Lauren Santana
BFA Film and Media Arts Major, Fall 2021
Expected Graduation: May 2022

I started this major as a Junior, which was a significant switch from my previous trajectory as a BFA Musical Theatre major. I will always credit Professor Giancola for helping me realize my love of screenwriting and helping me transfer into the film program. Since then, I’ve found Sound Image and Motion, Cinematography, and Creative Triangle to be invaluable classes in terms of learning the skills to work on a set and create quality films. I’ve been lucky enough to learn from Professors Curry, Perkins, and Walker, all of whom have helped me work through various filmmaking anxieties. They’ve especially helped me to develop my people skills, which is one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking. Professor Cockerham taught me just about everything I know about operating a camera, lighting, and cinematography – all skills which I continue to learn and perfect.

I feel as though my biggest strength as a filmmaker is my screenwriting. This skill is something I’ve been developing since my theatre days, but I am constantly working to perfect it. I have also become proficient at editing through software like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Avid Media Composer, and even Logic Pro. I have also become a much stronger gaffer through my work on peer’s sets, though I believe I’m only just now starting to come into my own where lighting is concerned, as I’m sure you’ll see in some of my earlier work, like ‘Real Frat Boys of Tampa.”

I am not only striving to improve my writing and gaffing abilities, but also my abilities as a cinematographer. I had never shot a film with a DSLR camera until my Sound Image and Motion class in Fall 2020, and even then, we couldn’t do as much hands-on learning due to the onset of the pandemic. As a result, I am comfortable operating camera, but not quite confident yet. As such, I am trying to shoot footage as often as I can and experimenting with different types of lenses and lighting. I am also working on my ability to run audio on set. I have only been an audio engineer on set once, and it is an area that I would like to get more experience in. At the end of the day, though, my main goal is to be useful on a professional film set, and I would be happy to fulfill that role in any position I can.

I still harbor some uncertainty about my future as a filmmaker. My current plan is to move to Atlanta, GA and try to find work as a Production Assistant on a feature film – I would especially love to be involved with the making of Marvel films. The reality of my situation, however, is that I have only been a filmmaker for just over a year. I sometimes wonder if I’m aiming too high for my skill level, or if I should take a year after graduation to figure out what exactly it is that I want to do with my film career.

Insecurities aside, I am excited about the different directions filmmaking could take me! I’ve been intrigued by the script supervisor role, but I find myself leaning more and more toward gaffing. I’m lucky to be in a position where I have options, and I largely have my education at UT to thank for that. I’m looking forward to the future as I continue to develop myself as a filmmaker.