Alex Pappas
Pappas said he started as a wedding videographer, but didn’t enjoy it. “Some people were so fake. As I was making the videos, someone would say, ‘Oh smile for the camera,’ and when the camera went down they’d say, ‘Oh screw off,’ and I thought it was the fakest thing,” Pappas said.
Sebastien Mehegan / Administrative Executive Editor
Following his videography business, Pappas said he began making and selling protein cookies at gyms in his home town. He stopped selling them when he returned to KSC for the fall semester because he said not enough students were interested. Pappas’ next idea was a food delivery service, “I started delivering cookies, cakes and other kinds of food.” He said many people responded positively to his service and he is using the money gained from that to fund his new app.
Pappas said his and Miller’s next project is a film collaboration app. The idea is for the film department, to create an interface where film students can easily find and contact potential crew members or actors for any given project.
Pappas said he has been doing film projects since he was six years old. His earliest experiences with film involved an editing system called Dazzle. With this piece of equipment, Pappas made Lego stop motion videos.
Pappas’ KSC Film Lecturer Ted White said, “Many people consider film a literature even though film has technology that’s a part of it and so I like it when students are looking into creative arts to inspire or stimulate their film making.”
Pappas said his interest in film stems from his want to help people. “Whenever I could make a film like a ‘Hey happy birthday’ film someone would say ‘That’s amazing that made my week’ and I’m like ‘I did that’ and that’s awesome,” Pappas said.
Alex Miller
Miller said he has been working with Pappas since they met the second semester of his first year. Miller said during his first semester, he worked with people who brought him down. “I was struggling to find someone who would be doing more things. I met Alex at the end of last year and that was really helpful. He kind of gave me some faith in this program again,” Miller said.
Miller said many of the students he met voiced their hope to move to Hollywood and become famous. “The reality of the situation is that’s not what happens. You can’t just say ‘Hey I graduated [from] Keene State, hire me.’”
With many visiting filmmakers, Miller said the one thing he learned is to produce as much work as possible at school. “Once you leave you won’t have the same resources as you had at school,” Miller said.
According to Miller the dynamic of the working duo has him as the idea sparker, while Pappas takes the idea to the next level. “He’s more talented with the camera. I actually want to go into script writing and directing,” Miller said. “I’ll pitch him something and he helps both produce and direct it.” Miller said the dynamic just came naturally to them.
White said during the time he had Miller and Pappas in his class they and their other group members launched into their ideas quickly. “It was one of the best films that’s ever been made in that class I would say,” White said. “They were very enthusiastic.”
Sebastien Mehegan can be contacted at smehegan@kscequinox.com
