South grads start production company, to shoot pilot in Buffalo
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter
Williamsville residents Evan Pease and Peter Williams started 3C Multimedia, a video production company, after graduating from the University at Buffalo in 2006.

Williams

Pease and Williams, both Williamsville South High School graduates, had a desire to pursue careers in the film industry.

Pease said the two were following the same dream when they met in college. Although they graduated from the same high school, Pease said he graduated in 2001, a year after Williams.

The duo heard about a low-budget Hollywood film that was to be set in Buffalo. The two jumped at the chance to be a part of the production crew on the B-list movie.

"We did a lot of their graphic design and joined the behind the-scenes crew," Pease said, noting it was then that the two met James Alfieri, who was looking to start his own production company.

The three collaborated on the company, which specializes in video production and Web site design.

About six months ago, the trio created a Web site for a medical headhunter, Norman Toy, whose dream is to be a screenplay writer.

Pease

Toy expressed his desire to the production specialists, and the four of them started working on a pilot show they will be producing in Buffalo this spring.

Toy worked in New York City and Los Angeles, developing professional relationships with film producers, always believing that Buffalo had similarities to the bigger cities.

"Buffalo had no overt coolness," Pease said. "It's not as hip or as known as New York or L.A., but it's a town that is about to scratch the surface."

Their show would focus on a record store owner who's been losing money because of Internet downloads and lack of record sales, Pease explained. In an attempt to save his business, the owner buys a coffee shop, which hosts a concert every Friday, showcasing new local talent.

The pilot would take place in Buffalo and exclusively use local talent and businesses, Pease said.

Last Conservative will be the band featured in the first episode. After the pilot is taped, the owners of 3C Multimedia will pitch the idea to networks, but they want to continue to tape the show in the area and use local talent.

Pease said he knew he wanted to pursue a career in cinematography while at a class lecture at UB.

He and the rest of his classmates watched "The Graduate," and his professor said, "After this class today, you'll hate me and never watch a movie the same."

Pease said his professor was right. He explained that at each pivotal point in the movie where an actor stood out or the director did something special with the lighting, the professor would pause the movie and point it out.

"I got to see what the camera sees as opposed to what the viewers see in real life. That was cool. That's why I wanted to keep doing this," Pease said. "I can't watch anything the same."

For more information, visit www. 3cmultimedia. com.