In this episode, Emily Lee '27 and Christopher Christensen met with Cornell senior Emma Alexander '26 to learn about her academic path at Cornell and how a moment of intuition led to a change in focus and helped direct her to film and screenwriting classes in the Department of Performing and Media Arts. She has recently worked as a producer and filmmaker on her own films as well as those of her peers which will be shown at the upcoming student film screening on May 7th in the Schwartz Center’s Kiplinger theater. We also took a moment to examine how collaborating with others in PMA has influenced her own creativity and what’s next for her in the world of film making, media, and storytelling.
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Transcript
00:00 Music
Chris Christensen 00:11
Hello and welcome to Episode 72 of the PMA podcast. In this episode, Emily and I met with senior Emma Alexander to learn about her academic path at Cornell and how a moment of intuition led to a change in focus and helped direct her to film and screenwriting classes in the department of Performing and Media Arts. She has recently worked as a producer and filmmaker on her own films, as well as those of her peers, which will be shown at the upcoming film screening on May 7 in the Schwartz Center's Kiplinger Theatre. We also took a moment to examine how collaborating with others in PMA has influenced her own creativity and what's next for her in the world of filmmaking, media and storytelling. Enjoy. Emma, welcome to the PMA podcast studio.
Emma Alexander 00:57
Thank you for having me.
Chris Christensen 00:59
Absolutely. It's a Friday too, which is kind of nice
Emma Alexander 01:02
Always, yeah.
Chris Christensen 01:03
A little bit easier going. You want to tell us a little bit about yourself and your academic journey that has led you to this point right here in the PMA podcast studio?
Emma Alexander 01:12
Yeah. My name is Emma Alexander. I am a Senior Communication major here at Cornell. I came in as an Agricultural Science major, which is not Communication or PMA at all. I wanted to do hydroponics, and then I was not really happy out on the farms. They're really cool farms. But I was like, Maybe this isn't for me, actually, the head of the major of the agricultural sciences department. I, like, it was a really small major, so we all had one-on-one meetings with her, and I went in for mine, and I spent like, probably 10 minutes talking about how much I love theater and the arts and like, music and writing. And all she said, after I had this like 10 minute rant, was, why are you here? She was like, what are you doing in this major? And that was like, sort of the impetus. I was like, oh, maybe, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. Maybe I should go, like, into the arts world. So I switched to communication. And it wasn't until my Junior year that I took my first PMA class. Okay, and here we are now.
Chris Christensen 02:18
What was your first PMA class?
Emma Alexander 02:19
My first PMA class was TV writing hour long with Juanie Fowlkes, who doesn't teach here anymore, but the focus of the class was writing spec scripts. So if you don't know spec scripts, are any scripts that you aren't like, paid for or prompted to write like it's not an original idea. It's normally based on an existing television series that's currently renewed for another season. So I wrote mine on Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1, and she was like, this is really good. And I was like, oh, do you think I could do this professionally? She was like, definitely.
Chris Christensen 02:51
Nice.
Emma Alexander 02:51
So that was my first PMA class, and it was a great experience, a great class. It was, it stimulated a writer's room. So it was really cool to, like, bounce ideas off of one another.
Chris Christensen 03:01
Okay, any scripts you've been working on, some scripts since that time? Like, anything that nobody else has seen, things that you're just kind of putting together for later use?
Emma Alexander 03:11
Ooh, yeah, I have- these are all things that I've definitely talked with people about, but nothing that's seen the light of day yet. I have a 1930s murder mystery at a circus that is in development. It'll either be it'll either be like a limited series or a feature length. I'm not sure which yet, but it started as a short story, so people have seen it in, like the short story format, but not the script format yet. So that'll probably be a project in the future that happens.
Chris Christensen 03:37
Does the short story have a title?
Emma Alexander 03:43
The Body at the Circus.
Chris Christensen 03:45
Okay, nice. I love the fact that you set it in the 30s and circus, those two things go together really nicely. For some reason I'm thinking about Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Chris Christensen 03:58
Yeah, you familiar with that?
