Katie Mathewson graduated from Chapman University in 2011 with a BA in Screenwriting. Since graduating, she has gone on to work for Comedy Central as a writer’s assistant on @midnight and worked on the writing staff of Pitch on FOX. Most recently, she wrote an episode of Marvel Studios show Hawkeye for Disney+ with her
Share your career path with us, how did you decide to transition from your academic focus in cinematography to working as an actress post-graduation? Heading into college, I knew I enjoyed playing around with my mini HD video camera as well as acting (I had done a few short films before and during high
On the morning of August 13th, Afghan-American actress, filmmaker, and Dodge College Alumni Fereshta Kazemi was in her production office in Kabul working on the trailer for her upcoming film. Only 72 hours later, she was narrowly escaping the country as city after city fell to the Taliban. Fereshta recently shared her story about her
What was the process like to land your first industry job? I chose to take an alternate path of applying to smaller companies, building out the best version of my resume, and taking any opportunity (including some that were unpaid) on set in Los Angeles. I met with as many people as I could, I
What was the process like to land your first industry job? I’m an Assistant to a Motion Picture Literary Agent at CAA, so I work with her clients who are directors, writers, and producers. After applying online, it involved a few interviews and providing references that had a connection to the company. The whole process
Since graduating from Chapman last year with an MFA in documentary film, Rishabh Thakker is already making a name for himself with his thesis documentary film Birds Without Wings, which was selected as a finalist for the Student Academy Awards in 2020. The film was shot in India and follows the story of two adults
Julia Prescott is a hilarious screenwriter and comedian, who since graduating from Chapman in 2013 has written for major studios, toured as a stand-up comedian, created the hit series Townies, and more. She recently returned to Chapman and joined the faculty this fall as a part-time lecturer teaching the course Writing for Animation. We were
Tom Ptasinski graduated from Chapman in 2008 with a B.F.A in Film Production, and since then has gone on to write ten feature screenplays, and direct several festival award winning films, web series, and stage plays. Tom is now back at Chapman where he currently teaches film production as Lead Instructor for the Dodge Summer
Centering the narrative around the experiences of those inside the “belly of the beast,” reframes the lens through which we view crime, punishment and rehabilitation. Amid a time of exploding prison populations, disproportionate incarceration of people of color, privatization and overcrowding, our criminal justice system is in crisis. Women of color are the fastest growing
A new short film by alumni Russ Nickel ’14 and Will Stribling ‘14 is featured now on the Science Fiction Website DUST. Stribling is also currently a screenwriting professor here at Dodge College, while Nickel has taught here previously. We had the opportunity to hear from both as they shared their experience of making their
My name is Trisha Duncan, née Vo. I graduated from Chapman in 2011 with a BFA in Television and Broadcast Journalism. While in school, I applied for internships and got accepted for a position in show development at DreamWorks Animation in 2010. Grateful to have been given this opportunity, I made the most of it
Cinematographer Pietro Villani has been shooting movies, commercials, and documentaries worldwide for 20 years, with his films screening in theater, at festivals, and on TV around the World. We had the opportunity to hear from him on what it’s been like working on set in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Can you tell us