Prologue: Lights, Camera, Action
Entertainment: An outlet for many, but when tapped into can open a whole new world of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. My past experiences, specifically in executive producing for STN, working as a production assistant on movie sets, and discovering interests through academic classes, opened my eyes in the world of entertainment and formed my thought process through unique experiences. Inspired, this pushed me to delve deeper into the world of film and entertainment.
Act 1 , Scene 1: Discovering My Passion
In the summer entering my sophomore year at The University of Delaware, I secured a position working as a production assistant on the set of the movie “The Hail Mary”.
Lost in confusion and clouded by the perils of my undeclared major, this experience introduced me to the behind the scenes world of entertainment, media, and film. Eye opening shoots, hands-on experience with camera equipment of all shapes and sizes, and an encouraging environment all played a role in shaping my life and future career goals. Coworkers turned into mentors who sparked my passion for understanding not only the technical side of film, but also the psychological and emotional effects of media consumption. What started as a pastime of watching television shows, transformed into a rabbit hole of researching deeper messages, feelings, and how the square box of blue light shapes behavior.
Deep and insightful conversations with two communication alumni of The University of Delaware on set inspired me to declare a major in media communication, setting the course for my academic journey.
Act 2, Scene 1: Casting
Through my academic journey, aspiring to get involved at UD, a former classmate and now friend introduced me to STN 49: The Biweekly Show. Little did I know that this small television station on campus would have such a big impact on my life and college experience.
“Eager Beaver” was the phrase used to describe my work ethic. Jumping in, straight on, I quickly became involved, acting in many packages as well as directing, filming, and editing. The executive producers welcomed me with open arms and became not only mentors, but friends. My vast knowledge of film, production, cameras, and editing is attributed to Biweekly.
In finding this new love, I was inspired to pursue a position as an executive producer on the show. Not only did I learn all production aspects of television, but also what it takes to be a full fledged leader and director. It has also opened my eyes to the research requirements in pre-production in order to intricately shape the plot and overarching message that comes across to viewers.
Act 2, Scene 2: Taking Charge
As an executive producer, it is crucial to listen to cast member’s pitches and pick ideas that a wide range of viewers will find comedic and entertaining. STN: The Biweekly Show’s target audience is college students, however, parents also tune in. Amongst conversations with audiences of various backgrounds and ages, controversial opinions continue to enlighten me as to how media affects the way viewers react. Episodes that parents find humorous differ from those that students find entertaining.
Yearning for answers, this feedback sparks many questions that fuel my thirst for knowledge. Questions such as “how does one create content to appeal to a wide variety of demographics and psychographics that influence the way we perceive information on television” come to mind.
Not only do my interests lie in the production aspect of the entertainment industry, but also in methodologies and ethical analyses to study unique cause and effects between media, entertainment, and culture. Various classes allow me to take into consideration certain patterns, trends, and relationships that form amongst the viewer and the show to explore the underlying complexities of media in cognitive and emotional behaviors. These tactics ultimately further improve The Biweekly Show to pertain to its target audience.
Furthering my knowledge in these areas allows me to accurately provide the public with ample comedy, tailored to their likes and interests. I can ultimately bridge my passion for the entertainment industry and satisfy my curious mind through experimentation of content and creativity.
Act 3, Scene 1: Taking on the Next Challenge
In my future, exploring areas of media, entertainment, and film will help me bring my prior knowledge to the table, to properly represent groups, target audiences, and companies who play a larger role in shaping the industry. Many concepts learned through my studies will help me accurately form conclusions facing different audiences to understand their perspectives.
Typically in our movie culture there is symbolic annihilation, misrepresenting certain genders, races, and the disabled. This ultimately creates a false reality. Learning about this concept in my studies of communication urges me to form accurate and non-discriminatory perceptions that will shed a new light in my future of film. This intrigues and pushes me to learn more about these concepts and apply them to my future work as media helps us form pictures in our heads for things we don’t directly experience. Other theories that I have studied in college such as the cultivation theory supports these misconceptions of the real world as the more media we consume, the more our views of the real world match. Along with this I find it interesting how many of our thoughts, incorporating selective exposure, mood management, character judgment, and identity processing, all form while viewing television during and after. Fascinated by these concepts, I hope to shape the way people view the world in a more accurate light as the media feeds us stereotypes and misinformation while still gaining views and attention. In addition, I aim to write in a way that will orient people’s attention to fully understand the message the way it is meant to be perceived.
Media does not tell us what to think, but more importantly what to think about. It can offer insights to different perspectives and change our biases.
Denouement:
My prior experiences have opened my eyes in the world of the entertainment industry and formed the foundation of my thought process. Understanding media perceptions, experimenting with production techniques in STN, and real world on set opportunities have inspired me to continue satisfying my curiosities of the world of entertainment in my future. Passion and inquisitiveness serve as a driving force to uniquely shape my future and make a positive impact on the evolving world of media. I aspire to continue to seek out similar and unique opportunities that shape my perspective and help me learn about my surrounding influences, positively impacting, inspiring, and enlightening our community.
Alli Brown
Hey Alli! I love the design of your post! The way you formatted it was pretty clever. You were able to take us through your life’s journey and how you learned something from all your experiences. You did a great job explaining how the different forms of media that we consume can affect how we see and interact with each other. I wrote my college application essay in a similar format with the acts and scenes, clearly film has a way of weaving its way into our hearts. Random side note: When the opportunity strikes to do something strange or unlike what I would normally do, I always say, "It'll be good for the plot." Love the title lol!! Great…
Alli! This piece is so interesting — when asked about our relationship with entertainment, I feel like most people think about the media they consume. But you wrote about the media you’ve produced! I’m beyond impressed by the skills and confidence you’ve gained through your experiences, and I am super jealous that you could make a GIF with your name on it. Great work!
-Gaby
Hi Aly! First off, I love the custom gif you've included here—I thought that was a cool addition to your post. Hearing about your perspective on media production was really engaging, and I like the way you guide readers through your experiences. I also like how you touch on the non-discriminatory aspect of entertainment at the end; I've always been interested in seeing the ways diversity (or lack of) in the media we consume can affect how we interact with each other in the real world, so I enjoyed hearing your thoughts surrounding that.
-Hanna
I want to start by saying I like the way you organized this post with the scene headers. That was creative! I found a lot of your post relatable for many reasons as I am also a media communication major, member of Biweekly, and an executive producer of an STN show. We both share a very unique type of experience. I also like how you are able to incorporate what we learn in our COMM classes to your position. I would be interested in learning the specifics of how you experimented with different production techniques an an EP, and what they yielded. Nice job on this post!
Olivia Wayson