Emma Alexander 04:00
I've not like, yeah, yeah, but I've heard of it.
Chris Christensen 04:04
Yeah, definitely, a great film as well. So if you have a chance, check that out. I don't know if it's dated. Have you ever seen that Emily?
Emily Lee 04:10
No, I haven't.
Chris Christensen 04:11
Okay. Now I feel like the old one.
Emily Lee 04:16
Um, so were there any, like, particular PMA classes, faculty or experiences that were especially formative for you?
Emma Alexander 04:24
Yeah, I mean, so many I, you know, started in the screenwriting world, and then immediately after that, I took Jeff Palmer's Film One class, and I've not stopped taking classes with him since I took documentary with him last semester. I'm in Film Two, Advanced Filmmaking right now. You know, I would not be the filmmaker I am today. I would not be a filmmaker like point blank, without him. He's been a really great mentor throughout this filmmaking journey, and his classes are amazing. They're super fun. I went into Film One with, like, literally zero technical experience whatsoever. It was so nerve-wracking, and it was just such a great class environment that he created to make it so that people like me who had zero experience or clue what they were doing whatsoever could become filmmakers. And I think that's a really special thing, that in those three semesters, across those three classes, I've become the artist and filmmaker that I am because of him and the structure that he gives and the support that he gives to his students. On the flip side, for more theater-related things, I took Bruce Levitt's Prison Theater course, where, if you're unfamiliar, we go in and we do theater, I would say they're more like workshops, in both medium and maximum security men's prisons, so I went in once to Auburn Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security men's prison, and we did a theater workshop with the guys in there. It's not sort of like we're teaching theater to them. It's kind of like we're experiencing theater as a collective together, and unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we haven't been allowed back in.
Chris Christensen 06:07
Oh, really, I didn't know this,
Emma Alexander 06:09
Yeah, so it's some crazy, completely out of control stuff. The Department of Corrections went on strike.
Chris Christensen 06:16
Okay,
Emma Alexander 06:16
And so they shut down all the programming. I think we might just be getting back into Cayuga, which is a medium security prison nearby, soon, but we're not back in an Auburn yet, and this was over a year ago now.
Chris Christensen 06:29
I was gonna ask you what the timeframe was on that I did not know that.
Emma Alexander 06:34
So it's really unfortunate, but for me, like not having any incarcerated people in my life, this experience was even just going in once, was so formative and world-shifting, in not only, you know, telling stories and having empathy within our stories, but just being an empathetic human being and seeing the impact that the arts has, like on that ground level. So it was a super formative experience. Even going in once, I can only imagine what going in, if I had the opportunity to, every single week for a whole semester would have done but I'm very, very grateful to even just have that one experience for those couple of hours.
Chris Christensen 07:09
Do you think that's influenced you in some way that you might have sort of a bookmark in your mind to do work later on in life as you sort of step into the field?
Emma Alexander 07:18
Definitely, I think it's opened up my mind for the possibilities of not only potential collaborators, but the kinds of stories I can tell with those collaborators. You know, you never want to as a storyteller, especially going into communities that aren't your own, kind of coming in and taking over. You always want to collaborate with people within those communities. And I think it's opened up my mind to not only what stories I could tell, but what stories already exist, and what they say and how they're saying it, and the importance of having diverse stories that represent all of these people. You know, I would never imagine what it's like to be locked up in a cell for decades and not have any sort of creative release, you know. So it just goes to show the importance of the arts and what we do for everyone. And it's people you could never even imagine, like we would go in and we'd be talking to them about popular movies, because they had access to films like through their tablets, or, you know, word of mouth from one another. And it was just it really showed the impact of the arts to everyone, which was really, really cool.
Chris Christensen 08:25
I appreciate the fact that you mentioned that. Who did you learn that from the idea of not bringing your own experience in, but learning from a particular community that you're working with?
