Digital Commons Network^™

Nothing To See Hear, Adam Kuykendall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nothing to See/Hear is a research experiment into minimalist visual narrative via the short film Not the Boss of Me, in which the criteria for production mandated only the bare essential elements required to construct and convey a plot and its characters be used while filming within a nondescript space - in this case, a mostly empty soundstage. How does one tell a story and define its characters without direct expository dialogue? What is needed to establish and define locations and/or environments when limited to only one or two items? Can an audience engage their imagination to fill in the …

The Uncanny Desire In American Animation And Film., Kristen Hankins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although surrealism was short lived, the impact on popular culture is ongoing. Analyzing this impact is quite interesting because it set a standard for American animation and film. In this thesis, Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis and the uncanny are investigated through the lens of the camera in American cinema and animation. This thesis looks at cartoons and films that were made after Breton’s surrealist manifestos were published. This thesis aims to show the viewer the lasting impact that Breton had on American popular culture. This thesis is divided into three chapters with an introduction and conclusion. Chapter one discusses Fleischer …

The Mouse Sees No Color: An Examination Of The Disney Corporation’S Recent Depictions Of Race In American History, Jordan Kern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Walt Disney Studios possesses a checkered past in how its films dealt with racism and representation. Some of the earliest films involved songs and characters that go against modern sensibilities. In recent years, the studio's films have attempted to go against their forebears' racist connotations. Racism, however, proved a constant problem for the company. This paper shall explore the various ways Disney feature films addressed (or did not address) themes of racism and discrimination in its films from 1990 to 2018. The first chapter discusses the business reasoning behind Disney's continued reluctance to address race issues adequately, chiefly fear of …

Exploring Black "Saviors": A Content Analysis Of Black Characters And Racial Discourses In Obama-Era Films., Eric A. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes how black characters across twenty movies released in the years 2006-2018 inspire, coach, “save,” or “rescue” other characters. Studies on “savior” characters in film tend to focus on white savior characters who seek to “save” people of color from harm. When comparing black characters and white saviors, I find that black characters use three specific strategies—revolution, vigilantism, and altruism —to help other characters. The characters who use the revolution and vigilantism strategies seem to be what I call “black saviors” who work to fight against institutional and systemic racism to save the black diaspora. Altruistic characters seem …

The Colored Pill: A History Film Performance Exposing Race Based Medicines, Wanda Lakota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Of the 32 pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA in 2005, one medicine stood out. That medicine, BiDil®, was a heart failure medication that set a precedent for being the first approved race based drug for African Americans. Though BiDil®, was the first race specific medicine, racialized bodies have been used all throughout history to advance medical knowledge. The framework for race, history, and racialized drugs was so multi-tiered; it could not be conceptualized from a single perspective. For this reason, this study examines racialized medicine through performance, history, and discourse analysis.

The focus of this work aimed …

Illuminating The Trauma Of The Closet Among Sexual Minorities: A Cinematic-Phenomenological Study Of Existential Rights, Nisha Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a phenomenological research study about the lived experience of being in the closet as a sexual minority. This study’s research findings are represented in two distinct but overlapping ways: a traditional written hermeneutic interpretation, and a short film called “Illuminate” which cinematically brings to life the closeted lifeworld. To produce this film, I developed an innovative research method called “cinematic-phenomenology.” As a researcher, I conducted phenomenological research interviews with five self-identified sexual minorities about their lived experiences of being in the closet. During interviews, I helped participants describe their felt sense of the closet through symbolic imagery, …

Immigrant Stories: Exploring The Conflicts That A Filmmaker Must Face In A Documentary, Berenice Saez Briceno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to address the personal conflicts that a filmmaker must face in the making of a documentary. It contrasts definitions and theories with the experience of producing the documentary entitled Immigrant Stories and the ethical implications of making it. To conclude, it summarizes the results of the study as final thoughts.

Mystery Of The Wax Museum: An Original Film Score For Orchestra And An Analysis Outlining The Evolution Of Film Music Through American Horror Films Of The Early 1930s, Ian Deterling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis illustrates the transitional period between silent films and fully-scored sound films. Connecting the history between producers, directors, and composers reveals how and why film scoring became an accepted practice by the mid-1930s while shedding light on the commonly-overlooked composers whose innovations in these early films paved the way for future film composers. The principle objective of this project is to score selected sequences of Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) by synthesizing contemporary film scoring practices with techniques commonly used in horror films of the 1930s. An accompanying analysis of the score will explain the purpose of each …

Exploring Ethnic Stereotypes Through The Production Of Five Short Films, Ines Galiano Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a nontraditional thesis that combines social research in ethnic stereotypes in TV and film with the creative process of film production. This paper contains the formal step of research, in addition to the details on the production and creation of five original short films related to the issue of ethnic representations.

