Nico Nine

BFA Film and Media Arts

Spring 2023 – Junior | Expected Graduation Spring 2024

https://fmx298.santiago.bz/nico/

Growing up I always carried around with me a notebook, writing down stories and creating characters wherever I went. As I grew up, I traded that notebook in for a laptop, and in high school moved from short stories to screenplays. Throughout my high school career, I was involved in the school musicals working the lights, and it is behind those curtains and up in that booth that I found my passion for crafting productions. I knew I wanted to move forward onto a path that would give me the opportunity to create and tell stories for audiences, so I decided to go into film. I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Tampa and earn my degree in Film and Media Arts.

As soon as I came to UT I knew that I wanted to take screenwriting classes. I went beyond the required curriculum and furthered my education in screenwriting with classes taught by Professor Cynthia Savaglio and Professor Taylor Curry. Through these classes, I gained an even deeper understanding and appreciation for the writing behind films and TV shows and realized I wanted to go into screenwriting professionally. In another class with Professor Curry, Narrative Production, I discovered my passion for directing. It was in this class I directed my first short film, Leo, about the struggles of a young transman trying to get his name changed. I was inspired to pursue directing as a possible career path and ended up doing an independent study on directing performance with Professor Aaron Walker. During this study, I directed another short film and was able to build up my strength in crafting performances and working with actors.

I’ve had the opportunity to work on many film sets during my career at UT, and I’ve been able to work in many different departments and build up my skill sets. Though I especially enjoy working either with lights or in the art department, my greatest strengths lie in writing and directing. Wanting to pursue these areas of film has made me realize my biggest weakness is the fear of not getting a project perfect the first time. Thankfully though in the world of filmmaking, hardly anything is ever completed in its first pass. Learning and working in this field has helped me realize that the first draft of a script, or the rough edit of a film, is never perfect. It simply needs to get done so you can move forward. I’ve been able to recognize this and consistently work at pushing through my fear by simply creating, even if it’s not perfect.

As I continue to grow and learn, I aim to continue building up my skill set in writing. I see myself after graduating moving into the field of screenwriting professionally. I already have a taste of what writing professionally looks like, after completing coverages on several feature film scripts for a production company. My voice is in my writing, and I will share it with audiences to do what I’ve always loved; tell stories.