Emma Alexander 08:35
Yeah, I mean, in Jeff Palmer's class, we talk a lot about ethics. I mean, particularly within documentary filmmaking, which I took last semester. You know, we're going in, and sometimes we're part of these communities, and sometimes we're not. So we spent most of the semester talking about the ethics of what we were doing and how we could do what we were doing ethically. You know, my documentary focused on student protesters at Cornell, and I spent a lot of time, you know, not only researching but thinking through, how could I protect these students? Because they're current students, and art, I don't think, is always meant to be palatable for every single person. And so someone is always going to have a critique for whatever art you make, and especially when you're working with real people and real stories. I think as a filmmaker, you have this ethical responsibility to make sure everyone's informed throughout the whole process and to know what's going on and like, where the film could eventually go to and things like that. So I for my documentary before we started, I offered, I was like, hey, if you want to be anonymous, that's fine. We can disguise your voice. We can, you know, like, do those, like, shadow interviews, like, that's totally fine. And it just so happened that all three of my participants were totally cool with being on camera.
Chris Christensen 09:48
Okay.
Emma Alexander 09:48
But I was very prepared for if that wasn't the case, and how I could still tell this story, you know, because it doesn't mean limiting yourself in the story you're trying to tell, but you do have to be conscious of, like, those ethics as you're going into it,
Chris Christensen 10:02
And that's the film that's coming up for screening very soon.
Emma Alexander 10:05
That is not.
Chris Christensen 10:06
Not, okay.
Emma Alexander 10:07
No, that screened last semester. It was really a great experience. We had documentaries of all different types, which was really, really cool. My film that is this upcoming semester is part of Advanced Filmmaking, so it'll be my second fiction film that I have written and directed, which is super exciting.
Chris Christensen 10:27
Let's dig into that.
Emma Alexander 10:28
Yeah, it is about two janitors who this is a spoiler alert. This is a not spoiler free podcast. This is going to spoil the film.
Chris Christensen 10:39
Okay.
Emma Alexander 10:40
But it is about two janitors who clean Death's office.
Chris Christensen 10:44
Ooh.
Emma Alexander 10:45
Yeah.
Chris Christensen 10:46
Oh, I like it.
Emma Alexander 10:47
Oh, it's fun.
Chris Christensen 10:49
Well, we're not going to be spoiler free, so tell us a little bit about that. Go, yeah, tell us more.
Emma Alexander 10:54
Yeah. So Death, in this film, collects one item from every person who passes. So it's this like office that is ever-expanding and overflowing with all of these random objects. And it's meant to be this story about, you know, not only these objects that we all possess and like leave behind when we die, but our connections to one another as people, and how important those connections are, and how, at the end of the day, it's not these objects that matter, even though we all have, like, sentimental attachments to these objects, it's not the object that matters, it's the person that we associate with it. And you could think about probably any object in your life, and you can go, oh, I really love this thing. And then if you think about it a little bit deeper, you'll probably realize it has some connection to someone you love and care about. And it was a lot of fun to film. I filmed in the PMA building, actually, in the storage spaces around the building, which was really fun, because it was kind of like seeing like the back rooms of the Schwartz Center.
Chris Christensen 11:57
What were some of those? Were they located, like mech room area, that type of space, or-
Emma Alexander 12:04
They were all the prop storage spaces-
Chris Christensen 12:06
Okay.
Emma Alexander 12:07
-as well as the costume shop.
Chris Christensen 12:08
Very nice.
Emma Alexander 12:09
The storage spaces within the costume shop, so there's like, probably over 1,000 like, pairs of shoes that we saw on camera. And in the prop storage spaces there's, like, old props from old thesis films, and, like, a severed arm, which we didn't show on camera. That was like, like the fake body parts were not, it's not that kind of film, but there are all these really, really cool kind of history of the building and of like, past artistic projects. You know, I'm a big history person, and that was part of why I wanted to make this film of like a personal family connection. You know, I think my family being from so many different places, like worldwide, we don't have much of a cultural connection, but we do have these objects that have been passed down. Like I have the samovar pot that my ancestors brought from Lithuania that I was going to put in the film, but it's massive, so that didn't end up working. But, you know, I had my grandfather's watch be in the film. Like, there were a lot of, like, sentimental objects that I thought of to include, like, sprinkled throughout the piece, which I'm really excited about.
