(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – A UCM alumnus recently sold his first feature film, in Los Angeles.
Jerry White, a 2009 graduate and filmmaker in LA, directed, produced and edited “Autumn’s End,” a movie about newly orphaned children that have to fight for survival.
“Originally, the project started because I’m a fan of horror movies, but I was never able to really watch a film that followed the characters after the event so that was kind of the nug of inspiration of where the story began,” White said.
White funded the movie himself, which gave him more creative control and allowed him to shoot the film in real time. The team would fly out to Michigan from LA to film the seasons portrayed in the movie.
“It was an interesting project just being able to take that time because usually when you make films, you have someone hovering over your back, but when you’re paying for it yourself, you can take the time and do whatever you want to do, and that was a very unique way to approach it. I’m glad I was able to do that for at least one of the films I make,” White said.
White works as a gaffer on movie and commercial sets and has been for the past five years of the seven he has been living in LA. He’s in charge of lighting departments on set and that has allowed him to pay for the films he creates.
White’s second feature film premiered at Raindance, an independent film festival in London, last month and he is working on the script for his next project.
White credited two UCM faculty members as champions of his success – Professor Emeritus John Smead and Mark Pearce, the past development director for KMOS.
Pearce said White was an exceptional student who showed real promise right off the bat.
“I saw a specialness in him, and I think he enjoyed being recognized, so we built a pretty good friendship,” Pearce said. “I became a cheerleader for him while he was trying to fulfill his goals and aspirations.”
Pearce said he encouraged White to follow his dreams even though the film industry isn’t an easy business to get into.
“When you see somebody with initiative like he had, you don’t want to temper him too much because he has avenues that we can’t dream of. Different people have different possibilities and he certainly had the initiative that made me think he had some paths that I couldn’t even imagine,” he said. “Unless you start that path, you never know what you’re gonna shake out and find.”
Pearce said it’s gratifying to see a past student of his succeeding.
“You want every single student in the class to gain some insights or skills that they’ll put to use in whatever they end up doing,” he said.
Smead, who taught at UCM for 41 years before retiring, said White did excellent work in his production classes and would often go beyond the requirements of assignments.
“Jerry is a very talented person with a strong motivation to succeed in whatever task he sets for himself,” he said. “He always challenged himself to try new things to improve his abilities.”
Smead said it’s a professor’s goal to see their students thrive after graduation and students like White, who had initiative and ability to excel, make the job rewarding.
“In production classes we do our best to teach students the basic theories and techniques of the craft and give them the opportunity to develop their abilities through production assignments.  Beyond that it’s up to the student to move beyond those basics,” Smead said.
Smead also said that White deserves all of the praise and credit for the hard work he has put in.
“I’m honored that he cites me as a mentor, but it’s Jerry who deserves the credit for his success,” he said.
White said he encourages film students to practice as much as they can while they have the access to equipment here.
“You gotta get the bad ones out of you right now while you’re in school,” White said. “Be true to what you want to make; make the films you want to make and eventually you’ll find that audience for them.”
To purchase “Autumn’s End,” go to http://tinyurl.com/y9m7d9wj.