Max Amar-Olkus Capstone

My capstone was done in collaboration with RubyJane Anderson. We wrote, directed, edited, and starred in two short films about SLA. Before production began, we did lots of research. We researched different types of comedy, journalism, and media production. We wanted our show to be both informative and entertaining so we took inspiration from comedic news programs such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Our research included lots of time spent watching programs like these, to observe what made them such effective platforms for conveying information. After that, we started to think about what issues we wanted to tackle.

In our first episode, we really dug deep into the issue around students cutting the lunch line. We set up a hidden camera to record people cutting the line then identified them and interviewed them. We interviewed some staff members about their thoughts on the line cutting and their ideas for potential change. We filmed all of the interviews then recorded narration, then edited it all together into one cohesive piece. After that, we uploaded it to Youtube.

After finishing the first episode, we moved on to our next idea; the school building. We focused mainly on the holes in the walls and the oversized toilet paper rolls. We researched the owner of the building and tried to contact them for an interview but they chose not to comment. We filmed interviews with students and staff members alike, again, then edited and published it on Youtube.