Chris Christensen 13:19
Was filming in the props area, was that an idea you came up with when you were thinking about what, what Death's office looks like? Or was this something that Tim recommended to you, or kind of a thing that evolved over time?
Emma Alexander 13:31
Yeah, a little bit of both. I am of the film school of thought of, let me make this easy on myself as a full-time student. So I was like, well, I mean a storage space would work like, I don't have to move the objects into the space. So I was talking with both Andrew and Tim for a while, and we were thinking of, oh, should I use a green screen? But that's going to be hard to fake for, you know, an eight minute film. And I was thinking of the prop warehouse, which is a little bit further out, but that would have been logistically a bit more complicated. And so I got permission to use the storage spaces around PMA.
Chris Christensen 14:05
Nice.
Emily Lee 14:06
I know there's a lot of different like equipments that go into film two versus film one, because for film one, um, we get basic, like very basic level equipments, like camera, lighting, sound, and that's really it and I and when we are looking at, like, the rental sheet for the film, film one and film two, like, there's so many different equipments, and whenever we ask about it, Jeff, it's like, oh, that's for film two. Film one is more about, like, just telling your story and getting your narrative out there. So I was always kind of curious, like, how, um, things were different in film two? So.
Emma Alexander 14:43
That's such a funny question, because we get told, oh, that's not for film two, that's for the thesis films. So it just never ends, ever. Yeah, no, I actually used a Black Magic camera, which we used a different Black Magic camera in Documentary. So that was what myself and my DP, Kate Thorpe, who is a also lovely, amazing filmmaker, we were most familiar with just coming from Documentary. So we actually used that. I know other classmates of mine use, like C300s and stuff like that. Someone else used a C200 as well, but he just wanted to be different. No, I'm kidding, he's awesome.
Chris Christensen 15:26
Any technical issues you ran into during the filming process that gear related, or just some logistical issues that you hadn't really considered prior to beginning the process?
Emma Alexander 15:39
Yeah, I mean, the biggest logistical issue that I knew was going to be an issue was space, because we were filming in, you know, storage closets that are not really meant to be filmed in whatsoever. So having a really small crew was a massive help, because we could fit in those little, tiny spaces, and then also filming in these back hallways, you could hear the elevator anytime the elevator moved, or like the pipes did something, there was always some sort of noise. So it was a technical challenge in figuring out how to mitigate noise and how to navigate spaces, which I think was a good challenge. I mean, I if I could film in those spaces, I could probably film anywhere, so.
Chris Christensen 16:19
Did you scoop those out in post, or keep them in to some degree, or modify them in some way that it creates some sort of ambience?
Emma Alexander 16:27
Yeah, I'm in the middle of editing right now. I've kept a lot of those sounds in so far, we'll see how it develops as I get further into the process. But some of those sounds are exactly what you know I'm picturing for this janitor shift that they're going on.
Chris Christensen 16:43
All right. What about growth as a filmmaker? I mean, you've kind of just alluded to it quite a bit there from your previous films. How does this demonstrate some growth that you've experienced within the department and in the projects that you've worked on?
Emma Alexander 16:57
I think on a technical level, it went, it has gone much smoother then previous projects that I've done just with being familiar with the equipment. On a story level, I'm the type of writer that like what I have down on the page. I edit as I go along. So like, because I'm editing as I go along, I always finish something and I'm like, it's perfect. It has no notes, and it never has to be touched again. And with this process, you know, we would, you know, put our scripts away and then take them back out again and get feedback. And I went through quite a few versions of this script, and this was the first time that I really like overhauled the script from the first iteration to the last iteration. Like, to the extent of cutting out entire scenes and shifting things around, whereas when I made my first film, I think I just altered dialogue, and that was it, like, I didn't touch anything else. So I think from a creative standpoint, it was very much like, oh no, I can, I can make this better, like, I've got the ability to improve upon this.
