By PERRI LERNER
STAFF WRITER
Tiffany Dodson is an emerging filmmaker, photographer and journalist whose work has been showcased in the New Jersey Film Festival and Black Voice/Carta Latina.
A junior at Mason Gross, she is working on projects that concern race and gender, a shift from what she worked on in her earlier years in film.
| Tiffany Dodson (left) and friend |
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“Currently I'm working on a project about women's want/need to fit into the stick-thin model stereotype of the perfect body by going to the gym constantly and changing their eating habits,” she said.
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Dodson says she turns to her role models to find inspiration.
“I’m hoping to dabble in different areas of filming, eventually settling down in mainstream film,” Dodson said. “I am very much inspired by directors Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee."
Despite the credit-intensive film major at Mason Gross, Dodson has decided to pursue a double major in journalism. She felt it would help offer her more opportunities, as well as give her photography experience.
“I feel double majoring will give me more of an opportunity to get a job in the future and expand my knowledge in different fields. I am looking to merge the two somehow, perhaps as a film columnist or an art director in a magazine,” she said.
To supplement her interest in film and photography, she is the art director of Black Voice/Carta Latina, a student-run newspaper on campus.
This job entails overseeing photography and designing covers, she said. “Working as an art director is a different experience for me, being that I have only been a contributing writer. I like designing covers for the newspaper because it allows me to explore other artistic pursuits rather than only video,” she said.
Her biggest cover to date was a scrapbook-style cover for Black History Month 2009. While she was a sophomore in college she submitted a short 10-minute film about deregistration, named “Deregistered,” to the New Jersey Film Festival.
It follows a girl who is the typical straight-A student with many friends. Suddenly, her world changes when she finds out she is deregistered from school. She tries to figure out what happened but no one will help her.
The film is bright and “cheesy” with a depressing ending, she said. “It was interesting to see my work on a big screen and for other people (strangers) to be watching it,” she said. “I was proud of the work I submitted though. And the audience found the film interesting because I don't think they've seen a film about deregistration before."
After entering Rutgers University, she involved herself in film by joining Beyond the Cineplex, a learning community at the school, she said. This learning community allows students interested in films to view weekly films and have in-depth discussions.
Students chosen are asked to fill out an extensive questionnaire about film. If the program is completed successfully, they receive 1.5 credits.
“Despite that, I think that Mason Gross should be more enthusiastic about the video department like they are with other departments. But overall it's a good school,” she said.
Dodson was admitted to the school by submitting a video about a fake puppet company, done in the style of VH1’s Behind the Music, to be judged by profile reviewers, she said.
It was completed in a day and was mostly improvisation, although some specific lines were written for the actors to say, she said.
The video comprised of Dodson interviewing puppets that worked at a Sesame Street-type program. The puppets were overworked, constantly forced to film back-to-back shows and not getting paid enough.
They responded the way any overworked puppet would: They staged a strike.
“The process was kind of nerve-racking because I had never applied to an art school before,” she said. “When I graduate I'd like to work for a company such as HBO or CNN or a magazine based in NYC. Working for feature films would be incredible too." |
