Ground-Breaking Stories In Contemporary Cinema: In A Market Full Of Remakes, What Form Does Cinematic Originality Take Today?, Elisa Fong-Hirschfelder

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This work aims to analyze the evolution of both international and American cinema as an art form, specifically in relation to the abstract concept of originality, to determine what possible future trends in cinema may look like and the potential for the manifestation of “new waves” in cinema. Emerging during the Industrial Revolution, cinema has evolved as an entertainment medium from brief moving pictures presented as novelties to lengthy feature films. With its evolution arose trends in visual storytelling, including experimental, narrative, and remakes, whose own categories comprise the retelling of old stories, remakes of films in other languages, and …

The Art Of Animation: How Animation Is Creating A Better Film Industry, Judah Cooper

Senior Honors Theses

With the progression of streaming services in recent years, the art form of animation has gained traction, continuing to develop into exceedingly creative forms through the work of talented artists. Animation has developed alongside the film industry, achieving great success in the process. This thesis will define animation and its place within visual effects, critically analyze categories of character design, theme, and story while demonstrating their relationship with animation, and contrast animation with live action films to understand its strengths and differentiations. The research concludes that animation has great benefits to offer the film industry and should be continued to …

The Theory Of Shot Composition Applied To Various Genres Of Film, Elizabeth Scott

Senior Honors Theses

I am fascinated by the composition of shots in movies, specifically as it applies to the various different genres. However, there seems to be a lack of research into this particular area of the theory of composition. In that case, I am planning to research the history and theory of shot composition as it applies to films throughout the history of film and into modern times. This will be supplemented by my own experience in the Fall of 2022 where I will be a Director of Photography for four individual films of varying genres as well as by a film …

The Evolution Of Computer Generated Images And Special Effects Design In The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Samantha Renee Pearson

Whittier Scholars Program

Based on Michael Crichton’s unpublished novel, The Andromeda Strain, the awe-inspiring Jurassic Park trilogy (1993-2001) emerged from Steven Spielburg’s determination to make extinct characters come to life again. Early on in their careers, Crichton and Spielburg met at Universal Studios while working on Duel (1971) with ambitions to direct a film that would completely immerse their audience into a dinosaur-encompassing world. About five years later, Spielberg attempted to form a digital rendering for his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), but later concluded that “‘The technology wasn’t there yet'” (Mottram 20).

Fast-forward to 1990, Spielburg was fixated on …

In Search Of Pandora Experimentia, Brian Hauser

Faculty Contributions to Books

Wes Craven's first film was a 45-minute color 16mm student film titled Pandora Experimentia, for which Craven served as director of photography when he was a faculty member at Clarkson College of Technology in 1968. This essay tells the story of the making and exhibition of this early Craven film before he left teaching to pursue a successful career in filmmaking.

Neo's Cleaning Service, Yuka Saito, Mcfloyd Nguyen

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

As the modern working society of any global economy experiences exponential growth in work-centric culture, the integrity of communal and family values degrades as a result. Factors such as lack of leisure and human interaction directly correlate to the declining number of marriages, hence exposing an aging population with no reinforcement. Collectively, as a result, the number of elderly people who live alone continues to expand, and in places such as modern-day Japan, the phenomenon of "lonely death" or kodokushi - 孤独死, an occurrence of people dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long time, has been a remarkable issue. …

The Female Heroine Of Action Films: A History And Exploration Of The Genre And Application To The Short Film Lois, Daniel Brunner

Senior Honors Theses

The action genre is one of the oldest forms of filmmaking, beginning with some of the earliest short films with simple chases and heists. From then it has progressed into the genre we know today but still retains certain crucial aspects. One of sub-genres within these films can be seen in post-apocalyptic and dystopian films. All of these tend to follow the hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campbell. The representation of powerful female heroines within the action genre has increased since 1980s from its traditional male centric viewpoint. The screenplay for the short film Lois shows the convergence of …

