1. Taylor Tincher
IDM Rationale
Film Studies and the History of Filmmaking
The realization that I wanted to study film hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no
idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and then I found out that UAB
offered a “create your own major” path that would allow me to choose film as my
degree. This was a revelatory experience for me; I had finally found the one thing I
wanted to study that fully captured the essence of my passions. Through my classes
and internship I have realized the many ways that film is beneficial to the world, and
I have also come to find out my life’s pursuit within the scope of the film degree.
I have taken special topics in film class that really gave me some insight into
how important it is to examine films and the ways that students can learn from
critiquing films. This class is an English class that is different from all the English
classes I have taken in school because it relies on studying various films instead of
works of literature. This class has really opened my eyes to the potential that film
studies have in universities. Examining a film can be like looking through a lens to
another culture or period of time. As students of film, we are able to gain insight on
what a place was like at a certain time and the various issues of that society during
that particular time in history. Studying the films that have been made over the past
decades in America is a very influential tool for understanding this countries
history. Films are able to put things into perspective and can catalogue historical
events and periods in history. Film is an important subject to analyze because so

2. much knowledge can be gained from it and many films influence the practices of
critical thinking because this leaves a lot of the interpretation up to the viewer.
The Ethnographic Filmmaking class that I have taken proved to be very
constructive and has been an eye opening experience for me. This class has allowed
me to view documentary film in a whole new way. Documentary film is a powerful
tool that can be used to raise awareness about various issues and can act as a
catalyst for change. Documentary film is a gripping form of story telling that can
emotionally connect with an audience and form a bond among viewers that can
bring them together to seek positive change. Documentary film has the ability to tell
a story in a relatively short amount of time, which if seen, even by a small amount of
people, can make a monumental impact on various issues that the film attempts to
deal with. I believe this to be particularly important in today’s increasingly digital
world where the media plays such a large role in our daily lives. Documentary film is
also an important educational tool that can shed knowledge on topics that might
seem trivial to the viewer at first, but after viewing the movies these topics become
significantly more important to the people who see the truths represented in these
documentaries. These films can take the viewer on an exploratory journey into
another culture and they can learn so much about places and things that they might
otherwise never have a chance to examine. It can also be used as a tool for collecting
data and watching the way a place or thing may change over time. There is no
reason to doubt the potential for documentary film and the power it can have to
change our world. In this course I had the opportunity to work on a project with my
partner Stephanie Lockhart, creating a short documentary film about the good

3. school foods project that is spreading through the Birmingham school system. We
were able to go to various participating schools and see the impact that the hand on
learning was having on the children. The students were able to grow fruits and
vegetables and then sell them at a farmers market that they ran after school. I was
amazed to see the way that this project had given the kids a chance to learn the
fundamentals of farming and the benefits of healthy living while also gaining
knowledge of basic economics from the farmers market they created. The whole
experience of creating the project was very rewarding and truly made an impact on
me. The documentary short we made called, Biophilia, went on to win the UAB film
festival. I hope that others will see the film and be inspired to follow in the footsteps
of the schools that we went to and implement farm labs in other schools where
more students gave have the joy of experiencing this project based learning style.
Over the course of two semesters I had the opportunity to do an internship
with Alabama moving Image association and work with the people that put on the
sidewalk film festival. It has been a very beneficial opportunity for me. I have been
able to become familiar with the inner workings of a non-profit organization and the
way that it operates. I have also been made aware of all the work that goes into
putting on the annual Sidewalk Film Festival. It has been a constructive experience
to become familiar with the business side of the festival and all the year round work
that goes into putting it on. I have seen the role that sponsorship plays in funding
the festival as well as the logistics of reserving venues and managing ticket sales. I
have also been privileged enough to get to be a part of the E-series events that
sidewalk hosts. During these events, a film is selected that fits into a certain category

4. such as, education, economics, environment and so on. These films are screened by
an audience, who after watching the film, participate in an ongoing discussion with a
selected panel about the various issues the films represent with their subject matter.
It has been really eye opening to see the way that the community can come together
to see a film and the way that a film can spark conversation amongst the community.
The films have the ability to raise awareness about problems that arise in our
current generation and the solutions to these problems. It is very beneficial to get
people together in order to discuss these social issues and come up with solutions to
them. Viewing these films is an effective tool for promoting social awareness. I know
that I have learned a lot from my internship with this association and I know that I
have been privileged enough to have been given the opportunity to work with some
amazing individuals.
Studying film has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I want
to use my experiences from my internship and my classes to help me achieve my
dreams. I want to open up my own independent theatre right in the heart of
downtown Birmingham. I would love to create a not for profit theatre that shows
independent films year round. I would also allow projects like Sidewalk to use my
space as a venue for the weekend-long film festival in August. I believe that someone
needs to provide a platform for indie filmmakers to get their message and their
story out. My film degree and my internship will give me the tools I need for
succeeding in this endeavor and I am so grateful to UAB for the opportunity to
pursue my dreams.