Being a college student involves a certain balance between academics, a social life and -most importantly-passions. For a group of 16 mass communication majors at Miami University, that passion is the production of Portrait of Unrest, a 12-minute movie that has taken over their lives. The notion of producing a movie as a class originated about two years ago, according to Robert Vogel, a mass communication professor who is heavily involved with the movie. When the Provost office agreed to fund the project with a $10,000 budget, the faculty prepared a group of students for what was to be more than just a "class project." "We all took this class knowing it would be a student film eventually," said Nick Isler, producer of the movie and a second-semester senior. He explained that he has spent every hour outside of class and in between working on the film. According to Isler, during the fall semester, students rewrote 11 scripts that were submitted for the film. Finally, at the end of the semester, the movie was determined to be a film inspired by the script of senior theater major Nathan Swinehart. The class then continued into spring semester with the production of Portrait of Unrest, each student taking on a professional role. Director and senior AJ Rickert-Epstein explained how the film has engulfed all of his time. "It's a full-time job, and I had to drop classes because I have to be everywhere at once," he said. Epstein explained how, in addition to school, having two other jobs along with the project is an unlikely lifestyle. However, despite the immense amount of time devoted to this project, students along with their mentor, Ray Moore, agree the experience is well worth the effort. Moore, a renowned film director who has won three BAFTAs, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, has been an on-campus resident-artist for three weeks to assist the students with the film. According to Moore, who also has been involved with the Laws Hall program for 10 years, the students have really proven to be a team through this movie. "We are all sustaining a massive amount of energy here," he said. "You really can't find a better team at any other university. This is an exceptional team and a model for future students." The idea that the film will be an annual event is a hope for the mass communication department, which plans to continue the production of a film each year with a group of new students. "There's no point in making a movie if no one is going to watch it," said Rickert-Epstein, who along with Moore, agrees that this film must be put up in festivals and gain national attention to prove its worth. "These are amateurs making a professional, grown-up film," Moore said. "Everyone learns from this, everyone profits by gaining professional experience." However, the attention cannot be focused only on the students or mass communication professors, as the entire project has been "truly a group effort," explained Vogel. Companies such as Panasonic have been very supportive through great deals on equipment such as the usage of a $40,000 camera and the Shriver center, which donated food during the shooting. "It is as simple as a painter dropping off extra paint on set," said Vogel, who believes the unity of the university, along with the passion of these 16 students, has made this movie happen. The movie will hopefully premiere before Moore's departure next Sunday. When it does, these students will have spent 12 hours a day to produce more than just a film. They will have fulfilled dreams of professionally creating a movie while still remaining an ordinary Miami student trying to find a balance between it all.