The show with which I celebrated the final day of finals was the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts Media Department's show! Featuring selections of the Media Department's students' work, and starring students from other disciplines, Media Nite has found its way of penetrating itself into the mind of the watchers. It was almost a full house, people arrived to see/hear themselves and their friends in the works of their fellow cinematographers. There was a lot of screaming, cheering, and ruining one's vocal chords.
Attending Media Nite is very much like attending an actual movie theatre, except the show took place in the Dan Kryston Theatre and most of the movies displayed have never been watched before. Each film had something or other that attracted the attention of the watcher. Of course, some films were better than others, but every single film was worth watching and worth remembering.
Films selected for this year's Media Nite had philosophical themes. They were about love and friendship, life and death, betrayal, diseases, poverty, music, religion, parting, memories... Some films were documentary and some were fiction. Others were recollections of the past. I especially enjoyed the films that were psychological horror films. Hehehe.
Not only were there films, but also animations! There were awesomely combined footages to produce atomic bombs in the background. There was a lot of things that struck me as attractive. I particularly want to mention the soundtrack in one film where the SOTA students who performed the music didn't only record it but also appeared in the shots. I found this very favorable towards the musicians and the audience. The audience basically got a chance to not only hear the beautiful music performed, but also see the performers.
Special thanks to Scott Eberhardt and Salome Milstead! :D
Visual artist Glory Rubio said about Friday evening's Media Nite,
"Media Nite was skillfully edited and shot. The animation amazed me because you could see all the hours the students put into making their film."
An anonymous source from the audience said,
"I guess what I really liked about it was that there was a good amount of movies that were meaningful to the film makers."
Creative writer Clare Sabry said,
"I was impressed by the complexity of some of the movies and I learned a lot about what the media department actually does."
We'll miss the seniors: Sam Stoich, Carlo Barrueto, Sarah Aineb, Sarah Barrog, and Amelia St. Peter.
The first film played, Welcome To Media Nite by Ben Vu, was a wonderful introduction to the glorious evening to follow.
A Day At The Zoo by Ethan Bresnick is a very colorful and romantic movie with a happy ending. It was very uplifting and mood-raising to watch. (I just want to say that my name was in the credits because I was lucky enough to play one of the soundtracks on piano for this film. Unfortunately the shot with my playing did not get through, but out of professional reasons I remained in the credits.)
A Message For The Future by Avidan Novogrodsky-Godt is about AIDS victims. This film, being a documentary, was put together very well and the information, I thought, was very important.
Stay by Gillian Rude is about two girls, one of whom was going away while the other was staying.
Sol Y Luz by Madelynne Hewitt is an animation about love.
Incandescent by Luz Rioja is the psychological horror film I was talking about before. Being about two girls, one of whom gets run over by a car after running after the ball she was playing with, this film focuses on the mental condition of the surviving girl who was left alone. She communicates with her deceased friend by writing in her journal.
The Congregation by Stevie Stern is a "mockumentary" film on a small church that attempts to attract more congregation. The film is documentaryesque but with humor making it very fun to watch.
Atomic Love by Ty Montz is about an atomic bomb going off resulting with the characters in the film breathing through air masks for the rest of the film. It shows that the thoughtlessness of humankind results in an ecological catastrophe for the rest of the world; but as long as we're alive, love shall prosper over all!
The Western Light by Sara Aineb is about three girls who always stuck together no matter what. Knowing most of the actors, it was very fascinating to see how well they acted while not being actual actors.
Happy Birthdays by Maya Hirota is a psychological thriller about the relationship between twins.
Exit Music by Charlie Blecker is a documentary focusing on how music for the general public is dying out.
Midnight's Past by Ben Vu is a thriller with a kind-of drug dealer, or some other type of criminal activity guy.
Party of Three by Carlo Barrueto is a comedy about two friends, one of whom is in love with the sister of the other.
Sweet Dreams by Amelia St. Peter is another animation that I enjoyed very much.
Wave Goodbye by Sarah Barrog is a psychological thriller/horror film about a girl whose friend fell off a cliff into the ocean.
The Fixer by Max Bergensten is a comedy about a man doing everything just to earn some money.
Grabgrass by Shiloh Atkinson and Ethan Bresnick is a very "green" film. Starring Shiloh Atkinson herself, the film had a lot of beautiful shots with nature.
B-Man and the Token by Mimi Pfahler is a film focusing on the theme of ingratitude turning against the person being ungrateful.
Much Ado About Babysitting by Minnie Slocum is a film about a girl whose boyfriend cheated on her and the kid she was babysitting stepped up for her and they became friends. This movie I found very sweet and entertaining.
SHE by Sam Stoich was the last film showed. It was about the beauty of women. My favorite was the soundtrack, which was produced by musicians Raina Christeson, Elizabeth Joones, Madison Eudora Watts, Leah Leiner, Ema Jordan, and Olivia Cosio. Isn't she lovely?
Written by: Rubina Mazurka
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