Austin Downtown
Arts Magazine

March 2003 Edition

The Mind of a Filmmaker

By Rebecca Murphy

Austin may be the city for independent film, but never before had this writer been given the chance to tap the most raw insights of an independent film company. That is, until today.

Upon interviewing members of Mind Altering Creations, an independent film company now in its fourth year of existence, the world of film has taken on a new meaning for me. The group's filmmakers include recent Austin Community College graduate Brendan Eagleton, University of Houston student Justin Gilley, and University of Texas student Nick Jayanty. I had the chance to sit down with Mr. Jayanty and open my mind to new ideas.

"We want our films to [help us] shed the old ideological values and make new ones," said Jayanty. "The emphasis lies in breaking free from the norms. It is our social standards that constrain us today.

The films we make will question things and society. The movies that people see today express our social standards. They socialize.

"When we are young children, we don't recognize unethical social standards until we see them in the movies. We learn so many things from the movies we see. As children, we 'learn' how to kiss, and we learn that sexism and racism are acceptable. But these young filmmakers are trying to change the ways that we as a society view ourselves.

Mind Altering Creation's films place their focus on the individual, rather than society. "The biggest mystery is ourselves, not what's outside of us. We want to focus on human experiences," insists Jayanty. In this way his company's films help "to restore people's dignity within themselves." He further argues that society, speaking through the media, "tells us what we need when we don't even know that we need those things. We are all that we need."

Mind Altering Creations, which produces films, music videos and advertisements, began in 1999. They have recently made anti-drunk driving videos for Texas school districts, and are now in the process of transforming these videos into a feature film called Keeping Reverie, which will begin shooting this summer.

Jayanty recalled watching the boring anti-drunk driving videos in driving school as a teenager and falling asleep within the first five minutes. "I'm a kid; I know how to market to kids. Keeping the Reverie will question American celebration rituals. Why does it seem that alcohol is necessary to have fun? Why is it always the fault of the 'troubled kids'? Where do you think they learned these rituals?

The power of the mass media moves the world today. Film inspires and motivates people. It is the responsibility of today's filmmakers to take advantage of this opportunity of having such a strong impression on society."