Joining host Zoe Chrisostomides ('26) on GTTP is Darcy Lally (COMM '24), a senior filmmaker who recently started a film production company -- Stargaze Studios -- with her friends and collaborators in the film/video concentration within the Communications Media department. Darcy's 2022 film Subtle Signs screened at Visions 2023, while the Stargaze team's new film Will-O'-The-Wisp (directed and written by Emily Gelinas) will be completed this Fall.
If you're interested in working on the podcast, register for College Newspaper Production (ENGL 3830) or contact The Point at https://fitchburgpoint.com/contact-us/.
Episode transcript can be found here.
This is Episode 2 of the pilot season of Getting to the Point (GTTP), an affiliate podcast of The Point, the Fitchburg State student newspaper. Recorded in May 2023. It was produced by Toni Magras for the College Newspaper Production course taught by Prof. Wafa Unus.
Matt Baier (COMM '24) edited and mixed the episode for Perseverantia.
Click here to learn more about Perseverantia . Join us for programming updates on Instagram. Or reach out with ideas or suggestions at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu.
Joining host Zoe Chrisostomides ('26) on GTTP is Darcy Lally (COMM '24), a senior filmmaker who recently started a film production company -- Stargaze Studios -- with her friends and collaborators in the film/video concentration within the Communications Media department. Darcy's 2022 film Subtle Signs screened at Visions 2023, while the Stargaze team's new film Will-O'-The-Wisp (directed and written by Emily Gelinas) will be completed this Fall.
If you're interested in working on the podcast, register for College Newspaper Production (ENGL 3830) or contact The Point at https://fitchburgpoint.com/contact-us/.
Episode transcript can be found here.
This is Episode 2 of the pilot season of Getting to the Point (GTTP), an affiliate podcast of The Point, the Fitchburg State student newspaper. Recorded in May 2023. It was produced by Toni Magras for the College Newspaper Production course taught by Prof. Wafa Unus.
Matt Baier (COMM '24) edited and mixed the episode for Perseverantia.
Click here to learn more about Perseverantia . Join us for programming updates on Instagram. Or reach out with ideas or suggestions at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu.
[ Getting to the Point theme fades in ]
[ 00min 06sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Welcome to Getting to the Point. I'm Zoe Chrisostomides. Over the next few weeks, we're taking this time to reflect on students here at Fitchburg State University. We're going to dive into the experiences of a freshman and a nontraditional student. But first, we're going to start off with upcoming senior Darcy Lally, who has some exciting news to share with us about her new production company.
But first, let's begin with your achievements and who you are as a person. So why don't we start off with what were some of your major accomplishments here at Fitchburg State University?
[ 00min 36sec ]
Darcy Lally:
I would have to say getting into Visions twice in two consecutive years for both photography and film was pretty great. I've had work in the Boston PRC show. I've recently been invited to join the Woman's Caucus for Art in the Massachusetts chapter, and that was for some of the work that I had in Visions last year for photography.
[ 01min 01sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Wow, that's amazing. So since you have so much to be proud of, I know it probably took you a long time to get where you are today. Did you experience any challenges and how did you work through them?
Darcy Lally:
Yes, I've only had a couple of challenges. COVID was a pretty big challenge for my most recent film, Subtle Signs. We had to delay shooting because of people testing positive, Like, I tested positive, and so we had to delay shooting. And so that was a challenge and learning to kind of get through productions despite the pandemic and going through classes and trying to learn still was difficult.
[ 01min 36sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Your freshman year here was COVID, right? Your COVID year. So do you want to talk a little bit about the change in production from then to now?
Darcy Lally:
Yeah, well, for one thing, my Intro to Film class was totally virtual and now – like I'm – I just took Advanced this semester and that was 100% in-person obviously.
And so trying to learn in Intro camera stuff and how to work with other people – because that's the biggest part of film is working with other people – was a major challenge. Like I only had one partner and usually it's a small group.
[ 02min 07sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
So I want to now get into the topic of progression and how you've talked about how you've changed from when you first started here to now. So when you first arrived, what were your goals and then what were your fears?
Darcy Lally:
When I first got here, my goal was to learn as much as I possibly could and to put myself in situations where I would be able to reap the benefits of learning. And my fear was – because I'm from, I'm from Maine, so I don't know – when I got here, I didn't know anybody.
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Yeah, I was on the same boat as you. I'm from New Jersey. Oh, yeah. So we knew nobody.
[ 02min 38sec ]
Darcy Lally:
Yeah. And so that's kind of daunting going from high school to college and not knowing, like, a single human on campus. And especially since it was during COVID and everything was virtual, it's hard to meet people. And so that was one of my fears, was not being able to meet people.
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Definitely. So what changed with your goals? Your goals from then and your goals from now?
Darcy Lally:
I think that over the course of my time here, I've learned a lot about the film world. And so my goal is still kind of the same, but I guess it's gotten more specific. So like my goal is to learn as much as I possibly could, and that's still my goal. But now it's more – like, in order to learn as much as I possibly could, I need to be involved in as many projects as I possibly can, and I need to learn how to network because that's the biggest thing with film is working with people and networking.
