Fourth-year film and television student Andrés Chaves, from Cartagena, Colombia, recently finished shooting his thesis film. The project was the culmination of four years of extensive study in different film-related areas, and it allowed Chaves to demonstrate his vast skills and leadership abilities.
According to Chaves, his love for films started in his childhood when he filmed shorts with his brother, as they had always been interested in visual storytelling. But his college journey actually began as a writing major, and although his love for stories and literature has not faded with time, Chaves claims he realized that film and TV would make him happier in his time at SCAD. Majority of his friends were film students, and their excited conversations about the craft encouraged Chaves to switch majors, allowing him to feel at home at last.
His thesis film “Matched” was written by fellow student Brett Mangum and follows a man without a personality in his search for love, where he adopts other people’s personalities as a way to make up for the lack of his own. Chaves said he likes psychological stories that can be explored subjectively, as they give him the chance to study unique characters and portray them in a way that lets audiences make up their own interpretations.
According to Chaves, what he enjoyed the most about directing was having the clear vision of what the film was supposed to be like, and the ability to make final decisions and guide the overall production. Although directing was fairly new to Chaves, he says he would like to do it again. Having proficient skills as an editor allowed him to visualize how he wanted to present the footage while his crew was shooting, so he employed a plan with the simultaneous mindsets of both an editor and a director.