While some students dream of becoming famous actors and actresses in their future, junior Lauren Effertz would much rather spend her time behind the camera. An aspiring movie director and writer, Effertz hopes to form a successful career in the film industry.
From an early age, Effertz knew she wanted to be involved in the world of film. After delving deep into the original “Star Wars” series the summer after her 7th grade year, Effertz became intrigued with the film-making and special effects industries. “I watched ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones,’ and I thought I wanted to go into special effects someday. But that all changed eventually,” said Effertz.
Effertz’s chose a new dream job the day she saw Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Inspired by Nolan’s screenplay and unique writing style from the popular “Batman” movie, Effertz immediately saw directing in her future. “Nolan’s whole way of doing things just hooked me. He’s a really great director and I thought: ‘I want to do what he does,’” said Effertz.
Effertz also gets her inspiration from Danny Boyle (“Sunshine,” “Slumdog Millionaire”) and David Fincher (“The Social Network”). “They all photograph their films beautifully, with truly amazing vision,” said Effertz.
At this point in time, Effertz has successfully directed two films and written dozens more. “My documentary is called “It Doesn’t Define You,” and I made another film called “Falling Out” with Irena Cich for film studies. It’s about an artist who falls into a piece of her work,” said Effertz.
Often deriving her story-lines from real-life experiences, Effertz likes to write about what she knows. “I have so many ideas that haven’t been totally fleshed out yet. They’re just bits and pieces that I’ve written. Most are inspired by, but not necessarily based on, my own life,” said Effertz.
As for the future, Effertz’s college plans remain uncertain, but she has an end goal all planned out. “I’m looking at film schools all over the place from SCA, UCLA, and NYU to St. Cloud State and Montana State. After that, other future plans include Oscars,” said Effertz.