[ 03min 27sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
So basing off networking and your other resources, how did Fitchburg State help to achieve these goals? Like, what resources did we provide to you?
Darcy Lally:
Well, definitely, I've learned a lot in classroom settings. And for my film that was outside of class Subtle Signs, we were able to have access to equipment, which is a pretty big one. And the professors here have been really, really great and they've taught a lot.
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Sure. And then how about you share a specific story about a time that you may have thought about quitting and how did you work through that?
Or you can kind of go back to – I know you're saying COVID was really difficult. Like, did you think that we were going to get through that time? Because I know for your major and what you're doing today, you need to be active, and in-person is so much more than on a Zoom call or working with just one student.
Do you want to just talk a little bit about if you thought you were going to get through that or not?
[ 04min 18sec ]
Darcy Lally:
I guess there was a time before I enrolled where I was considering either switching my major or just taking a couple of years off before I went to college. And when it came to a specific time during my time here for Subtle Signs, when I tested positive for COVID and we had to postpone, I was a little bit worried that because there were so many people involved that we wouldn't find time to – because we had to go to Maine. So I was a little bit worried that we wouldn't find weekends for everybody where we could all go down.
[ 04min 51sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
So and since you've gone past that, I'm sure that is amazing feeling and you're really proud of yourself. But what would you rank your proudest moment here?
Darcy Lally:
Sorry, I have to think about that one. I think one of my proudest moments was definitely realizing that I had found kind of like a team around me and a team of really talented individuals and that was one of the reasons that I decided to start StarGaze was because there were so many talented people around me who I felt like I could work with on projects.
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Why don't you talk a little bit about StarGaze, what it is, what you're doing with it?
Darcy Lally:
Yeah. So StarGaze is an independent film company that I'm starting with a couple of other students. And what we're hoping to achieve is we're hoping to be able to do as many productions as possible. And once we graduate and we're working really hard jobs as PAs and whatnot, we're hoping that StarGaze is kind of an outlet for us to do creatively, like what we want. Because we're going to be in positions where we don't have a lot of say and we're going to be working long hours. And so StarGaze will be a way for us to kind of have, like a creative voice.
[ 05min 58sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
In the perfect world. What type of productions would you want to produce? Like, what are your main goals? And like, what do you think is StarGaze? Like, what do you want us to think about?
Darcy Lally:
StarGaze – we really want to do things that are really unique. So our Advanced film from this semester, we recently decided what's going to be under the umbrella of StarGaze. It's going to be our first production and that one is about two women who have a complicated relationship and they're trying to figure that out between each other. Our next one is going to be about two women auditioning for a Shakespeare play.
But it's, it's a very unique visual style for that one. And so what we're hoping for is that all of our productions have something unique that the viewer can kind of relate with.
[ 06min 43sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
This year you were awarded Film Student of the Year. What did winning that award mean to you?
Darcy Lally:
To me, that meant that the faculty here at Fitchburg State kind of recognized how much time and energy I'd put into my major and how much I had been working and just spending hours in the lab, and hours in pre-production, hours in production, hours in post-production. Like, it's just a lot. And so that felt good for me because other people around me had recognized that I was putting in the work.
[ 07min 12sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Were you the one who started that here – the production company?
Darcy Lally:
I would say that the team was already formed and then I was the one who's like, “Let's make it official.” And so that's kind of how StarGaze got started. Like, it was kind of already around. I'd say Subtle Signs was a, kind of like a pivoting point for us, because that's when we had just come out of Intermediate. And then we started this big, ambitious project, and that's when the team really started to take form in Advanced. We just kind of realized we're already kind of a production company. We might as well just put a name on it.
[ 07min 53sec ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
That's awesome. So I'm going to close today with – you'll be a senior next semester with many new freshmen coming in. What advice can you give to these freshmen coming to Fitchburg State for the first time?
[ 08min 03sec ]
Darcy Lally:
I think that's a two-parter. My first part of advice would be to get involved with as many productions as you can, and if there's none around you, then you need to make your own productions. You need to make your own opportunities. And do your best to find the like-minded individuals who have talent like yourself – [ Getting to the Point theme fades in ] – and surround yourself with them and work with them as much as possible.
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Thank you so much, Darcy, for this important discussion today. Hearing about your experience at Fitchburg State was definitely inspiring, and we know your story will help future FSU students. We wish you the best of luck in your career. And thank you again.
[ 08min 37sec ]
Darcy Lally:
Thank you so much.
[ Getting to the Point theme continues ]
Zoe Chrisostomides (host):
Getting to the Point is an affiliate of The Point, Fitchburg State’s Student’s newspaper. We want to hear from you, our listeners. Your feedback, questions, and story ideas are crucial to shaping the content we produce. Reach out to us through our website or social media platforms. If you are interested in working on the podcast, register for our College Newspaper Production, ENGL 3830.
[ Getting to the Point theme fades out]
[ Perseverantia theme music fades in ]
Zoe Chrisostomides:
My name is Zoe Chrisostomides from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and you’re listening to Perseverantia, the Fitchburg State Podcast Network.
[ Perseverantia theme music fades out ]