Cole Corcoran

Film and Media Arts Junior

Spring 2024

Expected Graduation – Spring 2025

https://fmx298.santiago.bz/corcoran

Ever since I was a kid, creating new worlds and exciting stories has always been a natural part of who I am. From the countless hours playing with legos at home to the time I spent recording various content for my high school, something inside me has always known that the media world is where I belong. So when it came to deciding what I wanted to pursue in college, I knew majoring in film at the University of Tampa (UT) was the best way forward. Looking back on the time I have spent here so far, I have been able to better understand myself and the world around me. Much of this is thanks in part to Professor Walker and Warren Cockerham. However it’s not their classes that impacted me the most. It is the time outside the classroom; the times when things got tough and they were there in my corner trying to help me pick up the pieces and stay afloat in any way possible. They are a huge part of why I’m still even at this school, and why I’m going to finish out what I started in the fall of 2021.

My strengths lie in my drive to succeed. This drive has helped me in many ways, most notably in the world of preproduction. Every film I am a part of, I take the time to really prepare and get into other people’s heads. It is always my goal when gaffing someone’s project to “get into their head” and really understand what it is they are looking for in terms of the lighting of their film. Sometimes this is harder then others, but I try my best to always make it a point to ask questions. On the other side of things, I always try my best to “have as much of a plan as possible” when heading into any project I am directing. While this certainly has not always been the case, so far I have found that the projects I think are the best are the ones where I feel the most prepared before the shoot begins.

When talking about my weaknesses, there are so many I immediately think of, but none of them, in my mind, are as prevalent as the difficulty I have with motivating myself. Even the most simple tasks that have to get done take twice as long. I always like to pass it off as I don’t like doing said thing, which more often then not is true, but I feel like up to this point there hasn’t been any class or particular assignment that I have been over the moon about and ready to go spend fifty hours on. There have certainly been things I get really deep into, but nothing so far in terms of classes that I have really latched onto for one reason or another. At the same time though, much of what I do outside of class, whether it be other people’s films or things like working for the club hockey team, is really where I get to shine. However my preference for my out of class film activities along with my time management difficulties sometimes leads to some trouble with my classes and getting assignments turned in on time.

With all that said, I am really excited about my senior year at UT as well as the future. As a part of my senior thesis film, I aim to build a film set and really advance in my journey of set construction that I started through working with the theater department. I also aim to create a project in my senior year that utilizes motion capture. Both of these projects are really the culmination of three years of learning and hard work both inside and out of the classroom, and I aim to have that hardwork shine through these projects. In terms of my future after graduation I’m still not sure which path I want to pursue. While I love working in lighting, I don’t think I want to be miserable on a film set for the rest of my life as I often am currently. I could go the route of set construction which would be amazing, but I think the best path forward for me is the sports broadcast director route. Having the chance to work with people in the field when I was a part of the crew for the 2023 AAU College Hockey National Championships as well as working with the UT Club Hockey team has really brought me into my element and meshed everything I fell in love with film in the first place. At the end of the day, I still aim to work in the film/tv world as I cannot see myself anywhere else.