Brianna Campbell / The Collegian

Lights. Camera. Action.

These are words that Fresno State alumnus Robert J. Thissen knows far too well.

For the past 15 years, Thissen has worked on various television shows and film productions.

Thissen plans to launch his first feature length movie, “The Mystic,” in early 2010.

This isn’t the first piece that Thissen has produced.

In May 2007, he won the Exposure Film Contest hosted by the Sundance and Sci Fi Channel for his film “Paradox Road.” The film was originally a 42-minute TV pilot but Thissen said he cut it down to eight minutes for the contest.

Thissen also spent time working as a camera operator for big names like Bill Cosby, Santana, Jeff Foxworthy and ZZ Top while he was a student at Fresno State.

He worked as a writer’s assistant on the first season of Battlestar Galactica and directed some behind the scenes for “Battlestar Galactica” at Universal Studios and also did some editing while he was there.

“I worked with the producer [for “Battlestar Galactica”] on another project, we were working on a documentary together and he ended up hiring me for the show,” Thissen said.

Thissen wasn’t able to give away much of the plot for “The Mystic,” but he describes the movie as a, “fantasy suspense story that will take the audience on a journey through a mad man’s delusion and mystery.”

“I think it stands out from the rest of my films as the plot focuses more on the villain who’s a sociopathic mad man named Andrew, who lives in his own delusional world of insanity,” Thissen said.

He said there are a lot of comedy elements to the film too, and it resembles a Tim Burton film at times.

The entire movie was filmed in Fresno with a couple scenes filmed in Chowchilla, Calif. for the country scene. They also shot a little bit on the Fresno State campus in the Speech Arts building.

He goes on to describe a scene done with this guy who invented windmills in the ‘90s.

“There are all these windmill contraptions and different obstacles. So there’s this big action scene that we do there,” Thissen said.

Jim Tuck, who plays “the doctor” in Thissen’s new film and also played a part in Thissen’s “Paradox Road,” said that his communication style with the actors is wonderful.

“Thissen is guerrilla movie maker who doesn’t usually have a storyboard for his movies. He adapts to circumstances, setting and lighting,” Tuck said. “Everyone has an input and he considers everything.”

Tuck said that one day while they were shooting, his wife and grandson were on set and he wrote a scene into the movie to include them.

Thissen not only produces, directs, does special effects and edits his work, but he’s also composing the soundtrack for the movie and will play the music too.

“I overlay the tracks through a mixer using computer software, a MIDI keyboard and a guitar which sounds like a huge orchestra when recorded,” Thissen said.

Once the film is complete, Thissen plans to compose music for each scene depending on the mood. He will compose a theme to give the audience a feel of what the character is experiencing at the moment.

“For example, the audience will hear a dark theme or change in ambiance when the villain is stalking his prey,” Thissen said.
Charlie Bonner who plays the main character, Andrew, in “The Mystic,” said, Thissen is good with actor’s direction since he’s done acting he knows what actors feel.

“He’s a great talent,” Bonner said.

Bonner said that they always laugh on set because Thissen wants to get the right shot all the time.

Thissen originally from Chowchilla but he said that the great music program at Fresno State brought him to Fresno.

Thissen said he plays several instruments and has been involved with music since he was five because his father was a music teacher.

Thissen graduated from Fresno State in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and journalism. He graduated in 2002 with his Master’s degree in the same area.

“I was actually going to study music performance before I switched over. I got hooked on directing while working on the [college] show and had a lot of fun doing it,” Thissen said. “I started taking the classes and I just found my niche.”