Christopher Hughes – Film and Media Arts

My journey as an artist began in a Creative writing class in high school. I was told by all of my teachers and peers that I was a talented writer, and I got into writing poetry and short stories. At the same time, I acted as the lead role in three theater productions in high school. It wasn’t until I took a Video Production class my senior year of high school that I discovered my passion for film.

Coming into college, I planned on taking the screenwriting route. It felt like the most reasonable option because of my background in writing. However, when I took Narrative Production with Professor Aaron Walker my sophomore year, I realized how much I loved creating visuals with a camera. In fact, as of today, I have a much deeper passion for cinematography than I do for screenwriting. I do still write scripts, though.

Despite finding my place in the world of film, I still hadn’t quite discovered my personal artistic style. I’m still not entirely sure I have, but I have certainly made strides in the right direction over the past couple years. I quickly realized my style varied greatly from most of my peers. Even when I was creating videos for Narrative and Documentary classes, I still found myself subconsciously breaking the traditional rules and leaning more into an experimental style. Ever since embracing my identity as an experimental filmmaker, I’ve found an entirely new visual language for my art that helps me articulate my vision.

I have also come to realize that my weakness lies in creating structure, particularly pertaining to a linear storyline. I often struggle to smoothly transport my projects from point A to point B without veering off track. I rarely find myself being able to tie up loose ends and deliver my message in a neatly wrapped package. However, while I struggle with direct storytelling, I have found that my strength comes in the form of portraying emotion. I may not be able to TELL a viewer exactly what I want to say, but I can SHOW them what I feel. Every day I’m making strides to improve at the former, and make my art more accessible to a wider audience.

I’m still not entirely sure what I want my future to look like. In fact, I’ve entertained so many potential career paths, I often struggle to get a sense of what my heart desires. I have an immense passion for music, and along with that comes an obsession with music videos. Ideally I think I would like to take what I know about film and bring some of those elements and principles to the world of music.