04/28/2008
THE BUZZ-Richard Lucas @ Mitchell College
-NEW LONDON DAY
Why you should know him: Mitchell College's newest faculty member - presumably the first to produce movies depicting murderous aliens and other monsters - Lucas has been tapped to lead the school's fledgling communication department. A 1967 graduate of Robert E. Fitch Senior High School and professor emeritus at his alma mater, Southern Connecticut State University, he helped found Synthetic Cinema International, an independent film-production company, and has served as executive producer of its films, including“Predator Island,”“Blood Descendants” and“Werewolf: The Devil's Hound.”
Starting from scratch: Lucas occupied an office on the Mitchell campus as a member of the University of New Haven faculty from 1980-82. Four years ago, after more than 20 years at Southern Connecticut, where his wife, Bonnie Farley-Lucas, also teaches, he accepted an early-retirement offer. Now, his hiatus from academia is over. After discussing the Mitchell position with Gil Maffeo, Mitchell's vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, Lucas met with a search committee and landed the job.“I like to build things,” Lucas says.“When I spoke to Gil, I got excited (at the prospect) of starting from scratch. … What I like about Mitchell is it's truly, truly student-focused. When they introduce a program, they ask, 'Is it good for our students? Is it what they need?'”
Three-headed program: Now a consultant, Lucas will become a full professor and department chairman in August. He's hard at work on the communication program Maffeo crafted, one of several four-year bachelor's degree programs Mitchell has rolled out in recent years. Already, 20 students have declared themselves communication majors. The program will offer three areas of concentration - video production and performance, which will prepare students for careers in media; interpersonal communication, which will ready them for jobs in such fields as human resources, management and education; and technology, which will focus on the ways people use the Internet and other digital delivery systems. Mitchell is offering an intensive course in video production in an effort to get communication students up to speed.
Application … and theory: Lucas, who plans to resurrect the campus newspaper and radio station, says his professional experience will help sell students on the communication program.“They may want to know what they need to know to make a living in film production,” he says.“Well, I can tell them. They may say, 'I want to edit film.' Well, (I'll tell them) 'You need to know how to shoot first.' … A lot of careers intersect in the film business; think of all the vendors that service the film industry. I can teach them how to be an independent businessman. I can teach theory in an interesting way. Sometimes you can teach the application before the theory - or pick up the process somewhere in between.”
Horror stories: While Lucas was at Southern Connecticut, Andrew Gernhard, a communication student from Norwich, came to him and said he wanted to make a movie.“I said, 'Start a business,'” Lucas recalls.“He took me up on it.” Gernhard and a partner produced“Trees,” a parody of“Jaws,” and a sequel,“Root of All Evil.” Lucas and his wife signed on as executive producers, forming Synthetic Cinema International, a full-service, independent film production and distribution company based in Rocky Hill. In 2005,“Predator Island,” a Gernhard film shot in Old Saybrook and at independent Tripeg Studios in Hamden, followed. Synthetic Cinema won a deal with Universal to distribute the film on DVD throughout the United States.“As executive producer you do whatever it takes,” Lucas says,“from keeping everyone happy (on the set) to helping write the stories.”
Student as teacher: In a bit of role reversal, Lucas says he learned from Gernhard that horror movies were the way to go.“You can do everything in Connecticut, and they sell all over the world,” he says. In the straight-to-DVD market, the key is to get up-front payment on a distribution deal. The idea is to recoup your investment and plow it into the next project, each time getting better at it. For example, Lucas says,“Banshee!!!,” now in post-production, promises to be the best Synthetic Cinema film so far. While a theatrical release would cost millions, most Synthetic Cinema movies are made for $100,000 to $120,000 each. The“Banshee!!!” project is the first on which Synthetic Cinema has applied for a tax credit under the state's film-incentive program.
Learning curve:“We're all teachers,” Lucas says of those involved with Synthetic Cinema.“Part of our mission statement is to provide opportunities for students. Interns have worked on all of our movies.”
- Brian Hallenbeck
For information on the Video Production Workshop visit: www.mitchell.edu