Emily Lee 17:56
And this year, you also worked as a producer for two honors thesis films. So how did working as a producer, kind of like differ from directing or creating your own work?
Emma Alexander 18:07
Yeah, it was completely different, but it was so much fun. I produced both Justin Lee's and Izzy Falchuk's. I co-produced Izzy's along with Emma May, and she also assistant produced Justin's as well, and she's wonderful and amazing. But producing, it's interesting because it's bringing someone else's creative vision to life. Like at the end of the day, you're making that creative vision happen, you're not the one in putting any ideas into that creative vision. So it's completely different from being the writer, director of your own project, where you have complete creative control, and can just go, oh, this is difficult, we're not doing this. Whereas, when it's someone else's you're like, okay, we have to do this, how do we make that happen? And producing is something that I think is very difficult to be taught. I think you just kind of have to jump in and do it. It's a lot of logistics. It's a lot of like, you're kind of given a blank canvas with an outline, like, you know, you have the script and you have your director who's right there and their vision, but it's like, okay, well, we need cast and we need crew, and we need locations, and how are we transporting those people? How are we feeding those people? You know, Justin's film had a lot of practical effects, so how do we get someone on board that knows how to do practical effects? You know, for Izzy's film, we transported everyone to New York City-
Chris Christensen 19:28
Yeah, I wanted to hear about that.
Emma Alexander 19:30
Yeah, that was logistically very difficult. I don't think it's been really done to that scale for thesis films here. So we rented a big white van and drove to New York City.
Chris Christensen 19:45
Were you the driver?
Emma Alexander 19:46
No, I was not the driver.
Chris Christensen 19:48
I was like, I've never driven in New York City, nor do I ever want to. And I am amazed by people who can do it.
Emma Alexander 19:53
No, we had an awesome student who drove us there.
Chris Christensen 19:57
Okay.
Emma Alexander 19:58
It was not me, that would scare me a lot. But no, we were all in this big van, and then we got out, and then parking was a nightmare. And I remember on one of the days like our catering order was like, delayed or canceled last minute or something crazy, so we were on set and trying to figure out how we were going to feed everyone in the next two hours, because the kitchen wasn't open or something crazy was going on, they couldn't confirm our order. So I think producing is a lot of like putting out fires.
Chris Christensen 20:28
And that was all on you.
Emma Alexander 20:29
That was on me and Emma for Izzy's film, which was, yeah.
Chris Christensen 20:33
And what was the total number of people involved in at that point in the filming that had to be fed?
Emma Alexander 20:39
Oh, I think around, I think around 15.
Chris Christensen 20:42
That's, that's a good number,
Emma Alexander 20:44
Yeah.
Chris Christensen 20:45
Of hungry people.
Emma Alexander 20:46
Yeah, a good number of hungry people that would be angry if they were not fed food. So, yeah, it's a lot of, like, constantly troubleshooting. And you're also on set, you know, especially for these student films, normally, a producer wouldn't be on set, but we were on set the whole time for both of them, so it's logistically difficult to try and figure out, okay, they're filming a take, so we can't go on the phone right now to call to figure out this other thing, because they're doing a take. So it's a lot of multitasking and figuring things out on the go, which I enjoy. I think it's a lot of fun.
Chris Christensen 21:09
I can't remember if Izzy shared this with us, or not, were you there and back again in one day? Or were you there for a period of time like you were able to kind of rest in the space? Well, rest, but take time in New York City without having to rush back to Ithaca?
