I create innovative artistic works in which the experiential consciousness of the viewer drifts between objects, images, and the auditory narrative. The work approaches the visualization of memory and the catharsis of the loss felt from death. The projection of light onto lifeless entomological specimens mimics the projection of memory as a means to return to what has been lost. The digital copy of the specimen flickers across their bodies as a tribute to the movement that once possessed them. A List of Things that Quicken the Heart is a body of multimedia installation and single channel work that has been completed as part of my candidacy for an Emerging Media: Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema M.F.A. at the University of Central Florida. The single channel video work is created in the essay film mode. The visual elements of the piece are a blend of the effect of contextualizing disparate images and subjects. It is the means by which the audience is led to draw connections to the subject of memory without making any specific inferences. As the assembly of images takes place, so too does the assembly of theoretical and observational threads in the essay narration. As the filmmaker, I am speaking directly to the viewer about the implications of my experiences and observations. The editorial rhythm is such that the viewer is allowed brief pauses in the flow of information to meditate on the subject of nostalgia, and how the film incites them to consider the notion. There will also be an ambient audio component designed with the idea of creating a subtle, auditory contrast between familiar and uncanny ambient sounds. The correlating installations will serve as artifacts of memory, the physical objects relevant to my own nostalgia, which will help to serve as a recollection of the narration. In order to integrate them with the tone of the essay film, the narration will be played as a separate component through speakers that surround the space, so that it will envelope the viewer.

This project tested an aesthetic use of 3D space to create alienation and immersion. It expanded upon it through iteration into other methods of cinematic alienation. To do this the project produced three short films each used the aesthetic of stereoscopic space. Two of the films were tested in conjunction with other methods of alienation while one served as a baseline. The project was able to render the spatial method of alienation and immersion, and found that other methods of alienation had an effect on it. While the project was able to test the use of 3D space to alienate and immerse, the process was more difficult than expected and the end films were of lower quality than desired.

With the advent of nature photography and film came new ways to understand and interpret the natural world. Prior to the 1910s these formats involved a more scientific and objective approach to recording nature. This aesthetic was abandoned in favor for narrative recreations and Hollywood structure after the 1930s. It is my belief that the dominant use of anthropomorphization, manipulations of setting and animal life, and rugged explorer motifs, all have lead to a loss of a more contemplative and meditative appreciation of nature within the Nature television and film format. It is my goal to explore through a series of videos how one can more naturally represent a setting through the use of perspective and compositional framing, matching the natural rhythms of a setting through editing and motion, and being conscious of the viewers sense of placement in a space. I intend to visually demonstrate how a more organic, situated, and less Hollywood-style of interpreting nature can lead to a deeper and more meaningful appreciation of it.

Reality is ever changing, and as we gain experience, our perceptions of it transform. Plato's allegory of the cave addresses the way one person's journey from darkness into daylight transforms his reality. My own body of work can be described through this extended metaphor, similarly benefiting from effects of education, self-reflection, and experience dramatically altering my perceptions of myself and my artwork. As projected by Plato, I was forced through an arduous confrontation with my lack of understanding of the human condition, reshaping my ideas to comprehend and adapt to the metaphorical daylight. With new understanding, I return to give a secondary assessment of my identity and previous body of work.

Nightgaze is a feature length visual mixtape created by May Santiago to fulfill the Masters of Fine Arts program at UCF. The mixtape is a study of autobigraphical depression in metaphorical visual tracks. Originally conceived as an experimental narrative, it has evolved into a form of essayistic distance within a narrative framework with experimental deviations. This thesis tracks the project from its original conception, through the pre-production, production, and post-production processes. It also formulates a plan for marketing and distributing the project.

The Further Adventures of Walt's Frozen Head is a feature comedy written, directed, and produced by Benjamin Lancaster. It is a part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. This film hopes to engage the popular urban legend and mythologies surrounding Walt Disney and the Disney company, and uses the story of a father letting go of his daughter to contradict the central messages of the Disney Company, i.e. believe in your dreams, and they will come true. A film of this subject matter requires the mircobudget approach due to the guerilla style shooting and the dismal prospect of financial returns. This thesis is a record of the film, from inception to completion with the plans for distribution.

