Tamara Perez De Jesus

Film and Media Arts BFA

Graduating in Spring 2025

When I first started out as a Film and Media Arts student at the University of Tampa, I was lost on where to start within the department. But, if it weren’t for Professor Santiago Echeverry, I would not known all the amazing and talented young artists I got to meet as I began my journey as a student filmmaker. I first started out with an interest in becoming a cinematographer, but after attending Warren Cockerham’s cinematography and participating in my friend Ximena Salazar’s senior film The Last Stage, I learned that even though I enjoyed using the camera, I really shined in the art department, especially SFX makeup and set decorating. In that class, I was in charge of wardrobe as well as creating artificial burns with scar wax on one of the actors.

As someone who did not get into makeup until late high school, I did not have an interest for makeup until I began experimenting with it more in college. Little did I know that it would lead me to my future career. After watching The Evil Dead for the first time, I was intrigued with how the gruesome wounds and other special effects were done. After that, I have watched many other horror films that rely on practical effects and makeup to bring out the terror in its worldbuilding and its characters. Now, I can create bruises, burns, scars, open wounds, gunshots, wrinkles, and so much more.

While I may be talented and passionate with the art side of production, something I tend to struggle with is editing during post-production. I focus so much on the set design, props, wardrobe, and special effects of a production that sitting myself down in front of a screen to cut and edit a rough cut or fine cut shuts my brain down. To help with this, I have enforced myself to create smaller independent projects to get used to the softwares I use and give myself the time to hopefully learn and enjoy the editing process in ways I hadn’t before.

While there are many possibilities for my future, I see myself working as an SFX makeup artist and art director in small independent films and maybe work my way up to bigger production companies such as A24 or Blumhouse Productions. I do also see possibility of applying my skills in big events such as Halloween Horror Nights. Because I am bilingual, I can also see myself working outside the United States and Puerto Rico in other countries.