Honors Concentrators 2016-2017

Abby Buchmeyer & Emily Browning - Low Expectations 

Primary Advisor: Terri Sarris; Secondary Advisor: Candace Moore 

Abby Buchmeyer & Emily Browning's original film Low Expectations  is a sketch and improv-based honors TV pilot wherein three girls navigate the trials and tribulations of college in a modern take on the undergraduate experience. 

Winner of the Frank and Gail Beaver Scriptwriting Prize; funded with help from the Arts of Michigan Mini-Grant. Directed by Abby Buchmeyer; produced by Emily Browning; Associate Producer, Anita Koltun. 

Clare Higgins - Origins

Primary Advisor: Victor Fanucchi; Secondary Advisor: Daniel Herbert

Clare Higgins' Origins is a collection of three filmic adaptations that explore the artistic possibilities and challenges of the translation of different mediums onto the screen. Origins encompasses dance (Phantasm), poetry (Pledge Allegiance), and written narrative (Built to Last). By adapting a work from each medium into its own film, this project focuses on filmmaking style, directional objectives, and collaboration with different artists.

Directed by Clare Higgins; featuring work by Robert Maynard, Carlina Duan, and Alyssa Honsowetz; produced by Christina Oh and Fahim Rahman; Associate Producer, Maria Mikhailova. 

Ava Burnham - Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor: Matthew Solomon; Secondary Advisor: Caryl Flinn

Ava Burnham's thesis uses evidence from the Robert Altman archive to tease out the careful creative decisions arrived at by the Director for three films: Nashville, Secret Honor and Nashville Nashville, the unmade sequel to Nashville. In analyzing these three works, Burnham argues that many of Altman's decisions were politically motivated in ways that may not be immediately evident. She also shows how the revolutionary production techniques and ideas Altman employed in his films are still important today.