Josh Parrish
Film and Media Arts
2nd Semester Junior Year
Spring 2022
https://vimeo.com/joshparrish

When I was a Freshman in high school I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life, I was considering being a marine biologist simply because I liked watching Shark Week but thankfully, on a whim I decided to take TV Production. It gave me a little taste of what it was like to make something and it turned out I was actually pretty good at it. From there, a casual hobby turned into a full-throttle addiction. I first discovered I had a knack for storytelling when I took Sound Image, & Motion with Bobby Marinelli. From there my writing skills improved when I took Screenwriting Shorts with Aaron Walker.

My biggest strengths are writing, directing, and definitely my sense of humor. A great joke can disarm an audience, it can lighten a room, it can be the catalyst to making a night out with friends one you’ll never forget. Comedy is a powerful tool and it’s something I’ve utilized my entire life. I use it whenever I can, especially when I comes to filmmaking. When I write, I write to tell jokes. I want my stories to make you bust out laughing, I want to immerse you in the world of comedy so that you can forget about the struggles you may be dealing with at that time. Comedy is also a great tool when it comes to directing, I believe the cast and crew do their best work when they’re enjoying their time on set. I understand its still a job and we have work to do, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little bit of fun while we do it.  I do everything I can to keep the mood light while I’m directing, I try my hardest to be like a duck; calm on the surface but paddling like hell under water.

I would say editing and cinematography are the areas where I can improve the most. Taking Advanced Post-Production with Professor Plays has helped me improve a lot in this area. I plan to work on my cinematography skills in the fall semester when I take the class with Professor Cockerham. While I continue to improve these skills, I have become proficient at conveying the vision in my head to my DP so that we can collaborate to create the best story possible.

I have several different ideas of what I want to do after my time at UT. Part of me wants to pursue my master’s degree at a film school in California, part of me wants to jump in headfirst and start working, and rest of me wants to just win the lottery and buy enough cars so I can drive a new one every day of the year, but that’s wishful thinking. Ultimately, I don’t really know what I want to do when I graduate, but what I do know is that whichever road life leads me down, I’ll still be making movies.