Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 34
Description
Fringe: Abstract Fringe is a feature length screenplay and a work of original science fiction. The story takes place in the future, on a planet far from Earth but it is told from the human perspective and is meant to draw into question many issues present in society today: prejudice, hatred, multiculturalism, war, and social division. The screenplay seeks to pose an allegorical relationship between the humanity living on the planet, and the enemies they face, and the present day conflict between America and the Middle East or ISIS. The story follows Miles as he is forced to ally with his sworn enemy, the Lue, and learn to fight together to save his world from destruction. Miles begins the film bitter, resentful, and filled with prejudice towards his foes, much like a majority of Americans today. Instead of focussing on that conflict though, my story unites these two bitter enemies and asks them to put aside their violent and hateful pasts to fight a new, more powerful foe together. As the events unfold my characters learn that their enemies can be just like them and that they have something valuable to offer their world. My screenplay is about finding commonality with the enemy, on both sides of a conflict. By the end of my tale, Miles learns that there is good to be found in the world, even in his sworn enemies, if he looks close enough. It may seem like an archetypal plot on the surface but I worked hard to create a world that has not been seen in film before, an original science fiction universe that can bring these issues into the light and entertain an audience while doing so. I feel that my screenplay does just that, offering entertainment with and edge of social commentary, and stays true to the science fiction form.
ContributorsTrcic, Colton Walker (Author) / Maday, Gregory (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
While former New York Yankees pitcher Goose Gossage unleashed his tirade on the deterioration of the unwritten rules of baseball and nerds ruining the sport about halfway through my writing of the paper, sentiments like his were inspiration for my topic: the evolution of statistics and data in baseball. By telling the story of how baseball data and statistics have evolved, my goal was to also demonstrate how they have been intertwined since the beginning—which would essentially mean that nerds have always been ruining the sport (if you subscribe to that kind of thought).
In the quest to showcase this, it was necessary to document how baseball prospers from numbers and numbers prosper from baseball. The relationship between the two is mutualistic. Furthermore, an all-encompassing historical look at how data and statistics in baseball have matured was a critical portion of the paper. With a metric such as batting average going from a radical new measure that posed a threat to the status quo, to a fiercely cherished statistic that was suddenly being unseated by advanced analytics, it shows the creation of new and destruction of old has been incessant. Innovators like Pete Palmer, Dick Cramer and Bill James played a large role in this process in the 1980s. Computers aided their effort and when paired with the Internet, unleashed the ability to crunch data to an even larger sector of the population. The unveiling of Statcast at the commencement of the 2015 season showed just how much potential there is for measuring previously unquantifiable baseball acts.
Essentially, there will always be people who mourn the presence of data and statistics in baseball. Despite this, the evolution story indicates baseball and numbers will be intertwined into the future, likely to an even greater extent than ever before, as technology and new philosophies become increasingly integrated into front offices and clubhouses.
In the quest to showcase this, it was necessary to document how baseball prospers from numbers and numbers prosper from baseball. The relationship between the two is mutualistic. Furthermore, an all-encompassing historical look at how data and statistics in baseball have matured was a critical portion of the paper. With a metric such as batting average going from a radical new measure that posed a threat to the status quo, to a fiercely cherished statistic that was suddenly being unseated by advanced analytics, it shows the creation of new and destruction of old has been incessant. Innovators like Pete Palmer, Dick Cramer and Bill James played a large role in this process in the 1980s. Computers aided their effort and when paired with the Internet, unleashed the ability to crunch data to an even larger sector of the population. The unveiling of Statcast at the commencement of the 2015 season showed just how much potential there is for measuring previously unquantifiable baseball acts.
Essentially, there will always be people who mourn the presence of data and statistics in baseball. Despite this, the evolution story indicates baseball and numbers will be intertwined into the future, likely to an even greater extent than ever before, as technology and new philosophies become increasingly integrated into front offices and clubhouses.
ContributorsGarcia, Jacob Michael (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Doig, Stephen (Committee member) / Jackson, Victoria (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Script supervising is a job on a film set that is often overlooked; however, without the script supervisor there could be countless errors in a movie. Script supervisors keep track of the continuity of the script, including matching actions, eye-lines, and all of the details in the set. The other main task of the script supervisor is to record information; he or she keeps track of the director's favorite takes, general camera information, and what each shot covers. My thesis covers an in-depth look at the practice of script supervising as well as my experiences script supervising two feature films.
ContributorsGeske, Victoria Manette (Author) / LaMont, Christopher (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Beautiful Accidents is a debut drama-comedy feature screenplay written as a thesis project. For a screenwriter trying to bloom in the Film Industry, the big question is "where is your great feature script?" and "how many do you have?" The pressure is all about the quality of the work and how many feature screenplays are written. Thus, this draft has been in pre-production and conception for a year and a half now. The draft presented as the thesis project is the third draft of a total of three versions of the script. The first and second drafts are drastically different from this third draft in content and character development. After having the opportunity to attend the Cannes Film Festival, the inspiration for another new and improved third draft came to be. It runs 93 pages, and goes beyond presenting an example debut feature screenplay. Throughout the process of writing a feature screenplay, learning to write several drafts to reach a polished draft is a crucial part of the journey as a writer. This was not only a project that included writing a feature film screenplay, but it also contained valuable lessons about the growth of an inspiring writer in regards to being willing to go through several drafts. In addition to the third draft of the script, a teaser opening of the first scene was produced, directed, and starred in as another segment of the thesis project. Run Time: 2:51. The goal for this teaser opening is to serve as a visual sample along with the screenplay. When the time comes to search for investors and producers for the script, this teaser will accompany the material. The script is intentionally written to be a low budget film, so that production could take place independently and locally for a tight budget. The ultimate goal is to produce this film as either an independent film or a semi-independent as writer/director of the project. Synopsis: A quirky romantic comedy about two individuals, Meg and Dave, who believe they are narcissists explore their own perceived narcissism in one another. Meg is a budding music genius who is stuck at Law school, while Dave is a bartender and pool shark. At the ripe age of 22, Meg finds herself for the first time in her life, deeply fascinated in one other person other than herself: Dave, who happens to also be ten years older than her. Her first meeting with Dave is purely an accident, as their continued journey appears to have plenty of them. These accidents prove to be, however, beautiful.