A Strategic Audit Of A24, Jackson Bartak

Honors Theses

A24 is an independent film production and distribution company founded in 2012. The company performs both duties for independent films as well as television programs, and a small portion of company revenue comes from merchandise it sells in an online kiosk. As of 2021, A24 had around 300 employees while maintaining a large catalog of movies and shows. Using a focus strategy, the company targets a more cultured audience for its unique (and sometimes outright bizarre) subject matter. To achieve this, A24 attempts to cast top B-list personnel both in acting and technical roles in order to corner its market. …

Lightning Design, Ent 4450, Course Outline, Miguel A. Valderrama

Open Educational Resources

This course supports the aesthetics of lighting as a visual art, students analyze theater, concert, and film/video scripts for lighting requirements and develop a workable design concept. Students then generate complete lighting paperwork common to the job of an assistant lighting designer. Requires use of CAD (Vectorworks) software to develop renders. Students should be able to develop sophisticated responses to a set’s architectural problems and a common stage for live performances.

A Vermont Romance Turns One Hundred: Vermont's Earliest Surviving Photoplay, Martin L. Johnson, Frederick Pond

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In 2016, a hundred-year-old film spent the year touring the northern half of Vermont, drawing audiences to refurbished opera houses and picture palaces. But the picture being celebrated for its centenary year was not D. W. Griffith's Intolerance or Lois Weber's Shoes, two of the best-known films made in 1916. Instead, Vermonters were watching what they believed to be the first feature film made in their state, the fetchingly titled photoplay A Vermont Romance.

But A Vermont Romance is not a conventional feature picture. None of the people who appeared in the film had previous movie acting experience, …

Here To Win, Not Here To Settle, Sarah Kaino

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Ethnic representation goes beyond color blind casting, the diversity of actors, or non-stereotypical casting choices. It is not just a matter of minorities being included in mainstream storylines, but minorities being able to tell their own stories as well. The relevance and relatability of storytelling in film and theatre transcends culture, which is in part the beauty of these mediums. But the impact of Asian Americans seeing stories from their own culture cannot be exchanged for anything less because there is no substitute for visibility. Movies are the source of inspiration for many. Movies can also reinforce a transparent ceiling …

Schizophrenia In Film: The Missing Narrative, Art Thomas

Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows

Film characters with schizophrenia are most often depicted as (1) violent and threatening or (2) extraordinary and talented. As a result of these cinematic representations, audiences have false assumptions about the reality of schizophrenia. Films give the impression that people with schizophrenia should be separated from society in some way by being placed in a mental institution or on a pedestal to show that even a sick brain can be marvelous.

I studied films that portray schizophrenic characters in order to identify a story that is not being told by Hollywood. By looking at the romantic, platonic, and familial relationships …

Kai Duc Luong Interview, Stuart Hutson

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Artist Bio Born in 1975 in Phnom-Penh, KAI-DUC LUONG fled the oppressive Khmer Rouge regime from Cambodia to Vietnam to France, where his family settled in Paris, in 1978. KAI-DUC operates between Chicago and Paris. His artistic projects include video (art / doc / film), photography, and mixed media installations. His unconventional path as a self-taught outsider artist, trained in digital communication & systems engineering, gives him a unique perspective, at times questioning subject matters through the understanding of transmission and systems (e.g. the primary emotions, the five senses, the stages of grief, the art industry). His works have been …

Advancing Film Through Art & Design: A Study Of The Influence That Film And Fine Art Have On The Independent Film Market, Jamall Rashaud Mcmillan

Masters Theses

The Influence of Graphic Design and Fine Art in Film is a exploration into the impact that an investment of the arts has on film and more specifically the independent film market. Most independent filmmakers have to develop their productions with little to no budget. In doing so they must work to create a marketable film to the best of their ability. There in-lies the issue; they are doing it to the best of “their” ability. The issue that is in focus with the notion of ability is that a major component that is left out of the equation to …

Dinesh Sabu Interview, Mitch Buangsuwon

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Bio: Dinesh Sabu made his first feature documentary Unbroken Glass with Kartemquin Film. It played at numerous film festivals and was broadcast on America ReFramed’s 5th Season in May 2017. Dinesh was awarded “Best Director” at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in 2017 for his debut feature. Before Unbroken Glass, Dinesh shot parts of American Arab and The Homestretch with Kartemquin filmmakers. He also shot and is co-producing the forthcoming How to Build a School in Haiti with director Jack C. Newell. He is currently attending Stanford University’s Documentary Film and Video MFA program.

