Baldwinsville — Maybe you’ve caught the odd Lysander Town Board meeting on PAC-B TV (Channel 98 or FIOS 30). While it was surely entertaining, wouldn’t you like to tune in for a thrilling horror movie or an engrossing sci-fi flick, especially one by a local filmmaker?
PAC-B, a nonprofit public access station serving the Van Buren, Lysander and Baldwinsville communities, will be showing three movies directed and produced by Matt Lipke, a B’ville native, over the next three months. Lipke’s films will join the typical sporting events, concerts, board meetings and more recorded by volunteers and aired on the channel, which also offers educational opportunities to those interested in videography.
“I’ve always been very interested in films and the magic they unfold, even at a very young age,” Lipke said. “I remember watching ‘Jurassic Park’ when I was a kid, and I think that movie subconsciously was the one that made me want to make films myself.”
Lipke started writing short horror and comedy films during his teen years, cajoling friends and family members into acting in them. Then, as a senior at Baker High School, his first feature film came to him in a dream — well, a nightmare, actually.
“I had a nightmare about [Whiskey Hollow Road] and the legends [surrounding it], and it inspired me to write a script for it,” he said.
With the help of his friends, Lipke wrote and produced “Whiskey Hollow,” a found footage-style horror film based on the supposedly haunted Whiskey Hollow Road in B’ville. The project was a learning experience.
“We really had no idea how to make a movie,” Lipke said. “I knew how to edit and write, [Aaron] Stolicker was good at creating special effects, and Matthew Keim, another long time friend, could write us the music for the score. Other than that we kind of just figured things out as we shot it.”
continued — Ultimately, the film, which Lipke assumed would be a fun distraction the last summer before he left for college, would launch his career. The movie, with its 12-person cast and crew and $1,000 budget, premiered at the Palace Theatre in Syracuse in January of 2012 to a crowd of 250 people.
“The film got a lot more hype then we ever imagined,” Lipke said. “It really inspired us to continue down this path.”
Since then, Lipke has taken a number of film classes at the University of Vermont. He’s taught himself about cinematography, directing, editing and producing. With the help of his friends, he’s also made two more movies, “A Demon in My View,” a thriller based on the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe but set in modern-day Onondaga County, and “Elixir,” a science fiction/action movie about the struggle of three people to find a basic necessities in a dystopian society. The movie, which Lipke calls his best, was shot in Vermont and was recently selected as part of the NewFilmmakers of New York Film Festival in New York City.
All three of Lipke’s films will be shown in the next few months on PAC-B as the channel attempts to make people aware of the breadth of its offerings.
“We aren’t necessarily expanding what we offer — there has always been the opportunity to submit movies, local documentaries and more to be scheduled for viewing on PAC-B,” said Erin Wisneski, a member of PAC-B’s board of directors. “What we’re really aiming to do is make our community aware that we are a resource for the budding movie producer, documentarian, even parents who want to submit a video of the local play that their child performed in. We can get their productions in front of a local audience. We also have equipment that can be used for those interested in volunteering for PAC-B by videotaping local sports programming, concerts, etc.”
continued — Lipke said PAC-B reached out to him late last year and asked to share his work with the community.
“This past December I got a message from Lisa Harshberger, the programming director for PAC-B,” he said. “She said she had heard about ‘Whiskey Hollow’ and they wanted it to air it. So of course I happily agreed and told her about my other two films, and they were excited to air all three of them of the course of the next three months.”
Lipke, who is now living in New York City with collaborator Matt Keim working in the film industry, said PAC-B offers would-be moviemakers a chance to show off their talent.
“Other local filmmakers should definitely utilize PAC to showcase their films,” he said. “It’s a great outlet and a great way to get your movies out there for people to see.”
Wisneski said PAC-B is hoping to help launch a budding filmmaker’s career.
“In today’s movie industry, it is really about the artist no matter how obscure,” she said. “We want to distribute their work so that more eyes can see it. What better way is there to help promote a local movie producer than with the support of their community?”
For more information, visit pacbtv.org. For scheduling information, check the PAC-B schedule in the Messenger.
