Writing (Filming) A Senior Thesis

Most apologies for not posting as frequently this semester as usual! I am currently working with my friend Amanda on finishing our thesis which is due in a little under two weeks...Both relieving and frightening all in one. You intital assumption of someone finishing their college thesis is probably a nice long research paper or a presentation. Ours on the other hand takes thesis to the next level, and to a creative one mind you.

As media studies, digital arts majors we are given the option to convey an "untold" and "unheard" topic in either a book or a documentary film. Yep, our thesis is becoming a published author or a film producer. Casual right? That is how we all feel. The project began last semester in our Senior Proposal class where we looked at different examples and researched our topic to narrow it down. We handed the proposal before Christmas break and have begun filming this semester.

Our film is called 

Behind the Distance: Long Distance Interpersonal Communication in the Digital Age

 

Pretty cool right?! We originally came up with the topic discussing how mail had become a long lost form of communication and writing letters is somewhat of a nostalgic thought to many now with email, texting and social media. From here we decided to narrow the film to focus on the development of social norms that are involved with interpersonal and distance communications. To do this we broke it up into three compartments of everyone's lives: the work, family and love.

The mediums of communication such as texting, smartphones, social media and video-chatting have made interpersonal relations much different than in the past. Our home run point we are hoping to make is that at this day in age, everyone in their lives will most likely experience a long distance part of their life in some way whether it is a long distance relationship, working from location or having aspects of their family life be held together for a time based on these mediums of communication.

To be honest, this is the most time commitment I have ever had working on a project and it is also the most fun I have had on an assignment. Amanda and I are walking out with a finished and completed documentary film, and we are pretty pumped to be able to have the finished product! We got to interview some pretty awesome people from family friends, to family (Amanda's brother and one of my dogs are featured in the film!) to others who had incredible insight in what we were hoping to learn in talking with them! Keep your eyes out for more from Behind the Distance! 

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