Presidential and Graduate Lab Assistants (GLA)

Presidential and Graduate Lab Assistants (GLA)

Kristy Brenemen: (GLA)
Kristy attends Georgia State University as a second-year graduate student and is working towards her M.A. in Moving Image Studies. In her undergrad career she double majored in Philosophy and Film. She is passionate about her work with DAEL and their live music show indieATL. When not working on school related projects she spends time fulfilling her role as ‘Special Events Coordinator’ at WonderRoot Community Arts Center and is involved in a number of non-profit organizations. Her current goal is to produce a variety of projects, films, and events that bring together creative collaborations within the community.

Benjamin Gardner: (GLA)
Benjamin grew up in Loganville, GA and moved to Atlanta to attend school 5 years ago. He is a first-year graduate student getting his Masters in Communication in the Film Production track. He got his undergraduate degree from GSU with a major in Film and Video and minor in French. He is a graduate research assistant for Daniel Robin where he is helping organize the GSU Film Festival. At DAEL, Ben works in the equipment check out room, checking out cameras, audio equipment, and other gear to students working on various projects at the school. He also participates in shooting and editing productions of indieATL.

Erin Greer: (GLA)
A graduate student studying screenwriting and directing, Erin began her assistantship with DAEL in the Fall of 2011. As a GLA, Erin writes and edits promotional materials for DAEL, including grant proposals and articles for the website. She received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Georgia’s Grady College, and, after earning her Master’s from GSU, hopes to return to the field. When she is not writing, Erin can be seen on-set, either acting or serving in a production capacity for various film projects.

Neil Gordon: (GLA)
Neil is a rising member of the GSU film community.  After attending the institution for his dual undergraduate degrees in Psychology and TV/Film Production, Neil reentered GSU’s graduate program for Film Production with his sights set high.  His current focus revolves around the development of an experimental approach to narrative cinema, which more effectively engages human cognition and sensation.  In this attempt to close the distance between the human mind, and the media that increasingly populate our living spaces, Neil hopes to rework conventions in order to cultivate a more potent and precise form of audiovisual artistic expression.

Amylyn Johnson: (Presidential)
Amylyn is an 18 year old freshman at GSU. She is majoring in film. Amylyn has worked on short films including “Blood on my Name” (Whitestone Motion Pictures) and award winning “Red Light Runners”(48 hr film project). She is also a freelance photographer and was recognized in her high school for her photography. She will be organizing production equipment for The DAEL Studio and doing photography for “The Window Project”.

Matthew Mammola: (GLA)
Matthew started working at DAEL in the Fall of 2011. As both a student and a DAEL assistant, he facilitates communication among
faculty/students and DAEL staff, and aids in the development of DAEL studio projects such as IndieATL and The Window Project. In addition to the studies of film and video production, Matthew is interested in modern visual storytelling, especially collaborative
user-generated thematic content. Matthew is an alum of the University of Georgia and is glad that the GSU football team is not in the same league as the Bulldogs.

Fernando Mattos: (Presidential)

Fernando is a Honors Program Freshman. Despite his cerebral palsy, Fernando keeps a 4.13 GPA and leads a normal life. He began working as an assistant at DAEL in Fall 2011. Fernando is studying Journalism, and his love for cinema led him to choose Film as his minor. Already in his first semester, he has been published in the Underground Literary Journal, adding to a number of publications and awards for his short stories and poems throughout high school. Currently, Fernando is helping with the design and updates of the DAEL page. He is enthusiastic about his work, and hopes to help and learn more every day. In his free time, he studies screenwriting.

Christina Romo: (Presidential)

This is Christina’s first year at GSU and her second year as an undergrad. As an assistant at DAEL, Christina has participated in productions of indieATL as well as had the chance to talk to professionals in her intended career area.  She recently started compiling and writing information for the indieATL website and has been working on the 2011 Newsletter for DAEL. Christina is a double major in Film and Creative Writing, and hopes to one day write and direct for film or TV. She hopes to continue learning about film production under the DAEL Team’s (and all the grad students’) guidance.

Paul Schumacher: (GLA)
Paul is in the final year the MA program in Film and Video Production. He assists in the research and production of a promotional web video for the Moving Image Studies program. Additionally, he writes grant application letters for the DAEL. Finally, Paul assists in managing and maintaining the Digital Arts Entertainment Laboratory (DAEL) Studio, facilities and equipment.

Jing Zhang: (GLA)
Jing received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a second major in Film and Media Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006. She is a first year masters student in Moving Image Studies at GSU. Her research interests include French Left Bank director Alain Resnais’s body of work and its implications on the concept of time and memory, comedy verite as a redefinition of the sitcom genre, and finally, the negotiation between urban spaces and the people who inhabit them in the films of Wong Kar-wai. Given the diverse nature of these topics, Jing looks forward to learning more about them and hopefully narrowing down her options for her thesis.