Dakota Smith

BFA Film and Media Arts

Fall 2022

Expected to Graduate Spring 2023

Starting out as a young child, I was heavily involved in all subjects in the arts. I was super shy and used the arts to come out of my shell to meet new people and try new hobbies. In high school I realized those hobbies turned into my passion, and is what I want to pursue professionally. I chose to become a film major because of how much I was interested in capturing stories visually. When first visiting the University of Tampa’s campus back in my junior year of high school, I knew I wanted to come here. The campus itself is gorgeous, but beyond that, the film program was highly successful. I find myself to love hands on learning, and while I started my freshman year as a B.A., I quickly switched to the B.F.A degree to further construct my learning. Throughout my courses at the University of Tampa, I found my passions in Screenwriting and Documentary filmmaking. My first screenwriting class was taught by Cynthia Savaglio (FMX 240, Screenwriting Fundamentals), and I knew little to nothing about Screenwriting going into that course. I knew I loved to tell stories and write, but the specific structure of the course helped me figure out a passion I didn’t know I had. The other class that was very formative in my film career was Documentary Production (FMX 313) with Aaron Walker. I have always loved watching documentaries because I love hearing other people’s stories, and learning new topics. This class assisted me to further create my own stories and help teach people topics I was passionate about in a newly discovered way.

I find that some of my strengths include cinematography and editing. I have been editing videos for years now, and I find my perfectionist side truly works to my advantage when editing, and I am able to fully capture the vision that was originally intended. I spend hours upon hours editing videos as it is super relaxing to me and I find the satisfaction once I am done editing a video is one I aim for. I have been lucky enough to use my skill professionally, editing wedding films both documentary style and the full narrative style wedding film. I love putting together a glimpse of couples’ and families’ happiest days of their lives, as one of my passions is making people happy, and my skill of editing allows me to share this passion creatively. Beyond my strength of editing, I also find a newer strength of mine in cinematography. One thing I love playing with is different colors, aesthetics, and styles for my projects. I find it so interesting when watching a film and the aesthetics of it match the director’s intent, so I find it super important to incorporate it into my films. In my early films (during classes like Sound, Image, and Motion), I struggled a bit in this area, but continuing on in other classes (Experimental, Documentary, and Narrative) I have worked really hard to make cinematography a priority.

While there are many technical elements involved with film that I would love to improve my skills on, I find my biggest weakness to be myself. I have always struggled with confidence in my work, and while I might be extremely passionate about it internally, it is very hard for me to externalize some of the ideas I have. I love to push the boundaries with my work, but at points I find myself holding back. I want to continue working on this struggle in hopes that I can grow confidence in my work both internally and externally.

While I don’t know for sure what I plan to do after graduating from the film program here at the University of Tampa, I do know that I want to work in the entertainment industry. I have always wanted to make people happy, and I feel like I can definitely do that with a career in the arts. I have found a passion in the live music industry especially post Covid. I have gone to countless concerts throughout my life, and I find the energy at live shows to be one unmatched elsewhere. In a dream world, I would want to combine my love for live music and documentary filmmaking, following artists on tour and filming the artist’s experience, the fan’s experience, and the behind the scenes action of the concert coming together. I love watching music documentaries, and I think one aspect they don’t share upon to the fullest extent is the fan’s experience. I want to combine my passion as a fan for artists as well as filmmaking professionally to expand this field. Another aspiration of mine is to write for Late Night Television shows, such as Saturday Night Live. Growing up, I watched these shows every weekend night and still love to watch them to this date. These programs provide such an entertainment to many people including myself, so I would love to give back if possible.