Freshman filmmakers craft a vision with ‘We Were Strangers’
Four students navigated the challenges and triumphs of bringing a short film to life.
By KATHERINE KANG
Coming into her first year at USC, Madeleine Tsai wanted to create and tell a story. Taking inspiration from one of her own high school friendships falling out because of a romantic relationship, Tsai created the plot of what became her short film, “We Were Strangers.”
“I know that a lot of other people can also relate to a situation such as mine,” said Tsai, a freshman majoring in cinema and media studies as well as sociology. “I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore.”
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Tsai collaborated with Zsuzsanna Juhasz, a freshman majoring in writing for screen and television, who brought the idea to life by writing the idea out and revising the screenplay. The two explored the theme of platonic relationships between young people of opposite genders, something Tsai said is rarely displayed in film.
The story follows two estranged best friends who discover they’re attending the same college. When one gets drunk at a party, the other must escort them home, leading to a discussion about their falling out and the state of their friendship.
“Zsuzsanna helped me execute that vision really well and her writing definitely helped me to visualize the film a lot better,” Tsai said.
The themes Tsai and Juhasz surveyed in “We Were Strangers” ultimately drew in the crew members to work on the film. Gabriel Tiong, a freshman majoring in the business of cinematic arts, joined the film crew because of the plot’s “very strong LGBTQ storyline” and powerful message about platonic relationships.
“I joined not just because it’s a producing project, I joined because I actually liked the story,” Tiong said. “It’s this story of, ‘Make sure you always have time for your friends. Don’t just put your love life ahead of everything else because your friends are always the ones that will be there for you.’”
Tsai approached Tiong along with Claire Renschler, a freshman majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, and Willow Metz, a freshman majoring in business administration, asking them to collaborate as producers on the project.
“This was a huge learning experience for all of us,” Renschler said. “We were really collaborative and trying to address problems as they happen and learn from them.”
Tsai, Tiong, Renschler and Metz became the film’s “Fantastic Four,” bringing varying levels of previous film experience. Renschler produces for The Suspenders, a USC comedy sketch group, Tiong created shorts in high school, and Metz worked on script supervising and set design in high school.
“I have directed other productions before, but nothing as advanced as this,” Tsai said. “[Directing ‘We Were Strangers’ has] shown me all the effort that goes into making your production, which I really appreciate because I feel like hands-on experience is better than watching from a distance.”
Bringing Tsai and Juhasz’s creative vision to life, the producers began the pre-production process by first finding a director of photography, followed by organizing actors, filming locations, other crew members and safety forms. While the producers and director hired experienced individuals for the more challenging roles, this was intentionally balanced by providing opportunities for students seeking experience on a film set.
Experienced filmmakers also played a supportive secondary role by acting as mentors and offering additional guidance to the team. The production team sourced to networks within the School of Cinematic Arts and School of Dramatic Arts.
As a student production independent from USC, “We Were Strangers” had certain freedoms and limitations. One major challenge the team ran into was filming on University Park Campus without a permit; they couldn’t use locations like lecture halls because their budget could not include purchasing a permit.
They resorted to filming in the Exposition Park Rose Garden, but the decision raised concerns because of unforeseeable closures and about maintaining continuity, given the presence of passersby in the background and potential lighting variations, Tsai said.
The process of finding a house to film in for 12 hours each day for two days was a struggle, but Metz got permission from her fellow USC Trojan Marching Band trombone players to use their house for filming. The crew also worked around unforeseeable timing difficulties and unexpected rainy weather conditions.
“There were definitely some sacrifices I had to make, it’s usually pretty common in films for things to be cut due to [time] and [schedule],” Tsai said. “But I feel like we stayed pretty true to the message of the film and the integrity of the script.”
With the support of USC’s network, both through upperclassmen and graduate students, the freshmen were able to gain valuable insight to working around these challenges. Through each step of the way, the team united forces to provide creative solutions and play upon their knowledge and network to problem solve.
Tsai had previously worked on graduate student films, which influenced her filmmaking decisions as a first-time director.
“It definitely gave me inspiration on how I wanted to communicate with my crew and the type of energy I wanted the [set] environment to be,” Tsai said.
Throughout the process, the production team also valued cultivating a healthy and fun environment in tough and busy conditions, Renschler said.
“Before we were just looking at forms of people and just picking and choosing, ‘Oh, maybe this person would be fit,’” Metz said. “Then seeing them actually work together was almost like a dream come true, just to see that the people clicked and they were efficient in working together. It was very satisfying.”
Throughout every stage, from fundraising endeavors to the extended hours spent on set, the outpouring of support from peers, friends, and those working on set was unexpected, Renschler said. The team plans to celebrate the film and the USC and greater Los Angeles communities that came together to create the film. In late March or early April, when the editing process is complete, they will host a screening for those who worked on and supported the film. The filmmakers also aim to submit the film to film festivals.
Amid the celebration and excitement of the nearly completed film, there burns a collective desire within the “Fantastic Four” to leave an indelible mark on their SCA community.
“It would be great for people in the School of Cinematic Arts to see we can organize this type of production and make this happen,” Renschler said, “regardless of our grade, or whatever resources the school gives us. It’s still possible.”
