines has to offer.

“That’s how we’re giving back to the Mines community,” said Bornemeier, “we’re providing videography of not only events but also of clubs who want to get their names out there.”

The filmmakers’ ambition, however, does not end there: they plan to create a feature-length film by the 2018-2019 school year. Their Goldmine campaign’s goal is to raise money for necessary equipment.

“That’s our biggest, outstanding goal,” stated Bornemeier. “We also want to generate creative content through different genres on the side.”

At its heart, the club wants to generate interest and awareness in all aspects of filmmaking: not only acting or directing but writing, producing, special and visual effects, sound design, and music production.

Filmmakers at Mines has members of all skill levels, and encourages anyone interested in the filmmaking process to attend meetings at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in Marquez 222.

“There’s so many different aspects of it that people can fit into,” stated Bornemeier, “If they have prior skills or they don’t, they can find a place here.”

Bornemeier and the rest of Filmmakers at Mines are excited for a collaborative and creative future at Mines.

“The whole goal of it is to provide a creative outlet,” stated Bornemeier, “and really having a strong community of people who fit into their individual tasks and [are] able to watch that come together and produce content that everyone contributes to.”