ContributorsKheshtchin-Kamel, Amena (Author) / Montesano, Mark (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2015-05
DescriptionA self-help guide for the independent animator. Answers the question, "What do I do when I finish a film?" Includes information on how to successfully market a film as well as different avenues of distribution. Discusses both shorts and features.
ContributorsHoma, Christopher Andres Burruel (Author) / Pinholster, Jacob (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This research aims to look at the lower level collegiate athletics, Intramural sports and club sports, in comparison to Division 1 varsity athletics to see how their sport lives differ and why they are still competing when the reward does not seem as grand as the Varsity athletics. The findings show that the socially ingrained aspect of sports is the reason that most lower level athletes keep competing.
ContributorsHarvey, Abigail (Author) / Jonsson, Hjorleifur (Thesis director) / Jackson, Victoria (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This creative project centers on creating evaluative writing about film, in the form of a film review blog. Preliminary writing was done, in which the distinction was made between critical film writing and movie reviewing, as well as an analysis of how film critics have honed in their criticism and what makes their content effective for their audience. The rest of the writing for this project consists of a total of 15 reviews for 15 different movies released in 2017 and 2018. In these reviews, there is a brief introduction of the plot and context in which the film is made, followed by an evaluative analysis of what made the film effective or ineffective in achieving its artistic goals. The reviews involve an amalgamation of the content and topics taught in the Film and Media Studies program at Arizona State University, from screenwriting to cinematography. This process of writing reviews and being edited by the Director and Second Reader allows for the opportunity to find a unique writing voice and create content that is accessible for the wide audience that would be reading the work. All of the writing completed for this project (except for the "My Favorite Film Critics" piece) is compiled together in a WordPress blog, in an easily readable and accessible format. The blog itself serves as a way to reach the desired audience, as well as entice them to engage with the writing and the films being written about. This includes providing images and trailers for each respective film, to add a visual component to the writing. The final product is a unique way to engage with the content taught in the Film and Media Studies program, while simultaneously building a portfolio of writing that will be expanded upon and continued in the future.
ContributorsPolich, Brennan Taylor (Author) / Green, Michael (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionA short film about a mother and a daughter.
ContributorsJun, Seo-Young (Author) / Taylor, Philip (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Clay, Anne Safiya (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
This creative project thesis is made up of two components. The main component of this thesis is a feature length screenplay adaptation of The Coquette or, The History of Eliza Wharton by Hannah Webster Foster (retitled Tomorrow, Today: The Life and Times of a Fool in Love). This screenplay aspired to modernize the 18th century novel for a modern audience. This was done by moving the story's time period to the 1950s, changing the location of the story from high society Connecticut to the more rural Yuba City, and most significantly changing the main characters to either be Hispanic or Sikh Indian. The intended result was to make a film that was culturally diverse but to also make a commentary on the religious, social, and gender issues that play a big part in Hispanic culture. The second component of this thesis is a paper that discusses the reasoning behind my adaptation choices but also on how I would actually make and release the film if I was an actual producer in Hollywood. More specifically, the first section of this paper focuses on my process of adapting the novel into a feature length screenplay, discussing topics such as story changes, scene removals, setting changes, etc. The second section of this paper is a business proposal that focuses on how I would plan to facilitate both the production and distribution/marketing of the film if the movie was actually in the process of being made.
ContributorsGarza, James (Author) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Gregory (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Battle For Arizona Avenue: The History of the Chandler-Hamilton Rivalry is an honors thesis project that aims to serve as a historical hub for the two schools involved. Chandler and Hamilton High School are two public high schools in Chandler, Ariz., who are among the most successful football programs in the state despite sitting just 3.8 miles apart from each other. The thesis is housed on a multimedia website, which uses written pieces, photos, videos and other multimedia elements to break down the history of both programs. Chandler is one of the oldest schools in the state, opening in 1914 and often lagging athletically until large population growth led to Hamilton opening in 1998. Hamilton experienced immediate success both as a football program individually and in the rivalry, taking the first 17 match ups between the two schools and winning seven titles in the now 18 years they have been in existence. Chandler has since come and shifted the tide, winning five of the last six games in the rivalry and claiming two titles in the last three years. It's rare for two programs so close in proximity to have so much success not just on the football field but academically, so the thesis looked at the various reasons why. The thesis is about more than just the two schools, however. It dives into what a rivalry means, as well as the overall impact of high school football and the various factors that led into this meaning as much to people as it did. The website should serve as a vital historical device for each school in years to come, with there still being the ability for growth in years to come. https://medium.com/the-battle-for-arizona-avenue
ContributorsArdaya, Fabian (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Jackson, Victoria (Committee member) / Hawken-Collins, Denise (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12