UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The assignment was challenging and consistent: film students in an advanced alternative production class were asked to pitch a different idea every week of the semester.
So, Caroline Miller and her College of Communications classmates strove to find different approaches and perspectives as they shared ideas. They racked their brains, scoured the internet and tried any number of paths to develop something that would stand out.
With a mix of live action and light animation, Miller created a distinct look and feel with her film titled “Radiant.” The three-minute film was successful far beyond class.
“Radiant” advanced to the semifinals of the 43rd annual Student Academy Awards. Miller was notified of the accomplishment by email — a note she received while watching a Fourth of July parade.
“It’s just such an awesome thing to reach this level,” Miller said. “I did not expect it at all. It’s a huge deal. We’re a pretty close-knit group in the film program, so it’s exciting to be able to collaborate with my classmates on something like this, and then point to it as a success.”
A record 1,749 films were submitted to the awards program this year. As a semifinalist, Miller’s film reached the top 5 percent of all submissions. She’s the second Penn State student to reach the semifinal round in as many years. Last year Alex Yakacki’s “A Silent Struggle” was honored as a semifinalist.
Finalists for this year’s competition will be announced Aug. 1 and award winners will be announced Sept. 1. Presentation of the Student Academy Awards will take place Sept. 22 in Los Angeles.
Miller, from Lititz, graduated with her film-video degree in May. She worked on a half-dozen films during her undergraduate career and was not always sold on the idea for “Radiant.”
“I was pretty unsure at first,” she said. “There’s one scene where I have the light animation figures going across the playground. When I started mixing in the animation, I was a little worried. As it started coming together, though, it seemed to work.”
Whether the film wins or not, Miller has a trip planned to Hollywood.
Just days after finding out about the award, she accepted a post-graduate internship with Los Angeles-based Gravitas Ventures, an international film distribution company. It’s a marketing and public relations role that will allow Miller to learn more about the film industry while building her skill set — a growing combination that touches on many aspects of the film industry.
“The marketing and PR is exciting,” she said. “At the same time, this past year I kind of fell in love with handling the camera.”
Miller also participated in a semester-long international documentary course as a senior, traveling to Iceland during spring break to work on a film about whaling. Her resulting film, “There’s a Catch,” featured whale conservationists in the country and a chef who routinely prepares whale meat for restaurant patrons, many of whom are tourists.
She said the collaborative approach of the Penn State film-video program and the variety of assignments were vital in preparing her for a career.
“Penn State, and especially the film program, has this family feeling,” she said. “We have good academics, and the combination of what we do in class and the experience makes you stronger as a job candidate.”
Miller’s brother Chris graduated from Penn State with an engineering degree in 2014. Their parents are Jill and Randy Miller.