Sipping on an iced coffee in the commons area of Stokes Hall, Carlos Maximilian Prio 鈥�16鈥攎anagement student and filmmaker鈥攑auses during an interview and says, 鈥淭his is where the story gets long.鈥�
The short of it is that Prio, who goes by 鈥淢ax,鈥� wasn鈥檛 supposed to become a celebrated campus videographer. In the past couple of years, he has produced some 40 promotional videos, mostly for student organizations and the Boston College administration. He has also forayed into dramatic productions with his miniseries聽, a Chestnut Hill sendup of the Netflix original series聽House of Cards.
That wasn鈥檛 what he鈥攐r his parents鈥攅nvisioned when he arrived on campus. During his senior year of high school, Prio鈥檚 parents told him, 鈥淒on鈥檛 you dare study film. Go to Boston College and study finance.鈥�
His father is a freelance director who mostly does commercials. When Max was growing up, in Miami, he often tagged along to his father鈥檚 shoots and eventually became chief production assistant. 鈥淚 grew up with a camera in my hands,鈥� the younger Prio says. His parents were all too familiar with the challenges of earning a livelihood as an independent filmmaker. They envisioned their son at a top management school and, after that, in the corporate world.
So did he. At the Carroll School, Prio threw himself into both finance and marketing, which became his concentrations. But in his first semester, he also took a film class, Final Cut Pro Editing, taught by Kris Brewer (Fine Arts). That year, he and a team of film students entered a collegiate film contest hosted by Hyundai, winning second place nationally with their three-minute video, 鈥淏oston College Fan Loyalty.鈥� Soon after, he found himself producing a promotional video for a campus group he had joined, the Cuban-American Student Association.
Fan Loyalty Video by Exposure Productions
In the spring of sophomore year, Prio found a way to blend what had become his two passions鈥攎anagement and filmmaking. He launched a startup company,聽, dedicated to helping student groups tell their stories.
He鈥檇 noticed that Boston College produces many videos geared to prospective students but relatively few for current students who want to learn more about the University鈥檚 offerings and how to get involved in campus life. Exposure Productions filled that gap, and it grew to include 10 part-time student employees.
Exposure also ended up becoming a self-designed practicum. 鈥淵ou could take everything you learn in class and apply it to your business. That鈥檚 been invaluable to me,鈥� he says, referring to such aspects of the work as marketing, negotiations, personnel management, client relationships, and social media.
Showdown Video by Exposure Productions
In one of his latest projects, Prio, who鈥檚 now also a film minor, has produced a set of videos about the Carroll School's聽EY Peer Advisors, a program supported by the accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young. The advisors are seniors who offer guidance on such matters as course selection, concentrations and majors, study abroad, and co-curricular activities.
The videos, including profiles of advisors, were unveiled last month. They鈥檙e casual and approachable鈥攖he feel that Prio aims to bring to all of his productions. It鈥檚 an effect he achieves, for example, by not providing the people he interviews on camera with questions in advance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not scripted,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 as raw, as real, as genuine as possible.鈥�
Dean's Coffee Video by Exposure Productions
Prio has also turned his lens on聽Dean鈥檚 Coffee, an informal gathering held weekly outside the Honors Library in Fulton Hall. He has caught with his camera the student-run Annual Showdown, a dance competition that draws thousands every spring; Black Family Weekend; and the workings of the Consumer Insights Panel, which involves students in marketing research studies undertaken by Carroll School faculty.
Off campus, he has shot videos for alumni startups and local businesses in Boston and back home in Florida. Altogether, the 40 or so projects have enabled Prio to pursue his craft while helping his family pay his tuition bills.
A Career Beckons
Exposure Productions took an artistic (and non-renumerative) turn with聽Mod of Cards, billed as 鈥渢he first ever feature-length drama series at a college or university.鈥� Thirty-five student actors and 20 crew members came together to produce six, half-hour episodes between December 2014 and April 2015. The series aired on Vimeo, the video-sharing website (where it is still聽).
Film has taken him far, but it hasn鈥檛 diverted Prio from his parents鈥� advice. After graduation, he plans to follow a path well traveled by Carroll School alumni. 鈥淚 will go to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a technology consultant,鈥� he makes known at the end of the interview, acknowledging that many who follow his film career have been surprised by the decision.
But then, Prio seems to open another door, mentioning that PwC鈥檚 communications office (which undoubtedly produces video among other media) is located in New York, where he will be working.
Taking one last sip of his 鈥溓樯占� Bolt鈥� (the iced coffee with a shot of espresso), he adds: 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to take advantage of every opportunity I鈥檓 presented with鈥攅ven if it completely changes my career path.鈥�
William Bole is Senior Writer at the Carroll School
Photos of Max Prio by Lee Pellegrini