Kent State’s own helps create the soundtrack for an annual short film collaboration with Cuyahoga Community College.

Cuyahoga Community College, or Tri-C, has created a short film every year for the past five years, each February. Using both professionals and students, the film is usually ready around May for post-production.

That is where Scott Hallgren, an associate professor in the School of Media and Journalism, comes in.

Hallgren writes the score for the short film, and then enlists students and professionals to play the music and help with the recording session. 

“I sit down with the director and we go through the movie and talk about the places where she or he feels like there needs to be music or doesn’t need to be music,” Hallgren said. “And then what it needs to accomplish from an emotional standpoint, because that’s really the purpose of having the music in there in the first place.”

Hallgren has written a variety of scores for these short films, including the sounds of string quartets and a polka band. The Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland also lends its sound to the score.

This year’s short film, “Photography,” follows a female photographer through 1960s New York City as she is expected to train her younger replacement. 

The music direction reflected the style of the big band era, drawing inspiration from Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Hallgren blended in strings for the more emotional moments of the film.

Hallgren started getting Kent State students involved in 2022. Along with musicians, Hallgren also gets students in the film and animation program to assist in setting up, handing out music and taking notes on different takes during the recording sessions.

The students worked alongside professional mentors in the recording studio. For some, it was a brand new experience. 

“We put all of these people who don’t know each other, for the most part, and some have never been in a recording studio together in a day and taught them how to do this,” Hallgren said.

Hallgren also collaborated with School of Music professor Bobby Selvaggio to recruit jazz musicians and Kris Morron, the music director for the Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland. 

Students of any major who would like to get involved with this experience can contact Hallgren. 

Hallgren believes the short film is a great learning experience for students, allowing them to interact in a professional setting that many have not been in before. 

“We don’t really teach, at this campus, students how to work in a recording studio,” Hallgren said. “We don’t really teach students how to record themselves or their instrument.”

Hallgren would like there to be more opportunities like this for students, where they can apply the skills they learn to their careers and be more well-rounded. 

In addition to students developing skills, Hallgren hopes more people become aware of the short film collaboration. This awareness could open doors for film production in Northeast Ohio so production companies can create, edit and score films in the area instead of traveling far. 

“I’m trying to help people be aware that this is possible and that we can do more of these things. You don’t have to go to Los Angeles,” Hallgren said. “People are making things all over the place now. Why not here?”

The scoring of the film was a learning experience for Hallgren just as much as it was for students. He is “always amazed at how much people want to make music and will work toward making that music.”

“Photography” is set to be screened at local film festivals in the spring. 

Loreal Puleo is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].