Student Holding clapperboard
O Brawling Love Poster

2021-2022 Project:

O, Brawling Love!

Two rival acting students are forced to reconcile their differences and play lovers Romeo and Juliet in their final school play, vying for a life-changing prize.

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JPCatholic Student Holding Camera

2022-2023 Project:

No Reception

A posh city dweller gets lost in the wilderness with nothing but his hand sanitizer, and is soon caught up in a longstanding feud between two forest hermits.

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3rd Feature Film Pitch Night

2023-2024 Project:

Year 3 Project

We are currently in development on next year's project. Check back soon for updates.

Why Feature Films?

IMDB Credits

The Feature Film Program gives students the opportunity to participate in multiple feature films throughout their education, beginning as production assistants and working their way up to key leadership roles senior year.

Hands-on, Real World Experience

What better way to learn filmmaking than by working on movie sets? The Feature Film Program creates opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned to a large scale project with high creative and professional stakes, while receiving mentorship from experienced professionals.

Increased Impact

By producing and distributing a feature film every year, JPCatholic students will have the opportunity to reach a wider audience with masterfully produced stories that inspire audiences to truth, beauty, and goodness.

Feature Film Roles

The Feature Film Program gives students valuable experience working in key roles on a professional film. Over 50 students worked on and off set to bring the first film O, Brawling Love! to life. Click below to hear students describe some of the positions, and what their job entailed.

How Does it Work?

Students have the opportunity to get involved in the Feature Film Program even as a Freshman. Each year students will have the potential to be involved at a higher level, leading up to their own cohort’s feature film during Junior-Senior year.

FEATURE FILM TIMELINE
(7 Quarters)

Feature Film Timeline

Sophomore - Winter Quarter

Story Development

All students and alumni are invited to develop their story ideas and submit their eight essential story points. A panel of JPCatholic faculty will review loglines and treatments and provide creative development notes. Story concepts should be:

  • Producible on an indie budget
  • Reflective of JPCatholic's values
  • Incredibly entertaining

Junior - Spring Quarter

Beat Sheets & Commissioning Screenplays

Students whose projects have been selected as candidates will submit beat sheets (a plot outline comprised of one sentence for every scene of the film), and begin writing their screenplay.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film: Creative Development

Junior - Summer Quarter

Completing the First Draft

Students utilize the insights that they gained in Feature FIlm Development to complete the first draft of their screenplays.

Classes integrated this quarter: Advanced Writing Seminar

Junior - Fall Quarter

Pitching, Rewriting, and Marketing

Students are invited to pitch their projects at the Feature Film Pitch Night, where they receive feedback from industry professionals. Students take the feedback that they received and integrate it into writing the second draft of their script through the Rewriting course.

In addition, students and faculty will assess each project and develop marketing strategies to determine which project has the greatest chance of succeeding in the marketplace. Faculty will select the strongest projects as finalists to be considered for production.

Students who are interested in participating in the film will submit applications for consideration in roles that they are passionate about fulfilling.

Classes integrated this quarter: Rewriting, Advanced Marketing and Distribution Strategies

Senior - Winter Quarter

The Feature Film is Greenlit

At the beginning of the Winter Quarter, the Feature Film will be greenlit from among the finalists by a panel of faculty.

Students whose applications have been accepted for key leadership roles will be enrolled in Feature Film Pre-Production I to begin the first stages of preparing for the film. Key roles include Director of Photography, Producers, Art Department, Costume, Concept Art, Assistant Director, etc.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Pre-Production I

Senior - Spring Quarter

Pre-Production

With the final script locked, students will be able to move forward with planning out the finer details of production, including scheduling and budgeting, casting, locations, set building, storyboarding, costumes, and props.

The number of students working on the project will increase, as each department recruits positions from among the student body.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Pre-Production II

Senior - Summer Break (June)

Production

It’s time to make a movie! The Feature Film production is a 6 unit experience, taking place over the 3 week break in June in San Diego County and the surrounding area.

Students gain professional experience on a feature film set, preparing them to launch into their chosen career. Select alumni may be hired to participate in key mentorship roles, contributing valuable insights and expertise.

Underclassmen will have the opportunity to participate in smaller roles on set, getting exposed early on to a professional film environment.

Senior - Summer Quarter

Post-Production

Because the Feature Film production over the June break counts as 6 credits, your final quarter at JPCatholic will contain a lighter course load of 3 courses.

Post-production students work throughout the summer to achieve picture lock on the film. A post-production professor will oversee the editing process by assigning segments of the film to students in the class, providing support and mentorship throughout the process.

Students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and proficiency as editors are selected to finalize and unify each segment of the film into a cohesive cut.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film: Post-Production

And Beyond

Final Cut and Distribution

With picture lock achieved, the film enters the final stages of post-production, including sound design and mixing, musical score, color grading, and titles.

