While many students can’t wait to make it through the week to relax or catch an LSU football game, others spend their weekend producing independent films.Students still manage to write, direct and produce their own films despite going to school full-time and often having other jobs and hobbies. And a typical college student’s budget usually forces them to do it without many of the resources of conventional filmmaking.Josh Carley, mass communication senior, has been producing films since he was in high school and has done three feature films.”I have two jobs, and I take 15 [class] hours,” he said. “A lot of time when you’re a full-time student, you want to go about filming on a weekend, but there’s football games.”Having a limited amount of time requires him to have everything completely planned when it comes time to actually shoot the film, Carley said.”Whenever we went to film, we already had a shot list and a story board,” he said. “We filmed well over 20 hours in one weekend — everybody was there and ready to go.”Carley produces most of his films with his own equipment and with help from his friends, he said. Because he has no actual budget, he was forced to produce special effects with some unconventional means, like using Hula-hoops and different lighting to simulate a full moon.”Out of my pocket on [the film I finished filming over the summer] ‘Carolina,’ we bought a pack of cigarettes, the Hula-hoops and some paper,” he said. “It was maybe $30 out of my pocket.”But Carley considers having a small budget and improvising to be a challenge, he said.”I can make a decent film with basically nothing as far as good equipment,” he said. “So when I potentially get some good equipment, I’ll be able to rock and roll.”Travis Williams, general studies senior and student filmmaker, said producing a film during school requires a great amount of commitment.”There are people who pick away at their film for over a year, but if you want to make a feature, you have to treat it like a full-time job,” he said. “You’re managing actors who all have jobs and school too.”Williams and his production company, Hedges Pictures, completed four full-length features during the nine years they’ve been together, he said. He said it requires a group effort to produce so many films on a small budget.”It’s a very family-like atmosphere,” he said. “When you’re a student you need a good team of people around you excited to do it.”Williams said one of the toughest parts of filmmaking is actually getting it screened in front of people.”If you get a film out, which is a miracle in itself, it’s hard to get it screened in front of people,” he said. “The Outhouse Film Festival [on campus] caters specifically to Louisiana filmmakers and LSU students, so it’s a blessing.” Williams said he has tried to participate in Outhouse every year since he has been involved with them.”I’ve been working without Outhouse for roughly seven years, and every year we try to have either a short or a feature film to use and participate,” he said. “Outhouse is student-run, and having it around after 11 years is nothing short of phenomenal.”Garich Girvoir, mass communication senior, is president of the Outhouse Film Festival. Outhouse is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and screens independent films every year in the spring.Girvoir is also filmmaker and is glad to have the festival to screen local films.”Not everyone’s going to have a huge budget with local films,” he said. “I’ve seen films that’ll be the greatest looking film you’ve ever seen, but the content is horrible. Then you’ll see a local guy who might not have the best camera or boom mikes, but it’s entertaining.”Outhouse is also easy for student filmmakers to get involved in because it is much cheaper to enter than other festivals, Girvoir said.”When you think of students, you think they don’t have a lot of money,” he said. “But for Outhouse, it’s only $10 to $15 to submit a film depending on the length. It’s local, so it’s easy to get involved.”Carley said even though filming takes up most of his free time, it is a very rewarding hobby.”It’s very hard, time-consuming and there’s a lot of stress, but it really is a blessing,” he said. “I’m grateful for the passion I have to do it and the people to help me — it’s definitely worth it.”—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]