What is Dramatic Media?
Theatre.
My primary experience in undergraduate was in theatre. As a technician, I worked in stage management - keeping rehearsals and performances running smoothly and working with faculty to keep productions on track. My coursework in the theatre department included courses in lighting, production management, costuming, and effects makeup.
Relevant coursework:
Design Seminar (lighting focus)
Tech Seminar (production focus)
Weekly shop hours (set/prop construction)
Student Film.
I started learning the actual film process at TLU, getting into editing, filming, and occasionally directing. I produced several short films (of admittedly questionable quality) and other videos for various parts of my coursework.
Relevant coursework:
Digital Applications Fundamentals/Seminar
Dramatic Media for Social Change
Capstone
Communication.
While most of my time was spent in the Dramatic Media department, I also focused on Communications courses, and obtained a minor with the department. I was able to utilize/practice my dramatic media skillset in several of these courses, examples of which can be seen below.
Relevant coursework:
Intro to Journalism
Public Relations
Advertising and Promotional Strategies
Computer Design
Film Studies
Student Film
I was able to utilize my editing skillset in several of my other classes outside of Dramatic Media, which I chose to showcase here.
My student film work can be found on it’s respective page by clicking the button below.
Intro to Journalism
As you might expect, this course taught the basics of journalism: how to write a story, how to interview a subject, how to stay ethical in print, and so on. The major project for the course was producing a series of our own stories over a subject we chose. I chose to interview my friends who were directing productions to be put on as a part of student showcase, and produced two short “packages” for my project.
Interview with first-time student director Brandon May.
Interview with directing seminar student Victor Dominguez.
Dramatic Media for Social Change
The main focus of this course was working as video producers for three local election campaigns. My group was assigned to John Terry, who was running for Justice of the Peace. I edited the spot that was then posted and shared on Facebook, and, while I can’t claim it was directly responsible, Terry did win his precinct and currently serves as Justice of the Peace.
Advertising and Promotional Strategies
This course was focused on building and pitching a campaign for a local cultural arts program - Teatro de Artes. My group pitched the “Be An Amigo” campaign and produced the following two spots.
Content and Company
Creativity is an important part of arts creation. That’s the main thesis behind Content and Company - learning how to recreationally create and work in a creative field. Our final was to produce something to represent the theme of “It Comes In Waves” - our student showcase theme that year.
I created a kinetic typography video set to a selection from a favorite podcast of mine - Welcome to Night Vale. The reason I chose this specific selection is because it is about how the future comes in waves; you can't always expect to weather the wave on your own, or all at once, sometimes you have to let it come to you.
Professional Internship
The summer before my senior year, I interned at KETK/FOX 51 in Tyler, TX as a production assistant during live broadcasts and assistant editor inbetween shows. I worked on putting together footage for broadcast and re-editing national packages with voice over from local anchors. Examples can be found by clicking below -
BFA Obtained…what next?
I had decided to move into the film field, but wanted to hone my skills and go to graduate school, so the next semester after graduating, I moved to Huntsville and started at Sam Houston State University