Legends of the Fabricated Wild is a feature-length body of work of landscape films. Voice-Destroy, Self-Portrait: Impermanence and the titular Legends of the Fabricated Wild are the experimental films that comprise my body of work. Keep your Distance, a single-channel installation, is a supplemental piece. Legends of the Fabricated Wild frames the complex interaction between a filmmaker and the collective unconsciousness of the natural environment, a theory outlined by Carl Jung, considering the implications and discoveries along the way. Subtle movement and precise compositions provide a transcendental perspective on the natural Florida landscape. Images of landscapes devoid of human figures are structured together in my work to meditate on the environment and the way humanity has shaped the landscape. Super 8mm and 16mm analog film frames expansive landscapes in a square image and challenges modern cinematic representations by applying the texture of celluloid. High definition digital video contrasts analog film. I foreground artificiality and the ways humanity has utilized the landscape through this medium. While searching for places to document "pure" or untouched landscapes, I discovered that modern landscapes are always influenced by the exchange between humanity and the natural environment. I wanted to foreground my own interaction with the natural Florida environment and challenge my interests and dominant ways of viewing landscapes. Through the assembly of a cinematic essay of landscape images with subtle motion, I foster an appreciation for the natural environment in an age of hyper-activity and exploitation of the landscape.

Waking Up White (WUW) is a television pilot written, directed and co-produced by Jason D. Gregory serving as part of his thesis requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program at the University of Central Florida. The project attempts to answer the question "what if" by placing the main characters in a "fish out of water" scenario. In WUW a Black family wakes up White and has 30 days to determine if they'd rather return to their cultural roots or stick with the "new skin" that they are in. Upon awakening to their new reality, the neighborhood that they fled is in the early stages of gentrification and now whatever decision they make not only affects them but also their former community. WUW was produced for $15,000, was shot on location in Central Florida and employed an all Central Florida based cast and crew. This thesis outlines the theories and processes used to bring this project to fruition.

The purpose of this project was to learn every aspect of the film business, and to do so within the guidelines of an ultra-low budget digital format. This meant creating a project that could be written, produced, and directed all for fewer than fifty thousand dollars. All of the money had to be raised by me as well. The process began day one in the classroom, learning every step of the way. It began by turning an idea into a feature length film script. This was done over the course of a year. The next step began putting together every piece of preproduction. Preproduction involved casting, location scouting, and fund raising. Fund raising proved to be the most difficult aspect to the entire process. For “Zellwood” we were unable to reach the ultimate goal of fifty thousand dollars, and had to readjust on the fly to make the project work on a budget that would be half the size. This is not uncommon in the industry, but it is an extremely difficult hurdle to handle. In order to do this the script had to be scaled down in order to accommodate the new numbers. The actual filming of “Zellwood” proved to be both the most invigorating aspect as well as one of the most disappointing. The thrill of watching my words and acts come to life was amazing. Each day having to compromise my vision in order to get the entire script filmed on an extremely tight schedule was difficult. The compromise meant sacrificing a bit of quality. Once the filming was finished similar issues would arise in postproduction. Financial and time constraints would once again cause compromises along the way. The promotion and eventual selling and distribution of the film continues be incredibly difficult. The film has been sold and paid for in six foreign territories so far, and a deal for domestic distribution has been signed. Finding a distributor involved iii contacting other filmmakers and trying to find someone trustworthy in the industry. Hopefully we are currently in business with one now. In conclusion I have left this project as a much wiser student and filmmaker. Making a film under these circumstances can be done, and can be done successfully, but making a film with far more resources would be the only way I would attempt to do so again. I have learned the hard way that this is a business first and foremost. I believe that this process is an excellent way to learn the business.

Gutter King had a threefold purpose: to create a feature film using limited resources, to make the film bridge the gap between a defined artistic aesthetic and its broader distribution goals, and to make the film entertaining to its target market of 14-24 year old males. The methods used: exploiting new digital technology, using a limited workforce (crew), and implementing a planned improvisational structure.