When junior Jonny Deaton received his $5,000 prize from the Nukebusters Short Film Contest, he was overwhelmed.
His short film, “Joining the Conversation,” featured the relationship between Millennials and their knowledge of nuclear weapons and development.
The competition was sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), a physician-led organization working to protect the United States from nuclear attacks. All participants were encouraged to create a video that would inspire young adults to eliminate the United States’ use of nuclear weapons, according to the PSR website.
Informing Millennials
As a cinema and television arts major, Deaton’s experience in classes at Elon helped prepare him for the production. With his team, he brainstormed ways to set the video apart and connect with their audience.
“We wanted to make it realistic because we wanted to relate to Millennials in terms of nuclear weapon abolishment,” he said.
His winning video features different pairs of young adults reacting to powerful statements about the current status of nuclear weapons in the United States. They respond with shock and disappointment about the widespread nuclear development in the country.
The respondents sat in front of a blank background and told the camera what they were feeling after hearing facts such as, “We accidentally dropped two nuclear bombs on ourselves in North Carolina.”
This simplistic presentation was intentional.
“When we were brainstorming about it, I came up with the idea to stick kids like us in front of a white screen,” Deaton said.
They also took advantage of the audience’s lack of nuclear knowledge to evoke their feeling of shock towards how extensive nuclear usage is.
Deaton admitted he did not know much about the topic himself before entering the competition.
“With a topic like nuclear weapons, the reactions to stats were visceral, partly because the stats were so shocking, but also because this is an area of policy that can potentially mean life and death,” said director of photography and alumnus Will Lee ‘15.
Deaton said their approach stood out.
“We approached it this way because a lot of people are introduced to the topic of nuclear devices with fear tactics,” he said. “We wanted to make it relatable instead.”
Rather than using actors, the video took on a documentary and educational angle.
“The video itself was straightforward from a technological standpoint,” Lee said. “It was designed to let the subjects do all the work in the interview process.”
Collaborating in Los Angeles
Along with hard work, Deaton was fortunate with finding and winning this competition.
“My sister worked at the nonprofit that sponsored the competition and she pushed for about a month, when I was in Los Angeles, for me to do the competition,” he said. “I said that I was too busy, that it was impossible, but eventually she managed to convince me.”
With only two weeks left before the deadline, Deaton reached out to his friends in the area for Elon in LA to help him. He first contacted Lee to be the director of photography.
“It was amazing to be able to work with such incredible people,” Deaton said. “When I contacted my friends in LA they really dropped everything for me, knowing they weren’t necessarily going to get paid.”
His friends were just as excited to work on the project with Deaton.
“Jonny had done all the worrying for us in previous meetings with the producer so it was a very relaxed set when it came time to shoot,” Lee said. “He’s a good director because he listens to everyone around him for ideas and feedback on the process.”
Even with their deadline looming, the team worked together to produce a wining video. They stayed up for 36 hours straight filming and editing to create a finished product, and submitted it a half-hour before the deadline.
Lee and Deaton labored over the video to make sure it was something they could be proud of.
“We both went to work like idiots,” Deaton said. “I definitely pushed my limits there. I won’t be doing that again.”
According to Deaton, he and Lee had difficulties exporting the final video — there was a loud click in the beginning they could not remove. But even with last-minute problems, they persevered to create a winning video.
Luckily, they were able to get rid of the noise and turn in the video just in time for the deadline. In the end, the stress and lack of sleep was worth it for the group.
“Projects like this give you such an interesting look into the perspectives of people from different backgrounds,” Lee said. “Starting a conversation with active and engaged participants was the most rewarding part of the project, hands down.”
Help from the summer
Deaton improved his skills for shooting and directing the video from his internship with 7ate9 Entertainment over the summer in Los Angeles. Though he wasn’t paid, Deaton believes he benefited from the internship.
“I walked into the office and they put me right to work,” he said. “They put me in places I couldn’t even imagine — I got so much experience.”
One of the people he credits for giving him many opportunities is Christy Taylor, supervisor and producer at 7ate9.
“She’s a combination of one of the most powerful people in LA and at the same time she’s the friendliest person on earth,” he said. “She will break her back to make sure that some kid like me is getting his chance at production.”
His mentors and experience prepared him to create the winning video for Nukebusters. Even so, he was surprised by how much went into making this project.
“I had meetings with production companies, with studios,” Deaton said. “It was the first time that I had led something like that-an industry standard production.”
The Nukebusters competition and this internship have inspired him to continue pursuing his dream to work in the video production industry by proving he has the capability to make something memorable.
He is now also interested in working with contemporary and social issues from the experience.
“I would love to work for social cause groups in the future,” he said. “It would be really cool to work for nonprofits and NGOs.”
After receiving his award at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C., he was contacted by a few professionals who were interested in working with him. But Deaton won’t be able to make any final career decisions while he still has a few semesters left at Elon.
“I have no idea what I’ll do in the future,” Deaton said. “I could be selling hot dogs. I’ve never done productions like this before but I’m so excited for the future.”
Deaton intends on paying his crew for the work they did on the project with his winnings.
“They deserve it and I can’t emphasize that enough,” he said. “I was driving the ship but a captain isn’t a captain without his crew.”
Although this experience paid off for Deaton, he is taking a break from the stressful video competitions for a little while and putting most of his attention on his time-consuming schoolwork.
But he still loves the industry.
“There are new projects, new locations every day,” Deaton said. “I think I’ve learned that I’m addicted to that. I definitely want to work in this industry as long as I can afford to pay for my coffee.”