Most students do not know who Mason Greer is or that he makes films, but he has been producing, writing and directing his own short films on campus for the past two years. For anyone seeking to know about the filmmaking process, Greer knows a thing or two about it. However, he is humble when it comes to his art.

“I’m still learning things,” Greer said. “I think I’ll always be learning, and that might be the best part of all this.”

He said he found his passion for the future in filmmaking in his second yeaer of college.

“My sophomore year was when I really got into production,” Greer said. “After that, I realized that there was no turning back. This is what I want to do.”

Greer started making films when he was in a film production class during high school at Iowa City High. Soon after coming to UNI, he found his niche in filmmaking.

After not producing anything his freshman year of college, Greer filmed, “Feel the Pain,” a music video/short film hybrid that he refers to as his “biggest failure.”

“It was good, though, because I learned everything not to do,” said Greer of the film. “Literally nothing went right.”

During his junior year, Greer made two films: “Shadow of a Sun” and “Remember Me Not.” All of these films can be found on his YouTube channel.

Greer said hatching the idea for the film, the writing of the script and finding actors who are willing to devote their time to the film are all complicated parts of making a film. Additionally, the scheduling of rehearsals, auditions for actors and working around all the crew members’ schedules are necessary parts in the process.

“After four or five months of production for “Remember Me Not,” the easy part was actually going on set and shooting,” Greer said.

“Remember Me Not,” Greer’s most recent film, is about a family stricken with Alzheimer’s disease.

Greer said the idea came from personal experience.

“I had a memory about my great-grandmother and her going through Alzheimer’s and the last time I saw her,” Greer said.

Once he had the basis, he began researching the disease and the different stages. After that, he developed the plot and characters, starting at the most basic and important aspects of the film-in-progress.

Molly Giegerich, UNI theatre graduate, acted in “Remember Me Not” and reflected on Greer and his work.

“Mason really knows his stuff,” Giegerich said. “He was really cool with us kind of improvising lines. He was all for it if we were still being true to our characters. He made sure of that.”

Greer’s newest film, “The Shelf,” explores new territory; it is a comedic farce. The plot concerns a college student trying to use a new dating app called, “The Shelf.”

“While there are some comedic elements,” Greer said, “we’re not treating [it] as sorts. The actors have been instructed to treat this like a dramatic piece.”

Greer doesn’t plan to slow down after he graduates this spring.

“I went out to Los Angeles last summer and met some people,” said Greer. “I plan to go back out there when I graduate and continue to make films.”

He explained that he has a short film script that has yet to be created, which he titled, “One Drop Rule.”

He is most concerned about  his art and that he’s not too worried for the future.

“Going out to Los Angeles last summer showed me that it’s not crazy to want this,” Greer said. “I have to try. I don’t want to live in regret. I’ve put too much time into these films to not try. If I fail, I fail. I’ll find something else to do. Money and fame is not what I’m doing this for. I’m doing it because it’s what I feel I’m meant to do.”