About this project

My name is Bert Mayer, I am nearing the end of my Junior year as a Film/Video major at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Mass. and that means next year I am going to be a senior and I must shoot my Thesis project. I have been thinking about what I wanted to shoot for this project for over a year now and have recently started gathering everything together. Because I will be able to get a lot of equipment from my school such as cameras and lights, I wanted to put all my money towards production value, I also want to shoot on film as this will be one of my last opportunities before the cost would go up even more for me.

My goal is to shoot a 30 minute ish horror film in western mass which pays tribute to some of my favorite older films such as "The Blob," "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," and "Swamp Thing" to name a few (and since watching it again "Monster Squad"). The story involves a couple who sneak out to a lake that has been closed off for a few years due to some disappearances which occurred scaring people away and alerting the police to a presence. The source of the happenings is none other than that of a lake monster which has become somewhat of a local legend. No one has seen the monster, and most don't believe it exists.

Although this is technically "my project" I have been trying to make it a point to make it as much of a collaboration as possible. I am writing it with a friend, and am open to any horror stories people want to write about a lake monster (I need background stories for it, your stories could make it to the film!) I have also commissioned an illustrator at my school to design the lake monster completely out of her own vision, and will be enlisting the help of a few sculptors at my school to help with construction of the costume. The crew is comprised of fellow film video majors and people that have displayed interest in the project, anyone willing to help will not be turned away. Cast has yet to be determined casting calls will happen over the summer in both Boston and Western Mass (Southampton area).

The production will culminate in a pre screening show at Massachusetts College of Art and Design open to the public after which the project will be submitted to various festivals around the country and perhaps the world.