Graduates crowdfund thriller film

Filming has finished for “Deadline,” a movie created largely by current and former students of the NE Campus radio, television and film program.  

“Deadline” is a satirical psychological thriller about a recent graphic design graduate who returns to his hometown. In order to make money, he takes a job completely unrelated to his artistic passions, corporate data-entry. 

“It’s primarily an awareness piece on corporations,” said TCC graduate Matthew Paget, who handled multiple jobs off-screen including line producer and director of photography. “We’ve seen this idea kind of come out in some other films and other mediums like ‘Severance’ or ‘The Truman Show.’” 

The film’s budget was crowdfunded with a 60-day campaign on the website Indiegogo. The website uses an all-or-nothing model, meaning if the goal isn’t met by the end of the campaign, the money is returned to the individuals who donated. The team behind “Deadline” set a $10,000 goal and reached it on the campaign’s final day. 

“It was a bit of a nerve-wracking position to be in. … But it was an incredible feeling when we hit that $10,000 goal,” Paget said. 

The project is directed by TCC graduate Bronwyn Beasley, who is currently a student at the University of Texas at Arlington, working toward her acting degree. 

She built a creative partnership with Paget while at TCC and has co-directed and worked as an assistant director on previous projects, but “Deadline” marks her first time directing a film of this scale on her own. For Beasley, the most important part of directing wasn’t just executing the shot-list, it was setting the tone on set. 

“I decided to, right away, make the most important thing about directing my crew and my cast be that they are human beings, and emphasizing the importance of that,” she said. 

Paget credits the NE Campus radio, television and film program for giving him a wide base of knowledge. 

“[The program] really covers the entirety of the film crew side that I really enjoyed, and it kind of sets you up to be able to take on all these different hats that I’m wearing,” he said. 

The crew worked with the Fort Worth Film Commission to secure filming locations in Arlington and Mansfield. One of the locations was a house which visually fit the film but ended up being under the flight paths of DFW International Airport, making capturing good audio a struggle. 

“We were cutting in the middle of good takes just because there’s a plane over our heads,” Paget said. 

NE student Kaylie Craver worked as the second camera assistant on “Deadline.” She expressed the sense of pride multiple TCC students felt after filming was completed. 

“Anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Craver said. 

“Deadline” is currently in post-production, with plans to submit to regional and potentially national film festivals. A portion of the film’s budget has already been allocated specifically for festival entry fees. 

Paget is simultaneously editing “Deadline” and its behind-the-scenes documentary with extensive footage captured by NE student Zain Altahes, offering an inside look into the indie filmmaking process. 

Paget said he is excited to see the trajectory of the current TCC students involved. 

“They’re producing a lot of talented students out there that are going to turn out to be professionals in the industry,” he said.