Brittany Klesic and Noel Schermaier 
For Noel Schermaier and Brittany Klesic, two Point Park University students, receiving an e-mail from a professor offering an opportunity to work on a documentary was something they could not pass up.
The documentary What Does Trouble Mean? Nate Smith’s Revolution tells the story of one man’s fight to gain construction jobs for African Americans. The documentary, directed by Jim Seguin of Robert Morris University, premiered Oct. 3 at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in the Cultural District. Andrew Halasz, a Point Park University professor in the Cinema and Digital Arts program, along with Schermaier and Klesic contributed to the project by doing the post-production sound. “[Halasz] contacted me saying he would be interested,” Seguin said. "After offering to do the post-production sound, he sent an e-mail to students asking if any had an interest in working on the documentary as well."
“It sounded like a really great project with a compelling story to tell,” Halasz said. “Since we had just acquired new sound post-production equipment and software at Point Park, I thought it would be a great project to make use of and test out the new additions to the program. I also thought it would be great to give Point Park students the opportunity to work on the project and learn more about the audio post-production process.”
Schermaier, a senior Cinema and Digital Arts major with a concentration in directing, said the possibility of adding to her resume and learning something new was what attracted her to the project. “It’s knowledge I could potentially use to make myself more marketable for finding some kind of work after college,” Schermaier said. “It was also a good experience to see and practice the different stages involved in sound editing. I feel much more confident sound editing now after having learned some of the process on an actual project.”
Klesic, a Cinema and Digital Arts major was also thinking of her future when she signed on to do work on this project.
“I wanted to work on the project because it sounded like a really worthwhile, good opportunity,” Klesic said. “I had never worked on a documentary before so I learned a lot about sound mixing for those, and I learned more about the program Protools -both of which will be very helpful for me in the future. I think the project came together exceptionally well and was really proud to be a part of it.”
Halasz wanted to give students a chance to work with post-production sound. This would give them a better understanding of the post process. Through this, Schermaier and Klesic gained a new skill and a chance to be more than just behind a camera.
“[This] gives real world experience and allows work with [students] on different levels,” Halasz said. “The students were incredibly helpful. Audio post-production on a project of this scope is quite intense. I’m not sure I would have made the deadline without the help of the students."
Story by Kayla N. VanDyne - Co-Copy Desk Chief The Globe Photo by Kelly Grigg -Staff Photographer - The Globe Check out other news and profiles by visiting The Globe's Web site at http://www.pointparkglobe.com
