Visual Studies Commons^™

My Journey Through Cinematic Camera Movement, Tim Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explains my journey to becoming a cinematographer and finding my cinematic style through both trial and error and classroom instruction at Stephen F. Austin State University, learning advanced camera and lighting techniques, and working on the 2022 summer feature as a Director of Photography (DP). I will begin with a little bit of history and then move into my influences, experiences, and preferences as it pertains to cinematography and camera movement.

Filmmaking As A Practice In Critical Theory, Cora M. Lay

Masters Theses

This multi-part project pulls together all my fields of research under the umbrella of my ultimate interest– agriculture and its future. The film portion focuses on regional and seasonal agriculture in Southern Germany near Lake Constance. It focuses on several families who do small-scale agricultural production utilizing various methods but ultimately touches on our current disconnect from our food systems and nature. The written portion found in this document focuses on filmmaking as a practice in critical theory, a tool to visualize what written theory cannot. Filming happened over a three-week period in Summer 2021for the portion shot in Germany. …

A Comparative Study Of Physical Cinematography That Influences Layouts In Animated Production, Daniel C. Hudson

All Theses

What makes good cinematography? There are many examples of cinematogra- phy that stand out in the minds of viewers, yet many cant exactly say with certainty why these shots are considered great. Is it because they convey the visual and emo- tional content of their stories successfully, the technical brilliance of the frame, or both? Whether realistic or exaggerated, the range of cinematography tools and tech- niques are proof that creativity and an eye for detail are the most important elements in great cinematography. Cinematography includes composition, movement, lighting, and other visual information within the frame. This is true in …

Confronting Contemporary Mythmaking: On Artists’ Engagements With Popular Culture, Jonathan Case

MFA in Visual Arts Theses

This paper begins by outlining an understanding of how the culture industry operates in American culture and explores ways to counter the transmission of modern mythmaking through art. As described in Roland Bathes’s Mythologies, mythmaking in the contemporary context serves to sever current systems of power and coercion from the historic processes of their creation; to naturalize the current neoliberal order and make it seem like the only way things could ever be. This sort of mythmaking is transmitted through popular culture, and many artists have responded to it through their practices. Herein I describe several different artists’ approaches, including …

At Home Among Strangers, Aleksandra Gorbacheva

Theses and Dissertations

At Home Among Strangers is a character-driven documentary that explores the price of freedom for a gay person in a society that lacks freedom and civil rights. It follows an asylum seeker from Russia, Sasha Smirnov, during a crucial moment of his life: starting over in New York City at 40 as a journalist without English language skills. The film reflects on the choices one makes and the consequences of staying true to oneself.

Slacking, Dazed And Rocking: A Study Of Richard Linklater, Parker D. Otto

Honors Capstones

The purpose of this capstone is to examine a filmmaker’s work to better understand the artist as well as look at an underappreciated filmmaker. Richard Linklater is that filmmaker. Several of his films are popular, others less so. By exploring his filmography, it can be determined whether he’s a true artist deserving of more attention from the filmmaking community as well as general audiences. After examining Linklater’s films, not only were there recurring thematic elements that cemented his artistic dominance, but there’s a feeling of evolution as he ages. The research of this project was conducted through watching Linklater’s films …

Meet And Run, Gia M. Binner

Theses and Dissertations

A defense for Gia Binner’s MFA Thesis, Meet and Run, argues that accessible art, known in this paper as commercial dance, is a meaningful vehicle for social change and that it has the ability to dismantle the outdated, European concert dance dominance by modeling the interdependency of both worlds.

Cuerpos Clandestinos E Indocumentados: Narrativas Transfronterizas Centroamericanas En La Literatura Y El Cine, Sara D. Rico Godoy

Doctoral Dissertations

The reality of migration is a phenomenon that has been present in the world for centuries. Latin America is mainly where immigrants in the United States reach high scales. However, Central America explicitly sees a shift in the ways people decide to migrate nowadays, for instance, in caravans with thousands of walkers. This dissertation analyzes six Central American contemporary works in narrative and four film productions: two film features and two documentaries. The purpose is to explore the significance of mobilities and their influence on perspectives of identity and the different narratives of migration and how these are portrayed in …

..., Claire Alfonso

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Words are fickle, easily misunderstood, and often put us at a loss... but we all have so much we feel we need to express. This begs the question: Is there any safe way of communication? Can anything ever really be communicated how you mean it? Will you ever see the reflection of what you feel, think, and dream outside of yourself? In response to this existential dilemma, I imagine an alternative language of images, sounds, color, feelings, and non-identification. My thesis is a meditation on the issues with standard language and the idea of alternative language. In my argument I …

Culture In Disney Films: A Comparative Analysis Of Color, Composition And Rhythm, Megan Paul

Interior Design Undergraduate Honors Theses

As a student of design, I take inspiration from everything around me. The media I consume, the places I visit, and the people I meet.By choice or not, I and my generation are subject to the various forms of pop culture, film is one of them. Film is one of few art forms which combines several methods and elements of design to produce a cohesive result, as opposed to a singular medium. This forms the connection to design thinking and is the foundation for the study.

Another critical component to pop culture is the ability to reach the masses. Due …

Memorias De Mi Familia, Melissa Z. Montero

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Memorias de Mi Familia is an hour-long personal documentary through which I explore the meaning of “home.” I was born and raised in New York to a Puerto Rican mother and Ecuadorian father and lived between two worlds—sometimes more. While on a visit to Puerto Rico with my mother, Sylvia, I search for belonging and explore my family’s story of migration between the island and the United States.

Through interviews, family films, home videos and photographs spanning over 60 years, I examine the revolving migration pattern common to many Puerto Ricans on the island and in the diaspora, a …

Steve Mcqueen, The Filmmaker, And Kant’S Sensus Communis, Livia Melamed Margon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects on the ways in which art reinforces community and reduces political polarity by stimulating shared feelings, namely through Kant's idea of sensus communis. To illustrate its argument, this thesis analyzes the work of Steve McQueen, a politically aware, ethically engaged, and broadly recognized filmmaker and artist.

Contemporary Films And Contemporary Issues: An Introductory Film Class Curriculum, August W. Liguori-Chien

Liberal Studies (MA) Final Essays

Teachers spend years teaching students to interpret texts. This interpretive skill is deemed vital in our education system, but little time is devoted to developing students’ ability to interpret film, the most popular media students engage with. Film is an incredible amalgamation of words, motion, and music. The world of film offers students incredible opportunities to interpret, analyze, and be moved. If our students must be able to interpret literature shouldn't they also be able to do the same in the immense world of film.

This class will not focus exclusively on the history of film or the classically taught …