La Salle University Graduate Neal Tyler Wins Best Student Director Award at Ocean City Film Festival

Neal Tyler, a 2004 graduate of La Salle University, won Best Director in the Student Film category of the Ocean City (N.J.) Film Festival, held June 10. Tyler wrote and directed his winning entry, Face to Face, as a senior at La Salle.

His film focuses on a conversation at a diner between two men named Alex and Sam (played by Tyler's La Salle classmates Todd Henderson and Shawn Nies). As the film unfolds, Sam intends to murder Alex. The narrative fades in and out of time frames and flashbacks to illustrate the events leading up to the momentous meeting.

"It's about life and death," Tyler said of his 18-minute film. "I was inspired by a dream I had. I changed some of the details, but the idea stayed the same. It's basically about confronting the past and getting ready for your fate."

The director worked with friends and colleagues on the film. He enjoyed the close-knit feel of the shoot; Tyler said he wanted to use the input of everyone involved to produce the best possible results. "When I'm on set, I like it to be open among everybody," he explained. "I fed off ideas the actors had. Actually, one of my favorite shots in the entire film was Todd's idea."

The Atco, N.J., resident was shocked when he learned he had won the competition. Then, the festival organizers invited Tyler to participate in a question-and-answer session. "It was a great feeling. It's a whole reversal being put on front of the stage for a change," he said.

While student-run productions allow budding filmmakers to convey their ideas on the screen, a lack of funding and resources often hampers the process -- so Tyler had to get creative while shooting Face to Face.

He took advantage of personal contacts to shoot scenes in offices at the University of Pennsylvania and a dream sequence on Long Beach Island. For the central diner scenes, he convinced the owner of a South Street eatery in Philadelphia to let him shoot there.

"When I initially wrote the script, I didn't have that much money. There were only five people on the crew. [Despite this,] I still wanted to shoot it as I envisioned it in the beginning. I learned a lot more that way," said Tyler. He also used "creative editing" to film an explosion. "We basically had to blow up a car without blowing up a car," he said.

Tyler's favorite director is Martin Scorcese. He is influenced not so much by the legendary filmmaker's signature style, but by his distinctive approach towards telling a story. "Every moment has something interesting visually, or something interesting being said," said Tyler, who majored in Film and Mass Media at La Salle. "They are full of themes and elements. Every time you watch, you gather something new." Tyler's other major influences include directors Wes Anderson and Alfred Hitchcock.

Recently, Tyler has worked as a production assistant on several independent films in the Philadelphia area. He is also producing and co-editing two, The Space Between and The Chest.

"The Space Between will run about 60 minutes," said Tyler. "We started filming this while attending LaSalle. It was written and directed by Todd Henderson. I'm also acting in this film. It's a psychological thriller that follows five soldiers in a surreal mission."

Tyler said The Chest will run about 80 to 90 minutes. "We shot this on 16mm film and edited by hand using an old Steenbeck flatbed editing machine. Very few people still do it like this, as it's painstakingly slow," said Tyler.

The Chest is a thriller/historical/ghost story that tells two stories, one in the present and one set during the Revolutionary War. The link between the two stories and its characters is a buried chest. Tyler hopes to get both films into various film festivals, and also plans on premiering the films at various venues throughout the city.

He is also currently in the pre-production stage of a documentary focusing on food vendors at Citizens Bank Park, which he is helming with fellow La Salle alum Pat Campbell.