Date of Defense
12-14-2011
Date of Graduation
12-2011
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Mariola Perez de la Cruz, Spanish
Second Advisor
Becky M. Cooper, Lee Honors College
Third Advisor
Wade Cutler, School of Communication
Keywords
Spanish/English Film
Abstract
The honors thesis I have chosen to create a film that will demonstrate my abilities as a filmmaker as well as a communicator through visuals and language. I will have two separate films; one will be in Spanish with English subtitles and the second will be the same visual with English voiceover and Spanish subtitles. The different languages will show my ability to translate and communicate in both the Spanish and English language. Being a Spanish major, I hope that by showing this ability, I can find possible employment in Spanish speaking nations. Though I know that being a native English-speaker, I will never speak the same Spanish as the native speakers, I will keep working toward a more natural Spanish. This will open doors to allow me to travel, learn about different cultures, and use my talents in the Spanish language. As for the film aspect, I want to show my editing talents through the duration of the story. After I graduate, I want to find work editing film or digitally, and in any language. I found my love for the post-production process in high school when I was a member of the news show we produced every day. I found that I could be creative and still tell a story without having to be the one narrating or actually telling the story. Through college, I have always admired the editing of the movies I’ve seen in my film courses, hoping that I could one day see my own editing on the big screen. Though I have a lot of learning to do about editing and the industry itself, I want to demonstrate what I have learned in my thesis. One film that sticks out most notably in my mind is Run Lola, Run from Germany. The entire movie is one scene played over and over again as the main character, Lola, tries to get the series of events to go the correct way. Throughout the movie we see many cuts in the editing to emphasize how quickly she runs and to mirror the panic on her face. The music also reflects the adrenaline the character feels in each scene. In my film, I want to use the editing and soundtrack to show what the character feels as the events unfold. If I can successfully utilize this technique, I will have accomplished just one step of my goal to becoming a professional editor. As I have never done a surrealist approach to my films, I look forward to trying something new and different. I know that in my career after college, I will not have much of a choice as to what genre I get to work in. Knowing that, I have to start dabbling in different styles and continue to work on my variety of talents. Employers could hire someone they know is great in one thing, or they could want someone who is good in everything. I want to be good-no, I want to be great in everything so that they hire me instead of just considering me. My dream is to be that Hollywood editor that people take notice of and by being mediocre and stuck in one genre, I will not get there.
Recommended Citation
Fairchild, Kristen C., ""El Despertar": A Short Spanish/English Film by Kristen Fairchild" (2011). Honors Theses. 740.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/740
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only