Mekhi Evans-El´s Capstone| My (First) Year in Film [2023]

Over the course of this year, for my senior capstone, I have been curating/developing my portfolio as a first-year student filmmaker and gaining experience/hands-on training with operating industry-grade filmmaking equipment (Microphones, Lighting, etc.) I chose this capstone because due to joining Science-Leadership Academy in my junior year, I was unable to enroll in the CTE Film/Video course as I originally desired and I knew entering into my senior year, that I wanted to pursue my passion for screenwriting and filmmaking before I graduated from SLA and entered into the Post-Secondary Phase of my Life. I began my capstone process by approaching my mentors, Torian Ugworji and Ms.Ustaris by asking them if they had any opportunities for an aspiring filmmaker, anything at all and they managed to find me a spot in a Photography course at WHYY Studios, a public radio station licensed to broadcast and serve the wider Philadelphia region. Through working with my instructors at WHYY I have been fortunate enough to have:

• Directed a 3-min Journalistic piece on a sustainability-based non-profit

• Gained Experience with Collaborating in a Filmmaking environment.

• Gained Experience with operating Audio Equipment, Cameras, and more.

How I have centralized the SLA Core values in my capstone process is through collaboration, inquiry, and research— I have researched various opportunities involving film, inquired with my mentors on whether or not those opportunities would fit for me, and I collaborated with the people I´ve met along the way, The journey I´ve been on through my capstone process has also led me to participating as a judge in the film-festival hosted by my mentor and advisor, Ms.Ustaris called ¨SLA Rocketfest¨, where I was able to watch various, different yet inspiring films from other student filmmakers.

Overall, I approached this capstone with the question, Is it ever too late to pursue your dreams? and I can confidently say No.

Mekhi Evans-EL Capstone Index/Related Media-Links:

• (Mekhi Evans-EL: Capstone Annotated Bibliography) — [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fTWgIBFlHch1MELFLT1kf5K6yz93e9DTAY5SutGChzY/edit]

• Achieving Zero Waste Through Sustainability | Bottle Underground & Remark Glass (Directed by Mekhi Evans-EL and Produced By WHYY Spring Break 2023 Pathways to Media Career Students—Embedded Below)

• WHYY Spring Break Pathway to Media Careers — Blue Team II: ¨Achieving Zero Waste Through Sustainability | Bottle Underground & Remark Glass¨ (Production Planning Document). [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1enaO0qD_yyk81TtkvEQTqrZFUFNGgs9Hic6-HcpVBGs/edit]