Graduating seniors take viewers on journey through Cinema capstones

As the culmination of their studies at McDaniel, graduating Cinema seniors annually have the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned within their major by taking viewers on a journey through their capstone creations.

For the Spring 2020 semester, students could choose to either write an original screenplay or produce a 20-minute film.

Annie McDevitt, a senior Cinema major from Avondale, Pa., who wrote and directed “The Experience,” also played the protagonist in her film.

“My experience filming was especially tricky because I was doing it all on my own,” said McDevitt. “I'm also the main character of my film, so it was grueling work trying to get the shots I wanted without added help.”

While Anna Mondoro, a senior Cinema and Kinesiology major from Dumfries, Va., wrote, directed, produced and edited a short narrative called “Solitude,” which is about a young adult stuck in isolation who searches for purpose and hope.

Mondoro credited Cinema professors Richard Brett and Jonathan Slade “for instilling in me the mindset of creative problem solving, an invaluable skill and one that served me well in completing this capstone.”

Examples of 2020 Cinema Capstones:

“Lost,” by writer/director Kayla Catlin, a senior Cinema and English major from Eldersburg, Md.

Description: When her Loyalist husband does not return from fighting in the American Revolution, a woman struggles to survive the winter in a remote cabin alone. After a fortune teller who claims to have supernatural abilities offers to return her lost husband to her, he spontaneously arrives at the cabin. However, he is wounded and merely a ghost of the man he was before.

“LongPig,” by writer Weston Funk, a senior Cinema and English major from Finksburg, Md.

Description:  During his final high school summer, an aimless teen and his perma-stoned best friend stumble onto a decades-old cannibalistic conspiracy in their sleepy hometown. As their friends and family are massacred to preserve the town’s dark secrets, Bryan and Shane risk life (and limb) to expose the evil.

“The Experience,” by writer/director Annie McDevitt, a senior Cinema major from Avondale, Pa.

Description: In the future, the world is void of creativity except for the elite. To join them, you must complete "The Experience," a highly secretive test to prove your worth. Many apply, few get accepted, and only one has made it through to the other side. Careful, not is all as it seems. 

“Solitude,” by writer/director Anna Mondoro, a senior Cinema and Kinesiology major from Dumfries, Va.

Description: A young adult stuck in isolation searches for purpose and hope.

“Beyond the Tree Line,” by writer Billy Ray, a senior Cinema major from Barrington, N.J.

Description: Tom, a college soccer player dealing with the loss of a family member, struggles to make friends during his freshman year. When he excitedly comes home for break, Tom is saddened to learn that his mother and sister don’t want to spend time with him. After going for a run one day, he is surprised to see an old friend who he became distant with during high school. The plot seems to be about two young men reconnecting their friendship, but the story takes a grim turn when they go for a run together on a forest trail that they used to run for high school soccer.