Artist Statement

As a young filmmaker, I still feel like I’m figuring out what exactly my unique artistic style is. I discover new things that inspire me everyday; therefore I never want to limit potential influences by staying within my comfort zone. I learned in this class that it is as important to try new things as it is to not judge things you might not agree with or understand. Everyone has different styles, which is what makes filmmaking a completely distinct experience for everyone.  I love gritty television series such as True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, and Peaky Blinders because they all glorify a key protagonist to a god-like level. I like this style of television because of the constant struggle that the god-like character faces to stay on top of his world within the story. Constant undermining, attempted assassinations, and betrayal are major themes in these series that particularly peak my interest as a viewer. At the other end of the spectrum, I enjoy crude, raunchy comedies like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Trailer Park Boys. All of these shows have characters with very defiant and quirky personalities that always seem to get themselves in a sticky situation. I love watching how these situations develop throughout the episode and how the different characters handle the situations individually.  What I find entertaining is how these characters constantly dig themselves into holes and then hilariously try to get out of them, causing some sort of fiasco along the way. As far as movies, I like to stick to cinematic thrillers with lots of striking visuals and intense moments such as Interstellar, Pulp Fiction, and Silence of the Lambs. I learned in this class how important it is to use every single one of your tools as a director to captivate the audience and make them think what you want them to think. From lighting to sound to blocking, each plays a specific and influential role in enchanting the audience and keeping their attention. I realized it’s the relationship between all these components that truly matters. Without one, the others are useless. This class taught me how to properly piece together these elements to evoke emotion and responsiveness from the viewer.