After two semesters of production, the Quinnipiac Film Society (QFS) production of “Guaranteed A” was screened before a showing of “He’s Just Not That Into You” on Saturday, April 25. With one semester of filming and another semester of post-production, the cast and crew of “Guaranteed A” could reap the rewards of their time and effort with the premiere of the 45-minute feature.
“Guaranteed A” was shot mostly on weekends to accommodate the hectic schedules of the cast and crew. Before production began each day, director Matt Galo and director of photography Justin Schussler met two hours before filming and created storyboards for the next scenes to be shot.
“Those were my Bibles,” Galo said. “The first shoot we did, I didn’t have storyboards and it was mayhem. We learned so much as the semester went on and that is how I would prepare.”
Seniors Adam McCaughey and Christina Cimino spent the last semester editing “Guaranteed A” and received credit from the School of Communications, according to Galo.
“I have final cut on the movie, which means whatever I say goes,” Galo said.
The editing process was time-consuming, which consisted of bringing the actors in to re-record dialogue that did not pick up when filming. The actors had to go into a studio and repeat their lines until the new recording matched their lips. Even in April, “Guaranteed A” underwent re-shoots, specifically the first scene of the feature after a change in vision.
As part of post-production, senior Alex Busi composed a score for the film, which pleased Galo because he had never directed a film with its own theme before.
Eventually, Galo hopes to send “Guaranteed A” to film festivals and put it online on Google Video with the prospect of reaching a wider audience. Galo even plans to make an extended cut of “Guaranteed A” over the summer.
“QFS pulled together so well to make [‘Guaranteed A’]. It was amazing. There were 30 people at shoots sometimes,” Galo said. “For me that was like, ‘Wow, they are all at my command.’ It was just amazing to see it pull together.”
