A Collage of Memories
The thought process behind the painting
Creating a painting to encapsulate the entire University of Michigan experience is impossible, so I had to just get as close as I could. Between me, Pat, and Nolan, we crafted a list of essential University of Michigan elements we wanted include such as spinning the cube, rotc running through the arb, a good football pass, and studying in the law library. As I began painting these elements into a dynamic "collage" of sorts, Nolan would head off to film the elements in their respective locations or departments using extras, students, and staff.
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The creative process was a back and fourth of coming up with new ideas, adding them into the painting, or going out and filming them, and then matching them with the opposite asset. As the film dances between the brush strokes and the different events, you can see as the portion I am painting is the mimicked with a corresponding shot that Nolan captured.
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The final shot was taken in the big house to be the second half of when the camera swings around my back and changes from me working in the studio to the final painting being revealed on the open field. The painting is representative of the student's journey to creating a collage of memories to be kept forever in celebration of their graduation.
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2023 MGoGrad: The World is Your Canvas
UMSocial Project
As the senior design intern for the University of Michigan's Social Media, I had the incredible opportunity of helping with the 2023 UMich commencement film to be shown on the Big Screens and released to the public on graduation day. Working with talented filmmaker Nolan Bona, content manager Pat Durant, and participating interns, we were able to produce a visual story a University of Michigan Student's journey to their highly celebrated graduation from college.
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The concept for the video, crafted by Pat Durant, follows a painter and a dancer, representative of the University's Arts and Dance departments, with memorable elements of the University of Michigan experience woven in up until the reveal of the painting and the final dance. It was an honor to have the film shown back to me as I sat in the crowd of graduation with my own cap and gown on.
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I am highly honored to have been able to be a part of such a beautiful project and work with talented team members of UMSocial such as Nolan and Pat. Today, the painting is displayed in the office of the Vice president of Communications and is making its way around other university buildings to be shown publicly.
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Behind the scenes of filming at the Big House
