Evan Robinson
My name is Evan George Robinson and I am a born and bred New Yorker. Currently 21 years old, I am a Senior Film and Media Studies major and Geography minor at Colgate University. While I will delve into my specific film and media-related interests later in this introduction, I think it is important to mention the incredible impact that the classes I have taken in both of these concentrations have had on me and the content I create. In both departments, I have not only learned how to think more critically, challenge the status quo, and strive to improve, but I have also gained an appreciation for topics such as human geography, environmental activism, disability media, and experimental cinema which I would like to keep in mind as I continue to develop my portfolio.
THEN
As a child, I used to love Legos — not for the fun of building the structures, but for the minifigures who became the characters in my films, films I shot through the lens of my eyes. I have always loved to write, but my real passion was for telling these stories visually, using my Lego collection, as well as my colored pencil collection, to create scenes that were vibrant and teeming with life.
Since the day I chose to be the student who created a film rather than an essay for my final book report in the spring of 6th grade, I’ve wanted to create films that are not only beautifully shot, but which speak to me, and hopefully, those who watch them.
Throughout my time as an aspiring filmmaker, I have moved from strength to strength, trying my hand at any project that has come my way. I’ve worked on content for small businesses, national media networks, and even family and friends, each time trying new ways to raise the level of the content I produce.
NOW
More recently, however, I have begun to work on content for a new audience, myself. In my recent entry into personal experimental and avant garde filmmaking, I have found a great deal of enjoyment, slowly but surely shaping my filmmaking style into one that represents the way I view film as a medium, the themes that speak to me, and the quality of work I will maintain and improve throughout my career.
In this portfolio, you will find a collection of video projects, critical essays, and artworks I have created throughout my time at Colgate University in the hope that they will not only illustrate my critical thinking skills, appreciation for the arts, and desire to grow, but also paint a clearer picture of me, Evan Robinson, as a student, person, and artist.
While my time as a student has helped me explore my various interests and carefully construct the launch pad from which I will lift off post graduation, my time as an intern at Aspire Studios, a production company based in Princeton, New Jersey, has given me the invaluable professional experience and technical skills to build my career in the world of digital media production.
At Aspire Studios, I have worked in a professional production environment, honed my communication skills, become proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite, mastered my digital workflow, and helped to create content that I, the studio, and our clients can be proud of. I have worked on behind the scenes editing for TLC show 7 Little Johnstons, worked as a Production Assistant on multiple shoots for local businesses, top to bottom edited online lectures for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, edited engaging social media content for car dealerships, the list goes on and on.
SOON
As I am now tasked to take what I have learned and create a final project to cap off my time as a student, I am excited to create a film that I hope will defy my own expectations, as well as those of my audience, resulting in a piece of content that I will look back on as one of the defining moments in my artistic career.
For this final project, I plan to make a cubist film that only utilizes static framing to convey the feelings of depression and anxiety I deal with in my everyday life as a means of not only flexing my filmmaking muscles through some experimental and avant garde work, but also to discuss conceptions of disability and the way in which disability is treated as an afterthought in most forms of media outside of the disability space.
I would like to do this not only through the visuals and themes of the film itself but also by creating an “accessible” second version that is complete with audio description (created as the script prior to shooting) and detailed subtitles to make sure that everyone, disabled or able-bodied, can experience it as one.