Visual Studies
Film, Music, and the Power of Stories
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to film because of its ability to tell stories in a meaningful and nuanced way. Of all of the many art forms I’ve come across, from sculptures, to paintings, installations to performances, no medium has been able to evoke an emotional response from me the way films have. When I think about my life and the way I can use art for the better, story telling is an immediate answer, because I believe the ability to relate to people is what prompts and promotes positive change. But film is a wide spectrum to tackle, and so in completing my thesis I wanted to be more specific. The marriage between music and film jumped out at me. I frequently find myself out and about in the world, whether it’s out with friends, running errands for myself, or at a gathering with family, and in all of these scenarios, I imagine how I’d shoot the scene and what the soundtrack would be. Every time I hear a new song, I imagine how I would stage a video to accompany that song. So when it came time for me to choose the nature and subject of my thesis, this combination of music and film seemed all too obvious. In studying both the technical and practical ways in which music changes the way we interpret motion pictures, I sought to better understand my fascination with the relationship between the two, and hopefully, to propel myself forward into a career creating beautiful harmonies between film and music.
SECTOR C
THESIS ADVISORS:
James Howzell (FNAR)
Ian Verstegen (VLST)