Visual Story is one of the classes all first years take in Carnegie Mellon’s Master in Entertainment Technology program. In this class, students learn about cinematography and create short films in teams of 4.

Each team presents 2 initial pitches and then 1 is chosen per round of short films. For this round, our team created 2 pitches. Our film was showcased at ETC Festival in 2023. Check it out!

My Role:

Being on a team of 4, each of us wore many hats. We took the entire project from pitch to production. Here is a detailed list of my contributions:

• Scheduled and booked all locations
• Acted as the singer
• Storyboarded and wrote the script
• Created the sound design
• Edited the final drafts of the video
• Collected all props
• Created the pitch presentation

Storyline:

The singer isn’t performing well. She has a dream but is singing infront of empty seats. Her manager gives her an ultimatium; to change who she is to sell more or give up singing.

The struggling singer scenes are parallelled by shots of her underwater. Her emotional state is slipping and she’s drowning from the pressure.

To give up who she is, is the same as giving up singinging and eventually, she lossess her voice due to stress and strain.

In the end, the singer, finds peace in not being able to sing. This isn’t the end, but the beginning for her. Change from her struggling life is a relief.