Emma Alexander 21:32
No, we pretty much rushed back to Ithaca. We stayed overnight and then-
Chris Christensen 21:36
Okay, so you did have an overnight, though, it wasn't one day event,
Emma Alexander 21:40
No, but it was pretty much like we landed and then we went straight to- we were filming outside on the street and New York City permit rules, which I had to become very familiar with as a producer, you have to be able to pick up your equipment and, like, leave immediately. Like, nothing can be stationary. You can't set up lighting or anything like that. So, myself and Ava, who was on camera crew, the two shortest, smallest people on this whole project, were the ones guarding the equipment on the streets of Manhattan, which was fascinating, like we were just saying that we were like, what would we do if someone tried to take something? No, but we guarded all the equipment, and everything was fine, and they shot the scene. It was cool to watch it from far away too. Of like, how they're, oh, I don't want to spoil Izzy's film, but, like, quick spoiler alert, she's, like, stalking these people through the streets and like, we're watching that happen. It was really, really cool.
Chris Christensen 22:38
Did you happen to catch any bystanders, like, I guess people in New York City probably experience a lot of times, like, films, TV shows in production. They're kind of used to seeing that sort of thing. But do you did you find people watching at times or trying to figure out what was going on?
Emma Alexander 22:55
A couple- because we were posted outside of someone's building, like, people going in and out of that building would be like, "oh, what are you guys doing?" And then when we said, you know, well, we're filming, they'd be like, they were very New Yorker about it. They'd be like, okay, and like, would just walk away. No one was super interested. I think, like you said, it was, that's what New York is, you know, that's the environment.
Chris Christensen 23:14
You didn't play it up, where you're like, make yourself seem really, really important, so that people want to have photos taken with with you, or the or the cast?
Emma Alexander 23:21
I mean, we'd be, sometimes we'd be like, this is a film set, and sometimes we'd be like, this is a thesis film set, and reactions were the same for both. So people were, they're New Yorkers. They're like, whatever.
Chris Christensen 23:32
Yeah,
Emma Alexander 23:32
I'm a New Yorker. I can say that.
Chris Christensen 23:34
There you go.
Emma Alexander 23:34
Yeah.
Chris Christensen 23:34
Is it, is it where you're from? Is New York City ish?
Emma Alexander 23:36
So I'm a fake New Yorker. I'm from Long Island.
Chris Christensen 23:38
Long Island. Okay.
Emma Alexander 23:39
So I have enough claim to the city, but, like, not enough claim, you know.
Chris Christensen 23:44
Just like us way up here,
Emma Alexander 23:45
Yeah. Well-
Chris Christensen 23:46
We have no claim to the city.
Emma Alexander 23:49
We're a little far.
Chris Christensen 23:50
Yeah, I always find it funny when I tell people I'm from New York, and they're like, oh, like, you know, what do you do in the city? I'm- nothing. I'm six hours away. Well, by the way I drive, it's six hours away, or the way I take a bus, it's six hours away.
Emma Alexander 24:02
It's far. I mean, my grandparents lived in the city. My dad's parents lived there when I was growing up, so I went in the city all the time. I love it.
Emily Lee 24:09
So how is collaboration within the PMA department influenced the way you work creatively?
Emma Alexander 24:17
That's a great question. I think it's opened up the possibilities of what being a creative and an artist mean, you know, I've taken all of these theater and film classes. You know, I went to Sundance with Dr. Kristen Warner, and that was an amazing experience, highly recommend. That was really, really cool. That solidified, oh, there are all these people here that are doing filmmaking, and, you know, are making projects, even if they're not making a living off of it just yet, it was really, really cool. You know, I met, like, an Emmy-nominated actress who I didn't even know who she was. I just was turning around talking to her, and then at the end of this whole conversation, I was like, oh, you know, like, we're both college students, I was like, can I get your Instagram? And she was like, yeah, sure. And then it said, like, Emmy-winning. I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy, but it was a really great experience. I think being involved in the PMA world has really just led me to believe that I can do this, that this is a, you know, you tell people that are not involved in the arts, that you're going into the arts. I have a lot of, you know, STEM-orientated friends, and they're like, not not my friends, but the other people outside in that STEM world are like, well, how are you making money off of that?