Reel Racism, Real Consequences : A Multiple Case Analysis Of Savior Films As Racial Projects., Eric A. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes how four blockbuster movies released in the years 2000-2014 represent racial projects. Racial projects encompass anything that helps people understand race. Films are racial projects because of their racist portrayal of characters. Films can be used to train audiences to view race in various ways that may contribute to problematic colorblindness. Specifically, the “White Savior” and “Magical Negro” tropes are ways through which films tell the viewers what to expect from White characters and characters of color. Viewers walk away from these films having constructed a racialized schema about White and Black characters, which further supports the …

Finding Treasure: The Story Of A Micro-Budget Digital Film, Christopher Williamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Treasure is a feature-length narrative fictional film directed by Chris Williamson as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the School of Visual Arts and Design at the University of Central Florida. This thesis is a documentary record of the film production from concept to completion. In this thesis the concerns of authorship are explored from the perspective of the author as the executive producer, writer, and director of the film.

Wise The Wizard: A Feature Documentary About The Late Harry Wise Of Sanford, Florida, Daisy Blakelock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wise the Wizard is a feature-length documentary by Daisy Sara Blakelock, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The film focuses on the late Harry Wise, a magician from Sanford, Florida, as remembered by the people who knew him best. Interview subjects include the following: author and TV Producer Charlie Carlson, who wrote a biography about Harry Wise entitled A Wizard's Tux and Tales (Luthers Press, New Smyrna Beach: 2004); Brendan and Anna McWilliams, who accompanied Harry on countless adventures throughout Sanford and the …

“The Hard Work Is Done In The Looking”: Analyzing Representations Of And Responses To Appalachia In Popular Culture, Elizabeth Rose Barnes Trollinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many Americans, the concept of Appalachia as a singular place has been created through images in popular culture, often stereotypical. This thesis presents an evolution of Appalachian representations—or, more appropriately, a chronology of images in stasis, as they seem to have remained fairly unchanged over time. Responses to those images, however, have changed greatly. Most importantly, responses from within Appalachia have transformed, with regional people gaining power over the types of images of the region in popular culture. There is, however, a paradoxical dualism in the responses from within the region, as some Appalachians grow weary of being stereotyped …

Blivits!, Charles Sutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blivits! is a feature-length documentary produced, written, and directed by Charles Sutter in pursuit of the Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. This thesis examines the ethical questions of making a documentary in the digital era. In accordance with the restrictions of the program's guidelines, this film was completed a budget of less than $50,000. The film was shot over 18 days, in various locations up and down the east coast of the United States. This thesis is the record of Blivits!'s journey through development until completion of picture lock.

Interior: A Micro-Budget Horror Feature, Zachary Beckler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

INTERIOR is a feature-length film written, directed, and produced by Zachary Beckler as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The project aims to challenge existing conventions of the horror film on multiple levels - aesthetic, narrative, technical, and industrial - while also examining growing importance of workflow throughout all aspects of production. These challenges were both facilitated and necessitated by the limited resources available to the production team and the academic context of the production. This thesis is a record of the film, from concept …

Examining The Narcissism Trend In Generation Y Through Digital Narrative Film, Joshua Ingle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an account of the making of 15 Minutes of Faye, a microbudget feature-length film created in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media at the University of Central Florida. It chronicles the motivation behind the creation of the film, the entire creation process, plans for its distribution, and reflections on lessons learned during the creation process. The film itself was designed to challenge its viewers with the gross self-absorption of its fame-seeking protagonist, in order to promote public discourse about Generation Y's sense of entitlement, which …

House Of Cards, Matthew R. Lieber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to approach adapting a comic book into a film in a unique way. With so many comic-to-film adaptations following the trends of action movies, my goal was to adapt the popular comic book, Batman, into a screenplay that is not an action film. The screenplay, House of Cards, follows the original character of Miranda Greene as she attempts to understand insanity in Gotham’s most famous criminal, the Joker. The research for this project includes a detailed look at the comic book’s publication history, as well as previous film adaptations of Batman, …

Towards A Filmic Look And Feel In Real Time Computer Graphics, Sherief Farouk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Film footage has a distinct look and feel that audience can instantly recognize, making its replication desirable for computer generated graphics. This thesis presents methods capable of replicating significant portions of the film look and feel while being able to fit within the constraints imposed by real-time computer generated graphics on consumer hardware.

Pembroke Circle: A Portrayal Of Social Themes Using Micro-Budget Cinema, Max Rousseau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pembroke Circle is a feature-length, micro-budget, digital motion picture, written, produced and directed by Max Rousseau as a part of the University of Central Florida’s Masters in Fine Arts program in Digital Entrepreneurial Cinema. The filmmaker engaged some very difficult material in the micro-budget paradigm and grew personally and professionally in the process. This thesis documents the writing process, pre-production, fund-raising, production and post-production; all leading to the completion of a festival-ready feature film. It is the hope that this thesis will create an understanding of what it takes to make a micro-budget film and offer some help to future …

