On Campus News

Paul Maertens discusses senior thesis film �The Last Raptor�

By Naomi Laeuchli
posted Apr 1, 2013, 18:29

Paul Maertens, a senior at Biola University, discusses �The Last Raptor� a film he is writing and producing as his senior thesis project. The story follows a band in the 1970�s who, after cats begin to mysteriously die around them at the claws of an unknown beast, run into the last raptor on earth. Maertens discusses the ideas behind the film, the work going into creating it as well as its successful Indiegogo campaign.


Can you tell me a little bit about the plot and inspiration behind �The Last Raptor�?
The Last Raptor comes from a variety of sources but coheres within a carefully crafted story communicating the themes of "the fear unknown and transition." When I was little I would watch sci-fi documentaries about the likelihood of "cryptids" (mystery beasts) with my dad. I loved the stories of the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot and hoped that people would find them soon. I also had this book along the same lines that talked about "Modern Day Dinosaurs" or something like that that claimed that a Japanese fishing trawler had pulled up a plesiosaur carcass and that there was some sort of sauropod in Africa called mokele mbembe. All of this added within me to a sense of wonder. I still want to think about the world in this way, as full of magical and undiscovered things.

The film is a very unique senior thesis project, how did you, and the other seniors working on it, choose it as your project?
I've been writing and talking about this project for about two years now, but I couldn't find a producer. For a while, I was just going to shoot it super low budget with a cheesy raptor and a few friends, but I decided that I wanted to make this film as professionally as possible. At that point I decided to produce it myself to make sure that it got made. The next steps were just to find other people who believed in the project and shared its vision. I heard a lot of "no's" until I met the now director, Michael Asmus. He and other key members like Cameron Boyce, on Raptor Construction, and Jesse Velez, the Production Designer helped add credibility to the project until it emerged as the full-fledged production that it is today.
Many people are interested and involved because it is different than the average senior thesis. It still contains important themes, but it isn't overly serious or dramatic in the traditional sense. People like that and want to work on a comedy that "takes itself seriously" (in the sense that we want to craft it well). Many crew members have also commented that they got excited and asked to be involved because of the unique and iconic props, costumes, and creatures. It will be a visually captivating piece (at least we hope so).

Can you tell me a little bit about the other people working on the film?
There are many film majors from all different grades. The production designer is well qualified, though only a freshman. He has proven himself to be one of the most hardworking and talented members of our team. Likewise, Jackson Theune, our Unit Production Manager (the person in charge of handling money), has consistently impressed. We also have a faculty advisor, Lisa Swain who was a production coordinator on several big films including Tim Burton's Big Fish, Rat Race, and Anger Management. Her encouragement and advice has been invaluable to us.
Other crew members include Lucas Grimaud, a senior currently interning for CBS, Addison Esson, the most active Art Director at Biola University, and Kristen Lerner, a nursing major who loves film.
Really, there are tons of people on this project and I'd love to tell you about all of them, but there's no room!

How are you creating the raptor?
We're building the raptor like any big time creature shop would. You'd have to ask Cameron, because he knows the process much better, but essentially we sculpted a structure, created a mold around it, poured foamy silicone plastic or something like that into the mold, shaved that a bit, and then painted the creature.
There are videos on our YouTube channel of the process that'll be updated regularly.
The concept phase was crucial. The raptor itself is described in the script as "strangely beautiful" and "smaller than they thought it would be."

How is your team planning on achieving the different time era?
Key to achieving the feeling of the 70s is our original music, location, props, and costumes. We have a team of musicians making the original 70s style songs and score. Our production is renting a house that was built in the late 60s. It is very "of the era" with its wood paneling and period fixtures. Our props master, Kim Brucal, has been working with her team to beg, borrow and steal all of the props and set pieces necessary to fill out the space. The movie's about a band who faces the last raptor in the world, so we've also collected and rented period instruments for them to play.
The costumes gathered and designed by costuming director Becca Strauss and costume designer Molly McMahon respectively will be quirky and unique while clearly referring to the era.

How did you approach creating the Indiegogo campaign? And why did you choose to go the crowdfunding route?
I created the Indiegogo campaign in concert with our BTS Team Leader Ryan Dayhoff, the director, and our executive producer Hannah Caprara. The concept was to create a fun and energetic campaign that matched our film. For the last few months I've been telling everyone about it and referring them to the campaign page. I think it was successful only because of the persistence and excitement of our members.
We went the crowdfunding route because I don't have any money to my name and I didn't want any of the crew departments to have to pay. We looked into grants but had a hard time finding anything that would line up with our specific vision (although we received some money from a few grant type sources). There were a few other fundraising attempts as well, but crowdfunding (at this level) is the best way to reach a large goal.
Because this was my first time crowdfunding, I actually aimed a little low on the campaign. We have enough to get us through production at this point, but will need to raise a bit more to finish everything by our deadline of October. The team under the executive producer will continue to fund raise by selling shirts, stickers, baked goods, etc.

What are you most excited about the project?
I'm most excited to see students learning and feeling free to create. I just want to create an environment of safety and encouragement that will hopefully birth a beautiful film. I'm already seeing some amazing things happening, so every day is a new excitement. We begin filming very soon (the weekend of the 12th), so it'll be interesting to see how production runs. Our actors are great, and it'll be awesome to see them interacting while in costume, playing their instruments and such.
So much work has gone into this so far and there's so much work to go. I'm stoked to see the finished product too. I think it's a film I'll want to watch over and over and not just because I had a big hand in it. It'll be a joy to watch how the creative visions of such diverse people came together to make a work of art.





Resources:

�The Last Raptor� Official Facebook Page

�The Last Raptor� Youtube Channel