Emily Lee 25:40
I hear that all the time.
Emma Alexander 25:41
Yeah, and it's a crazy thing to say because I- you know, we don't go around saying that to these people that are like, well, I want to be a doctor, I want to be a lawyer, or I'm going to go work in finance, which are all also very difficult career paths. You know, if we're not saying it to them, why are we saying it to people in the arts? And I think it discourages a lot of students. So I think being in PMA and the PMA environment, where a lot of the professors have also done this professionally and can give you advice to navigate this career pathway, it's really taught me that just because it's difficult does not mean it's impossible, and that it is possible to get your foot in the door.
Emily Lee 26:21
So can you tell us more about your future plans, like, what's next, after, after Cornell, and do you see yourself continuing in filmmaking, media or storytelling?
Emma Alexander 26:35
Yeah, definitely. I will be going to, this is an announcement to everyone, which is exciting.
Emma Alexander 26:41
I'll be going to USC-
Chris Christensen 26:43
Congrats.
Emma Alexander 26:44
Thank you, for their Film and Television Production MFA progm. I'm super excited. It hopefully doesn't randomly snow there.
Chris Christensen 26:54
I hope not.
Emma Alexander 26:55
Yeah, so I'll be doing that and hopefully developing a lot of these projects. I've had in my head for a while, and I've been talking to people about. I'm also going to be producing another Cornell student's project, but I'm going to keep that one under wraps for now,
Chris Christensen 27:08
While you're away.
Emma Alexander 27:09
Yes.
Chris Christensen 27:10
From afar.
Emma Alexander 27:10
From afar.
Chris Christensen 27:11
Okay, so we'll see you back here. Maybe
Emma Alexander 27:11
Yeah, at least, at least over Zoom and-
Chris Christensen 27:17
Okay.
Emma Alexander 27:17
- I'll be waving from the Zoom call like hi-
Chris Christensen 27:20
Okay. But no, no, no, in person.
Emma Alexander 27:23
I could try, but I think that'd be difficult.
Chris Christensen 27:25
Yeah, any, any long-term goals that are sort of there in your mind, where you think this is something I want to do after I get out of here, not necessarily immediately or in your graduate work, but?
Emma Alexander 27:39
Yeah, I mean, I want to be a television showrunner, because I always, you know, writing is at the core of my being, and I always want to keep writing and you know, from the producing aspect of things, it combines everything I love, like the logistics and the storytelling and the writing all in one position, which I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't been involved in PMA, in the department, and all the opportunities that have arisen because of that involvement.
Chris Christensen 28:05
Okay, do you have any other questions Emily? I feel like there must be something more we've got there.
Emily Lee 28:14
I want to ask if you have any advice for people who are just starting out in filmmaking?
Emma Alexander 28:20
Yeah, that is a great question. I think, especially, you know, I was not involved in PMA until my Junior year, like going from zero involvement to now, having produced two thesis films, and, you know, worked on all my own projects, I would say the opportunities are out there at Cornell. Sometimes it's difficult to find because we're such a big school, but those opportunities are out there. And you just have to get that foot in the door, and once you're in, like all the other projects, like I know pretty much about every filmmaking project that's happening on campus right now, just because I'm so heavily involved in the world, but in terms of making your own film, I saw this really great piece of advice on social media the other day that was like, you should not be looking anywhere but in front of you. You should not be looking to your left, right or behind you. And that's such- it was such a great piece of advice, because I think especially as student filmmakers, were constantly looking at one another, going, oh, but their cinematography looks so good, or their writing's so great, or I should have done this, or I should get a colorist and a sound mixer and like all of these crazy things, and at the end of the day, like, you know your creative vision best, and your creative vision is unique because it is yours, and your project is not going to look like any other filmmakers in that room, because it is yours. So you should probably not look at their projects in comparison to your own, because your project is your own, and it's going to drive you crazy if you're constantly looking at other people's projects and going, I should have done this, or why doesn't mine look like blank? Why isn't mine blank? And it's because it's yours. That's that's your creative vision. That's what makes you unique. And yeah, I would say comparison is going to drag you down. So.
