The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Central Catholic student to make directorial debut
Boy falls through ice
Jonathan Perry, a 17-year-old junior at Sandusky Central Catholic High School, is to debut “Subnivean,” a short film he wrote and directed himself. “The title of the film translates to ‘under the snow,’ and it is a story about a boy trying to rescue his brother that has fallen through ice,” Jonathan said. He already has had the experience of writing scripts for the past three years. “I have written a few that I have put online,” Jonathan said. “I get the copyright for them and they were put online for anyone that was interested in buying them. “I have sold a few, and it was something I enjoyed putting the work in for and improving on.” Jonathan said the whole love of film came from making videos with friends. “It would be me holding up a camera or phone and recording my friends performing stuff,” he said. “It wasn’t anything serious, but it is when I realized I had a passion for movies.”
Film making
Jonathan said he started writing scripts to take the next step into film making. “I wanted to know more about the process, so I looked up a Reddit thread on how to write scripts,” he said. “It became an obsession. “I took a Master Class online for script writing one summer, and it just grew from there.” Jonathan said he had one script that really stood out. “I realized I had something special when I wrote the script that turned into ‘Subnivean,’” he said. “I knew it would be a risk to make the movie, given the fact that we would be shooting someone actually falling in ice. “But it was something I felt very strongly about.” Jonathan said one of the initial steps for the movie was to hire a location scout. “The outside weather plays a huge role in the short film, so I needed a location scout who suggested Ishpeming, which is a city in Michigan,” he said. “We had to shoot for six days in the cold and wind of northern Michigan, but it was worth it. “The footage we got is something special and something I’m very proud of.” Jonathan said a lot of the people he worked with were found with the help of the Michigan Film Commission. “They were a big help as I looked for people in the industry to produce, edit and things of that nature,” he said. “Our group also consists of film students from Michigan colleges.” Jonathan said he could have sold this script as well, but wanted to make sure it was done right. “My fear was that someone would have used CGI (computer-generated imagery),” he said. “I wanted to make sure it stayed 100 percent practical. “That’s how we made it, and it shows. I feel like it would have lacked authenticity if parts were made in a computer instead of practically done. It was something I felt too passionately about to let happen.”
Great short film
Jonathan said the end result is a great short film. “Short films are more difficult than feature-length, because you have less time to work with,” he said. “The run time is only 12 minutes long, so I needed to tell a whole story in that time frame. “Thankfully, the crew did a phenomenal job. I had to learn a lot on the fly, but it was worth it in the end.” Erie County Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Smith-Droll said it would be a surprise a 17-year-old directed a film, but not in Jonathan’s case. “Jonathan is an exceptional person,” she said. “I have gotten to know him for the past couple of years now, and I know he is a special kid. ‘I hope his peers look at what he has done and it inspires them.” Sandusky Central Catholic School’s principal, Ryan Wikel, said Jonathan is a remarkable student. “He has a great family behind him and the school supports him,” Wikel said. “He has been doing this kind of thing for awhile now, so we knew it was his thing. “Bt this is a huge accomplishment. We’re proud of what he has been able to achieve.” Jonathan’s film will debut locally May 21 at the Sandusky Cinemark Stadium, 4314 Milan Road, and will be available to stream June 12 on Amazon Prime.