Showcase

Introductory Note

Hello!. My name is Nisha Malley and I am a second-year student taking English, Film, and Digital Media at Freestyle Academy. During my time here, I’ve produced photography, illustrations, music, a documentary book and film compositions, and more. Being a student at Freestyle Academy has been incredibly rewarding and an amazing opportunity to use digital art technology and work with creative, passionate people. Outside of Freestyle, I spend my time writing for the student newspaper as Editor-in-Chief, playing the piano, and spending quality time with my family.

For my Senior Showcase, I have selected my Senior Narrative and Zenith projects, as I think both projects are reflective of my best work at Freestyle Academy. I’m personally proud of the growth I have experienced as a filmmaker, screenwriter, and director through both of these projects – each was a collaborative effort created with the help of a cast, crew, class feedback, and two separate partners for each.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on both of these films, especially in regards to lighting, editing and pacing, composition, and color. For “The Move,” I did the majority of the pre-production planning and production scheduling and camera work. Inversely, for “Heard,” I did sound and lighting on set. I co-wrote, directed, and edited these films with a partner.

After high school, I will attend Foothill College with an intended major in economics in the hopes of pursuing journalism (perhaps with some type of media focus – video or photojournalism or documentary work). I’m also interested in going to law school to work for public interest groups or become a lower court judge, with a focus on civil rights law.

Zenith

For my Zenith Project, I partnered with fellow film student Robyn Watson to produce two narrative shorts. Immediately following senior narrative, both of us sought to do another project that focused on fictional storytelling and would allow us to explore genres outside of our comfort zone. In addition, I personally wanted to gain more experience in screenwriting, lighting, and editing for narrative film. 

Over the course of roughly two months, we eventually wrote, filmed, and edited two films: “Heard”, a 5 minute short about four teenagers that came together to work on a group project, and “Moogle Home”, a 2 minute spoof on the product Google Home and one person’s frustrating (and frightening) experience with the tech.

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Senior Narrative

For my media elective class, I produced a short film titled “The Move” about two kids that attempt to ruin their mother’s Open House to prevent having to move, and ultimately learn to accept the change and come together as a family. The creation of this film spanned over roughly a four month period, from brainstorming the initial concept, drafting and revising the screenplay, to planning, shooting, and editing the film.

Through this project, I learned a lot about production management, collaboration, screenwriting, and using some of the camera equipment that I was previously unfamiliar with (sound, lighting, jib, and dolly).

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