The words of President Spencer W. Kimball in his talk, "The Gospel Vision of the Arts," has inspired a new program in the Philosophy Department on campus.

He spoke of the need for LDS filmmakers to create works that will be inspiring for years to come. He also spoke of the need for critics to help in the process of creating these masterpieces.

"Such masterpieces should run for months in every movie center, cover every part of the globe in the tongues of the people, written by great artists, purified by the best critics," he said.

Professors Dennis Packard and Travis Anderson have created the program called Director's Cut, where students can ask questions and give feedback to LDS filmmakers about the artistry of their films. The forum will be open to all BYU students and faculty.

"The primary thrust of this program is to teach our students and aspiring filmmakers about how to integrate criticism and artistry into their own future filmmaking projects," Anderson said. "Not to purify those [LDS filmmaker's] films that they will be viewing and discussing."

Several LDS film directors will visit campus over the next two months. They will present their films and scripts to an audience of students and professors. They will then open to a panel discussion to talk about the artistry used in their films.

Anderson said the main points of discussion will focus on use of music, shot composition, editing and mise-en-scene - a term referring to the appearance and relationship of the actors, sets, props and other elements making up the content of the shot.

Packard said the gap between critical evaluation and the creative community is too wide. He wants to see the critical and creative processes work together to develop great works of art.

"Critics have got to have some kind of contribution in the development of the piece," he said. "We hope that we can help bring the critical community closer to the creative community."

Attending the forums to discuss their upcoming films will be such well-known LDS directors as Kieth Merrill, director of "The Testaments"; Christian Vuissa, director of "Baptists at our Barbecue" and Sterling Van Wagenen, director of the last two "Work and the Glory" films.

This will be an occasion for people to talk about the artistry and thematic insights of the films, not see famous directors, Packard said.

Ethan Vincent is the editor of the upcoming documentary, "Truth and Conviction." He will attend the forum with director Matt Whitaker to discuss their film and a new script they co-authored called "Truth and Treason."

Vincent said he is excited for the opportunity to help aspiring filmmakers look at the filmmaking process academically.

"The forum allows an exchange between budding filmmakers and established filmmakers," he said.

The Director's Cut forum allows students to give feedback and for director's to speak about their films, Vincent said.

Director's Cut

Saturday

Matt Whitaker and Ethan Vincent present film "Truth and Conviction" and script "Truth and Treason."

Nov. 15

Kieth Merrill presents film "The Testaments" and script for "Christmas Jar"

Nov. 17

Christian Vuissa presents rough cut for film "Best Two Years for Sisters."

All forums in 1191 HBLL at 7 p.m.

Copyright Brigham Young University 2 Nov 2007