Funding A Feature: Creating A Film Business Plan, Jordan C. Hunt

Senior Honors Theses

Every film, from the smallest indie to the biggest studio blockbuster, must be funded, and all investors who finance a movie expect that the movie will give them a return on their investment. In order to seek funding, many filmmakers create a business plan to present to potential investors. Beginning with the film industry as a whole, this paper will define a specific target audience and distribution plan for one film in order to create a business plan. The film, titled Intertwined, is an independent low budget family drama that will primarily raise funds through equity investors. This is …

Equals: Redefining The Way Graphic Design And Narrative Film Combine To Create Visual Metaphor, Kevin Harris

Masters Theses

This paper provides a methodology for combining Graphic Design and Narrative Film together in a way that creates a type of visual metaphor that is central to the story and characters of the film. Because visual mediums of communication are so intrinsically tied to verbal means of communication, this methodology is grounded in the linguistic study of poetry and metaphor. Thus, the concept of metaphor will be analyzed thoroughly in language, poetry, fine arts, and modern arts. The ways in which metaphor is created visually through the art forms of graphic design and narrative film will be of upmost interest …

Made Up: A Devised Short Film, Justine Musselman

Honors College Theses

I've explored and studied the use of devising in theatre, and decided to bring that process to the making of a short film. Devising is the process of an ensemble creating a piece together in a collaborative and creative environment. These devised works start without a final script and are formed through discussion, improvisation. and ensemble exercises. Film is a new medium for devising and allows for unlimited creative opportunity and exploration. My devised short film utilizes dramatic makeup as an artistic device to assist in the storytelling. The narrative focuses on the idea of how we present ourselves publicly …

The Moving Collage, Tian Leng

Publications and Research

Video is a medium based on space and time, and its forms and structures change how audience perceives and understand its content. This project will construct the interaction of videos in collage and explore the spiritual side of human experience with urban environment in New York City. Local museums and historical sites will be visited to understand the context of immigration history and culture.

High-definition video will be used to capture the imagery of several performers in field. The collage of shots, rather than the edit of them, provides a new perceptual experience for this medium. The structure of video …

Mdocs Poster-2018-04-02, Palestinian Voices: Lyd In Exile, Jesse Wakeman

MDOCS Publications

April 2, 6pm

Free and open to the public

Location: Somers Room

The Palestinian Voices series is organized and co-sponsored by the John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS), the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program, International Affairs, Media and Film Studies, Art History, History, Hayat, and the Skidmore College Dean’s Office

Join us for a talk by Rami Younis and Sarah Friedland, and a screening of their work-in-progress documentary Lyd In Exile. Younis and Friedland have spent over three years researching and filming Lyd In Exile, and are in post-production. They will screen clips from their film and …

The Effect Of Post-Production On Storytelling In Narrative And Documentary Filmmaking, Natalie Pace

Senior Honors Theses

Documentaries and narrative films both tell stories in different ways. A common saying states that narrative filmmakers write one movie, shoot another, and edit a third. In postproduction, timelines are rearranged, montages are created, new dialog and voiceovers are written, and the score can alter the mood and meaning entirely. Documentaries can change even more over the course of their creation. Usually, the script of the documentary is not written until the edit, after most of the interviews and B roll have been shot. This paper examines whether documentary post-production makes more or less use of storytelling techniques than does …

Mdocs Poster-2018-03-22, No Mas Bebes, Jesse Wakeman

MDOCS Publications

No Más Bebés tells the story of a little-known but landmark event in reproductive justice, when a small group of Mexican immigrant women sued county doctors, the state, and the U.S. government after they were sterilized while giving birth at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Marginalized and fearful, many of these mothers spoke no English, and charged that they had been coerced into tubal ligation — having their tubes tied — by doctors during the late stages of labor. Often the procedure was performed after asking the mothers under duress.

