Television and Film Arts Student Pilot Creates Post-Grad Opportunities, Premieres December 7

Each fall, seniors enrolled in TFA 450 in Buffalo State University’s Television and Film Arts (TFA) program are tasked with writing, producing, directing, and marketing an original half-hour television pilot. This year’s project, Be Happy, premieres with a free public screening at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, in Buffalo State’s Warren Enters Theatre.

“This creative capstone course has proven to be an incredible experience for our students as they collaborate on a professional set with experienced actors and crew to bring their creative vision to life,” said Jeffrey Hirschberg, Buffalo State associate professor and TFA director. “Last year's pilot was screened at the Buffalo International Film Festival, and we have high expectations for this terrific senior class.”

Be Happy follows a disgraced children’s entertainer ten years after the end of his hit show. His luck changes when beloved characters from his show return to help fix his life. The concept was pitched by senior TFA major Eddie D. Murphy, who also served as the project’s creator and executive producer. Each student enrolled in TFA 450 was required to generate a logline and pitch deck for consideration; Murphy’s concept was selected by group vote.

“I actually wrote the show four years ago as a full-length stage play,” Murphy said. “I was like, ‘I want to revisit this in a different format.’ When I pitched it as a television show, it really opened up the possibilities.”

“We needed to consider, ‘Do we enjoy the story? Is it something grounded Is it something that we can create within the semester?’ but also, ‘What is going to be eventually possibly sellable?’” said Kyle Mecca, ’13, the experienced film director and co-owner of Casting Buffalo and Giant Monster Productions who teaches the class. “This pitch was chosen because it has a lot of possibilities of where it can go creation-wise.”

Post-premiere, students will submit the pilot to television and screenwriting festivals, so “It’s important for a show to have legs,” Murphy said. “There’s a lot of opportunities—especially with the comedic elements—for where this show could go, which allows for longevity.”

After pitch selection, the class undergoes an interview process to determine production roles. Angel Barber, Cydney Ramos, Max Mayfield, and Jacob Dannenberg were “hired” as director, head writer/production designer, director of photography/assistant editor, and assistant writer/editor, respectively. The small class size necessitated additional outreach to fill remaining roles. 

“The students acted like an actual production company,” Mecca said. “In addition to casting, they had to bring in crew. Since all five of these seniors worked on The Wrong Road last spring, their previous experience, skills, and expectations helped expedite the process.”

“Because of the growth of our program, by the time we got to our senior capstone, we’d all worked outside and made a lot of connections,” Murphy said. “This was a chance for those people to come here and work with us.”

The students called upon local professionals, fellow Buffalo State students, and alumni, including Adam Kreutinger, ’11, ’16, who designed and built the puppets used in the pilot. While Kreutinger’s ongoing cancer battle—donations for his GoFundMe will be accepted at the premiere—meant he was unable to participate in production, two of his longtime associates, Cameron Garrity and Zach Haumesser, acted as puppet operators.

“We were excited to be able to lend our experience and knowledge to this production,” Garrity said. “Adam and I really cut our teeth as puppeteers when we were in college, so to now be working with the Be Happy team feels like a fitting, full-circle moment.”

The pilot was shot over six, 12-hour days at three locations, including the recently finished Great Point Studios on Niagara Street, which, Mecca said, provided valuable networking opportunities.

Mecca added that the applied learning opportunities provided by the TFA program are invaluable to students’ post-graduate success. 

“The pilot is a chance for any Buffalo State TFA student to work as a production assistant,” he said. “A lot of university film programs move students right to director or cinematographer; Buffalo State is one of the only programs that gives them the experience of how to do the entry level job, which is how it is in the real world. They get that experience of watching upperclassmen for three years; they learn what makes a good set. By the time they’re seniors, they’ve worked their way up to the big roles. These opportunities help them know what expectations will be, so that once they graduate, we know they’ll get the jobs.”

And the jobs will be plentiful, Mecca said, as Western New York’s involvement in the film industry continues to increase. While Buffalo has long been a prime location for feature films, the past few years have seen a significant increase in film production due to the region’s diverse scenic locations and historic architecture, a recent New York State tax incentive, and the opening of Great Point. 

“When films come here, they’re going to want to hire from out of town, and we don’t want that,” Mecca said. “We want Buffalo professionals to get these jobs. These student filmmakers are the most talented and most educated in the local film industry that we’ve had since the resurgence almost ten years ago. Our students need to be the next phase of the Buffalo film industry. That’s what we’re nurturing.”

To learn more about the premiere, follow Be Happy on Facebook and Instagram.

Photos courtesy of TFA.