Theodore Is Dying: From Development Through Distribution, Ryan Pomeranz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theodore Is Dying is a feature length film written and directed by Ryan Ceri Pomeranz. It was undertaken as a partial fulfillment of the requirements to receive a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media from the Department of Film in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida. The film aims to explore both the immediate and the long-term effects of choices made by four people at specific moments of demarcation in their lives. Structurally, the film is presented in an episodic and non- linear style that attempts to examine each protagonist’s own …

The Cinematic Experience Through The Micro-Budget Paradigm, Jeffrey Lehman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Tailor’s Apprentice is a feature-length, micro-budget, narrative digital motion picture, written, produced and directed by Jeffrey Lehman in partial fulfillment of the requirements of earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the University of Central Florida. The film is a result of applying specific monetary, logistical and creative limitations to the production process in order to contribute in defining the micro-budget aesthetic, resulting in a final shared cinematic audience experience. This thesis is a record of all stages from conception to completion of the executed, feature length film with-in the micro-budget production paradigm.

The Darker Angels Of Our Nature: The South In American Horror Film, Steven Clayton Saunders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How does one make a region horrific? For well over half of a century, the American South has functioned as a site for national anxieties over race and modernization. This study uses an inter-disciplinary approach in order to understand the various forces involved in the construction of the South in American horror cinema. Particular attention is paid to the influence that images of the civil rights movement have had on the development and evolution of the South as a horrific and terrifying space for the rest of the nation. It focuses on four main subcategories of the genre: the white …

Less Lost: No Touchdown Dance, William Conner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Less Lost is a feature-length film by William Chase Conner, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida.

Immediacy In Comedy: How Gertrude Stein, Long Form Improv, And 5 Second Films Can Revolutionize The Comedic Form, Alexander Hluch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comedy has typically been derided as second-tier to drama in all aspects of narrative. Throughout history, comedy has seen short shrift in both critical reception and academic investigation. Merit is simply placed on drama far before that of comedy. This is not for comedy’s own lack of skill or craft, but simply for comedy’s misappropriation as a narrative form. Throughout the years, by way of either competition or economic superiority, comedy has been pigeonholed into the typified dramatic structure that drama so thoroughly encapsulates. Being forced into a form that exemplifies complex, climactic structure and explicit character development, comedy in …

The Financial Crisis Documentary, William L. Gardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was a documentary film focused on exploring the 2008 financial crisis in the United States. The documentary incorporates interviews with former Senators, Congressmen and local business leaders in an effort to better understand the causes and effects of the crisis.

Feasting On Four Wheels, Mariel Patricia Rodriguez-Mcgill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The documentary film Feasting On Four Wheels explores the new wave of "gourmet" food trucks on the streets of Denver, Colorado. What started as a bigger movement across the country made its way to the Mile High city in 2010 and snowballed to the food-loving community portrayed during the summer of 2011. Interviews with food truck owners, a food truck fabricator and a blogger for DenverStreetFood.com, explore the nature of the movement and how its existence creates a feel of community and culture within the city. The evolution of street food history and the influence of new technology are also …

A Blue Flower: The Development Of A Personal Documentary, Nils Taranger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Blue Flower is a feature-length documentary film by Nils Taranger, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The film focuses on the director’s journey to find healing, both physically and emotionally. Following the guidelines of UCF’s program, Nils produced the film on a microbudget (under $50,000) level. The majority of filming took place in Florida with only a one or two person crew. This thesis is a record of the film’s progression from development to picture lock, in preparation for distribution

Red Tide: A Feature Length Motion Picture, Dino Gallina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following document provides insight into the uncharted process of producing a micro-budget feature length film. This paper aims to document my growth as an artist in terms of storytelling and filmmaking as well as the development and production process. Red Tide: A Feature Length Motion Picture includes elements from each phase of the production process, from story and script development to marketing and distribution. This document reflects on the obstacles we faced and the solutions we implemented during the process of creating a feature length motion picture on an undersized budget.

A Beautiful Belly: Toward An Intimate Cinema Through Microbudget Production Techniques, Andrew Gay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Beautiful Belly is a feature-length, microbudget, digital motion picture produced, written, and directed by Andrew Kenneth Gay in pursuit of the Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. The guiding question behind the production of A Beautiful Belly was whether digital "no budget" production was particularly suited to the telling of a particular kind of cinematic story - the interior journey. The pursuit of an intimate cinema shaped every decision by the filmmaker and his collaborators, and this thesis is a record of their production experience.

The Spirit Of Stuff: What I Learned When I Sold (Almost) Everything, Rachel Tamsen Perry Schrank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following document is a report submitted in conjunction with a video project. The video is a personal documentary, filmed in Denver, Colorado and Mexico City, Mexico, which explores the spiritual connection that people have with their material objects. The report is comprised of a project proposal and a post-production report. The proposal discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the project, and offers a plan for the film's production. The post-production report discusses my filmmaking process in retrospect, reviews production problems and solutions, and includes a final schedule and budget.

Please visit my website at http://www.upupintothesky.com, or contact the author at …