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Assignment 1: Looking Forward to the Semester Ahead!

Kyle Mungenast is a freshman this year at the University of Tampa; he is thrilled to experience this new chapter of his life as he looks forward to meeting new people, learning from his classes and professors, and majoring in Film and Media Arts.

Kyle is passionate about the arts; he especially enjoys playing music, listening to music, singing, technical work, and acting on the stage.  However, Kyle's favorite artistic medium is film.  He dreams of becoming an accomplished screenwriter and director, and he is excited to continue working towards this goal while studying at the University of Tampa.  He has written written multiple plays and screenplays in the past; most recently he composed a full length play titled "Frontier" which he had the opportunity to direct and produce at Reading Memorial High School.  The show is a revisionist western which revolves around a dynamic conflict between three siblings set to the backdrop of the American Civil War.  Kyle's favorite genre is the revisionist western, or the anti-western as it is more commonly known, and it has had a strong influence on his style as he continues to grow in his filmmaking craft.  A few of his favorite movies are Sergio Corbucci's "The Great Silence", Robert Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", and Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America".

When Kyle is not busy immersing himself in the world of arts, he enjoys biking, fishing, golfing, and traveling.  He recently visited Arizona and loved seeing Tucson Film Studios, The Grand Canyon, and Sedona.  He also loves listening to music, and some of his favorite bands are Mastodon, The Mars Volta, Pearl Jam, and Pink Floyd; he collects a lot of his favorite albums on vinyl.  He also loves spending time with his amazing friends, family, his three older brothers, and his dog Brinkley.  He has had a lot of fun meeting new people at UTampa and is excited to continue making new friends!

Kyle is very much looking forward to Animation 1; he has a strong appreciation for animation, especially when it comes to animated films, of which his favorites are "Grave of the Fireflies", "Wall-E", and "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind".  He cannot wait to learn what kind of special processes and techniques went behind making these great films, and he is thrilled to get hands on experience with them!  He is also excited because while as of now he does not have any plans for an animated film in his filmography (although you never know, that could change someday) he still feels like there is so much that he can learn in this class that will benefit him in his future as a filmmaker.  Opening credits for example are a big one, but if he had to pick one goal to pursue in this class, it would be improving on developing characters visually.  Animated films always do a particularly amazing job with making sure that its characters are not just brought to life through screenplay, but also through how they respond to their surroundings.  He hopes that on top of all of the amazing skills he will learn in this class that he can also keep his personal goal in mind and continue to grow in his craft.

He is looking forward to the semester ahead and cannot wait to begin Animation!



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