Chris Christensen 30:21
Do you think it's possible that you could compare and maybe take a note and say, not on this project, I can't apply it now, but I can learn from that that other person's project and maybe integrate it into my own work at a later time, or I can see how this would would integrate with my own style?
Emma Alexander 30:37
Yeah, definitely. I mean, especially in terms of, like, organization, and that's what you also develop as you just keep making more projects, how organized you can possibly become. You know, making call sheets ahead of time, and, like, making sure- my first project, my actors, like, didn't have the script until, like, a day before, which is not how you should do filmmaking at all, but I didn't know any better. So in terms of organizational skills, I've definitely learned a lot from my fellow filmmakers. Creatively, yeah, I think all art inspires other art, so definitely from story perspectives, you would go, oh, I really like this element, I wonder how it could go off in this different direction.
Chris Christensen 31:19
One thing I was just thinking of is thinking back to the beginning of our conversation, where you had this feeling that you didn't belong where you were initially, and somebody else reflected that to you, and that's what helped bring you to PMA. And that is something very similar that happened with Justin, where he sort of shifted and said, you know, I really want to put a focus here and how that has changed things for you pretty dramatically.
Emma Alexander 31:48
Yeah, definitely. I got to a point after that conversation that I'd had where I was like, if I don't try, I'm going to be miserable for the rest of my life, and always wondering, well, I, I should have done this, or, oh, I could be at this place, and I was like, I have to at least try. And you know what, if it doesn't work out, in 10, 20, years, I'll have my Communication degree and it'll be fine, but I think it'll work out. I've got faith. But yeah, and it was a very dramatic shift. I was going to do hydroponics. This is not hydroponics at all. I'm grateful for my time. I think it's, in like, the major though. I think it's made me a more well-rounded storyteller. You know, learning about agriculture, it did, you know, change my trajectory of life, which I'm so grateful for. But it was, it was interesting to have someone see me in that way, and then be like, okay, yeah, I think I can at least do this and try it out.
Chris Christensen 32:47
Yeah. Do you have any social media presence? Or will you have anything that, if people who hear this podcast say, gosh, I want to know more about what Emma's doing post-Cornell, that they can follow you, or things to keep an eye out for?
Emma Alexander 33:02
Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna make my socials probably public as I advance into the filmmaking world more, which is scary, but, you know, it'll be good, but if you just Google Emma Alexander, I'll come up. Hopefully- there's other Emma Alexander's out there, but I'm the coolest one, and yeah, I'm excited for what's next.
Chris Christensen 33:25
Are blogs still a thing? You're going to be doing anything like that, or you can host your own podcast, or have some sort of a YouTube channel?
Emma Alexander 33:32
Probably YouTube. I have a really short tomato film- that is what I submitted as part of my USC application.
Chris Christensen 33:42
Right. I still need to see that.
Emma Alexander 33:44
Yes, I recorded it in this podcast studio with Liv Licursi who voices the tomato, and everyone keeps asking me about this tomato film that I've not posted yet. So I think that's going to be like post number one on Emma's YouTube channel.
Chris Christensen 33:57
Okay, make sure you send us an email.
Emma Alexander 33:58
Okay, I will.
Chris Christensen 34:02
Emily, are we all set?
Emily Lee 34:03
I think we're all set.
Chris Christensen 34:04
Okay, Emma, thanks so much for joining us today. This has been great.
Emma Alexander 34:08
Thank you for having me.
Chris Christensen 34:09
Yeah, absolutely. We look forward to seeing all your work in the future.
Emma Alexander 34:12
Yeah. Thank you.
Chris Christensen 34:13
Yeah.
