For most, shampoo is merely the container found in showers or on bathroom counters.
For Boston University seniors Matteo Lewis and Cameron Smooke, “Shampoo” transcends the mundanity of daily routine and takes on an entirely different role for these Production III students.
Production III (FT 468) is Boston University’s honors thesis filmmaking course. This semester, the production faculty selected only five directors and five producers based on applications and portfolios, for a total of five teams/projects. Matteo, the director, and Cameron, both the producer and writer, worked together with their team of four students to complete their short film “Shampoo.” The team includes cinematographer Rich Gbessi and production designer Chloe Palmer.
“Shampoo” tells the story of an artist fighting to regain control of his work amidst challenges posed by a rival sculptor, the art scene, and his girlfriend. The film explores the mental landscape of the artist as he slowly loses his passion for painting.
“The film is relatable with anyone who has lost sight or motivation for their passion,” said Cameron. The team hopes that the narrative will resonate with those influenced by external pressures, whether stemming from family, friends, or their industry.
They’ve filmed in some interesting locations, including Sunrise Market in Allston, a local nail salon, friends’ apartments (including mine!), and the beautiful Middlesex Fells Reservation. The crew also filmed in the fifth floor gallery at the College of Fine Arts, as well as senior studios at CFA.
“It was all really cool,” said Matteo. “We got to light the entire space by clamping our lights all around the ceilings, and adding artwork from local Boston artists to the gallery.”
In addition to the core Prod III team, the “Shampoo” crew includes the first assistant director Andre Lima, the gaffer Raphael Edwards, and many more BU community members.
Matteo’s funniest moment on set was, “When I had to borrow your clothes so I could shoot in the shower at your apartment. Our lead actor Peter stood over me while I had a trash bag over myself and the camera. We used a neutral-density filter to protect the lens, but we still got completely soaked.”
Cameron and Matteo have been working together on a multitude of projects since 2021. “My favorite part about working with Matteo is his insane encyclopedic film brain,” said Cameron. “His knowledge brings so much nuance and personality to our projects.”
“We have a really healthy working environment, we’re honest with each other,” said Matteo. “Working alongside [Cameron] is inspiring because my perception of what’s possible for one person to achieve and handle is constantly set higher.”
“People often think filmmaking is all glamorous and fun. While it’s both, it’s also extremely stressful, expensive, and overwhelming to take on a project of this caliber. Being in charge of securing all locations, permits, talent, organizing crew positions, scheduling, craft services and meals, insurance, union agreements, is a lot of responsibility,” said Cameron. “At one point, we were managing 40+ cast and crew on set at the same time. Despite this being one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, to our team it’s worth it to create a truly magical story.”
Matteo said, “Cameron and I have pretty similar philosophies about how a set should run, it creates a better final product.” And Cameron added, “We don’t always agree on everything, but if we did; that would mean we didn’t care enough about the project.”
“Shampoo” will be screened publicly on May 17, 2024.
Until then, the “Shampoo” team is in post-production and crowdfunding before the faculty screening in December. The “Shampoo” team is active on Instagram at the handle @Shampoofilm.
For more information on “Shampoo” and their crowdfunding campaign, please visit the link below.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shampoo#/
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