The completed film will be distributed based on the strategy that was crafted in the development process. Faculty will utilize their connections with reputable distributors to bring the film to market.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Post-Production II, Advanced Marketing and Distribution Strategies

Sophomore - Winter Quarter

Story Development

All students and alumni are invited to develop their story ideas and submit their eight essential story points. A panel of JPCatholic faculty will review loglines and treatments and provide creative development notes. Story concepts should be:

  • Producible on an indie budget
  • Reflective of JPCatholic's values
  • Incredibly entertaining

Junior - Spring Quarter

Beat Sheets & Commissioning Screenplays

Students whose projects have been selected as candidates will submit beat sheets (a plot outline comprised of one sentence for every scene of the film), and begin writing their screenplay.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film: Development

Junior - Summer Quarter

Completing the First Draft

Students utilize the insights that they gained in Feature FIlm Development to complete the first draft of their screenplays.

Classes integrated this quarter: Advanced Writing Seminar

Junior - Fall Quarter

Pitching, Rewriting, and Marketing

Students are invited to pitch their projects at the Feature Film Pitch Night, where they receive feedback from industry professionals. Students take the feedback that they received and integrate it into writing the second draft of their script through the Rewriting course.

In addition, students and faculty will assess each project and develop marketing strategies to determine which project has the greatest chance of succeeding in the marketplace. Faculty will select the strongest projects as finalists to be considered for production.

Students who are interested in participating in the film will submit applications for consideration in roles that they are passionate about fulfilling.

Classes integrated this quarter: Rewriting, Advanced Marketing and Distribution Strategies

Senior - Winter Quarter

The Feature Film is Greenlit

At the beginning of the Winter Quarter, the Feature Film will be greenlit from among the finalists by a panel of faculty.

Students whose applications have been accepted for key leadership roles will be enrolled in Feature Film Pre-Production I to begin the first stages of preparing for the film. Key roles include Director of Photography, Producers, Art Department, Costume, Concept Art, Assistant Director, etc.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Pre-Production I

Senior - Spring Quarter

Pre-Production

With the final script locked, students will be able to move forward with planning out the finer details of production, including scheduling and budgeting, casting, locations, set building, storyboarding, costumes, and props.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Pre-Production II

Senior - Summer Break (June)

Production

It’s time to make a movie! The Feature Film production is a 6 unit experience, taking place over the 3 week break in June in San Diego County and the surrounding area.

Students gain professional experience on a feature film set, preparing them to launch into their chosen career. Select alumni may be hired to participate in key mentorship roles, contributing valuable insights and expertise.

Underclassmen will have the opportunity to participate in smaller roles on set, getting exposed early on to a professional film environment.

Senior - Summer Quarter

Post-Production

Because the Feature Film production over the June break counts as 6 credits, your final quarter at JPCatholic will contain a lighter course load of 3 courses.

Post-production students work throughout the summer to achieve picture lock on the film. A post-production professor will oversee the editing process by assigning segments of the film to students in the class, providing support and mentorship throughout the process.

Students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and proficiency as editors are selected to finalize and unify each segment of the film into a cohesive cut.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film: Post-Production

And Beyond

Final Cut and Distribution

With picture lock achieved, the film enters the final stages of post-production, including sound design and mixing, musical score, color grading, and titles.

The completed film will be distributed based on the strategy that was crafted in the development process. Faculty will utilize their connections with reputable distributors to bring the film to market.

Classes integrated this quarter: Feature Film Post-Production II, Advanced Marketing and Distribution Strategies

CASE STUDY

RED LINE

Feature films are actually not new to JPCatholic. In 2011, JPCatholic students and faculty wrote and produced a feature length film called Red Line, a thriller about ten passengers trapped in a subway car after a bomb explodes. The project was filmed almost entirely in the University’s soundstage. Industry professionals were hired to lead various departments, and students were mentored by them throughout the production process.

Red Line premiered at the San Diego Film Festival in September 2012, where it won the U-T San Diego Award. It later received domestic and international distribution in Redbox, Target, Netflix, and various other streaming services.

With the new Feature Film Program, JPCatholic is implementing the lessons learned from Red Line to craft a sustainable, repeatable experience, so that every cohort can have this incredible opportunity.

WATCH BTS VIDEO
Filming Set

Frequently Asked Questions

The University is committing a consistent budget to each feature film. Revenue from past films may be used to increase the budget for subsequent films.

No, the Feature Film Program consists of classes that are purely electives for film students. It is an opt-in program.

If you are a student or alumni who has already written a script you think should be considered, please pitch it here. For the initial submission, we ask that you only submit your logline and eight essential story points.

As a reminder, your story idea should be:

  • Producible on an indie budget
  • Reflective of JPCatholic’s values
  • Incredibly entertaining

Yes! JPCatholic’s Feature FIlm Program benefits from the variety of disciplines at the university, and students from various programs are invited to contribute their talents to the project.

The program represents a huge opportunity for acting students, who are invited to audition for the film for suitable roles. While the film does open a casting call to the public, JPCatholic acting students have been cast in lead roles, supporting roles, and as background actors.

Students in illustration and design programs can participate in areas such as concept art, storyboards, and production design. Business students can participate in developing marketing and distribution plans for the projects. Animation and Game Development students can participate in roles such as visual effects, titles, and animated sequences if applicable.

You must be a JPCatholic student or alumni in order to pitch a script. If you are interested in attending JPCatholic, please apply here!

*Please note that details of the Feature Film Program are subject to change.