The mothers’ cause …

Mdocs Poster-2018-03-21, Free To Rock, Jesse Wakeman

MDOCS Publications

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (ET) PALMTN Davis Auditorium

FREE TO ROCK is a documentary film directed by 4-time Emmy winning filmmaker Jim Brown and narrated by Kiefer Sutherland. Rock & Roll spread like an uncontrollable virus across Eastern Europe despite Communist attempts to outlaw it. Thousands of underground bands and millions of young fans who yearned for Western freedoms and embraced this music as the Sound of Freedom, helped fuel the nonviolent implosion of the Soviet regime. Free to Rock features Presidents, diplomats, spies and rock stars from the West and the Soviet Union …

A Reason To Daydream, Corinne Schipull

Honors Theses

Sexism in American culture comes as no surprise. In 2017, the film industry saw an increasing number of powerful men within its ranks exposed and exiled for allegations of sexually predatory behavior. Many see this purging as a sign of changing times, but this view is optimistic: the tides of change ebb in and out, and this problem far exceeds the movie industry. Well before the onslaught of articles on the likes of Harvey Weinstein, my classmates and I resolved to craft our senior thesis film with a crew made up entirely of women: we simply saw the pool of …

Mdocs Poster-2018-02-06, Issam Nassar, Jesse Wakeman, Jordana Dym

MDOCS Publications

February 6, 6pm

Location: Payne Room

Free and open to the public.

In conjunction with the exhibition This Place

Part of the Palestinian Voices series, organized and co-sponsored by the John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS), the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program, International Affairs, Media and Film Studies, Art History, History, Hayat, and the Skidmore College Dean’s Office

Join us for a lecture by Issam Nassar on the history of Palestinian photography. Nassar is a historian of the Modern Middle East and of Photography at Illinois State University. His work focuses on the modern Middle East and the history …

In-Terracial Conversation, Cheryl Dunye, Alexandra Juhasz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mdocs Publication-2017-10-13, Documentary On Human Trafficking Screened At Bow Tie Cinema, Wendy Liberatore

MDOCS Publications

"Documentary on human trafficking to be screened at Bow Tie Criterion"

The Times Union

October 23, 2017

Author: Wendy Liberatore

Mdocs Publication-2017-10-22, Saratoga Springs Conference, Staff Report

MDOCS Publications

"Saratoga Springs conference, film screening to target sex trafficking"

The Saratogian

October 22, 2017

Author: Staff Report

Mdocs Poster-2017-10-10, Untouchable, Jesse Wakeman, Jordana Dym

MDOCS Publications

"Untouchable" Film Screening with Meerkat Media

Tue, October 10 @ 6:30pm, Emerson Aud

Followed by a panel discussion led by Meerkat Media

ABOUT THE FILM:

When the most powerful lobbyist in Florida discovers that the nanny has sexually abused his daughter, he harnesses his extraordinary political power to pass the toughest sex offender laws in the nation. UNTOUCHABLE chronicles his crusade, and its impact on the lives of several of the 800,000 people forced to live under the kinds of laws he has championed.

Mdocs Poster-2017-09-30, States Of Incarceration September 30th Events, Jesse Wakeman, Jordana Dym

MDOCS Publications

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION, States of Incarceration Saturday, September 30

9 a.m.–noon MASS STORY LAB: What is a prison for? Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, second floor

Work alongside community members to collaborate on creative strategies to strengthen communities while improving our criminal justice system.

Hear from storytellers who have been personally impacted by mass incarceration, and are interested in rehabilitation. Following the stories, audience members will be invited to participate in an interactive design process where community leaders and members collaborate on creative strategies to strengthen communities while improving our criminal justice system.

Through facilitated dialogue, we will form connections to create healing, …