For Heidi Schlegel, cinema is a way of life. She’ll neglect sleep, food and homework in the name of filmmaking. She’ll even hire a translator.But what Schlegel really looks forward to is the final product.”The most rewarding thing is when you can sit there and watch all of your blood, sweat and tears come to life on the screen,” Schlegel said, a junior cinema and digital arts major.On Dec. 9, Schlegel’s film and seven others will come alive in the annual Production 3 cinema screenings in the George Rowland White Theater at 7 p.m.For eight months, the crews have been working to create memorable, meaningful films that both they and their audience will finally be able to see them on the big screen for the first time.The eight films were pitched by each producer for different reasons. For producer Anthony Wayne, he pitched his film “Colorblind” because it resembled personal history.”[Colorblind] reminded me of myself as a little kid going on adventures,” Wayne said.Wayne’s film, which is set in a black-and-white world, is about a boy who finds a mysterious cube that has the power to bring color into the world. On his adventures, an old man tries to prevent the boy from solving the cube because he knows its true power.”Colorblind” is a film of boyhood wonder, while the other seven films seem to address more internal, serious issues in their deeper meanings. “Crutch Brigade,” a film led by producer Cory Stoken, addresses post-traumatic stress disorder and modern warfare through the eyes of an Iraqi war veteran.When the veteran comes back from war to find his life in shambles, he believes it is due to an entrepreneur who sells weapons to armed forces all over the world. To take a stand, he plans a mission to blow up the antagonist at a political fundraiser.Stoken said he chose “Crutch Brigade” because “it touched on a lot of current issues.”Another current issue explored through the films is the use of technology and its effects on human relationships. Producer and junior cinema and digital arts major Damian Winterbottom’s film “Less Than Three,” has communication only through technological ways, like text messages, to show that lack of human contact results in discontent with one’s life.Another major theme of the films revolves around death, dying and its effects on others. Producer and junior cinema and digital arts major Daniel Lukotch’s film “Chase’s Room” tells a story of grief through the eyes of a child named Sam. Chase, Sam’s brother, died before the time the film takes place and Sam and his mother are planning to move. The dilemma comes when the decision has to be made about whether to clean out Chase’s room.With death, there are the literal, emotional struggles like the ones in “Chase’s Room,” and then there are the twists and turns to metaphor that only creative minds can conjure, like the one in “Time is on Her Side.”In keeping with the theme of death’s effects, producers Derek Dysart and Andrew Compomizzi, both junior cinema and digital arts majors, took on the task of personifying death in this film, where death takes its form as a young businesswoman. When the overworked employee goes on strike, people stop dying and in turn it directly affects three characters. Dysart calls the film “a more accurate depiction of time and life” as it shows the bittersweet side of life through its dark humor.Death also narrowly misses people and changes their lives, like the main character of producer and junior cinema and digital arts major Kelsey Sylvester’s film “Blindsided By Death,” a film about Scott, a bitterly sarcastic man in a full body cast. During his hospital stay, he starts to have hazy, morphine-distorted memories about his life. Through his memories, Scott learns not to push everyone in his life away and to make human connections.While themes of death and current issues weigh heavily upon a majority of the films, two films touch on an issue that everyone watching can probably relate to: friendship. Schlegel chose her film “Chinese Restaurant” for that reason.”[Chinese Restaurant] is about friendship and moving on in life,” Schlegel said.In the film, Nick and Kevin have been best friends since they could remember, and they are known for getting themselves into mischievous endeavors, mainly robbing homes. When a robbery goes bad, Nick and Kevin take refuge in a Chinese restaurant, and Kevin, who wants to stop and move on, must decide how to let his best friend go to become a better person.Similarly, the friendship of two high school boys is tested in producer and junior cinema and digital arts major Olivia Vaughn’s film “Brothers At Last,” a film about growing up and facing one self’s individualism. Ben and Eli have been best friends since they were little, and during their senior year of high school Eli reveals to Ben that he is gay. The friendship between Ben and Eli is put to the test as Ben must ultimately decide if Eli’s secret is worth losing their friendship over.