My name is William Todd Conklin. I am from the town Gadsden, AL; it is around an hour and fourty-five minutes to the northeast of Tuscaloosa. I am a senior majoring in TCF Media Production with a minor in American Studies. I'll try to provide some facts within, and outside of the context of film/television.
1.) Film has always been incredibly important to me throughout my life. However, that was not the route I had originally chosen. Early on, I had my sights set on working in game design; the field still holds my attention as a story telling medium. That was what drew to it to begin with: the stories. Growing up games were, and still are, great artistic ventures into interactive story telling: playable movies. My favorite game of all time is Bioshock; a game that to me, defines the idea of immersive story telling.
2.) I love to cook. I'm no master chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I do a good job. I'll try to make just about anything once, and I like to start from as close to "scratch" as I can. If I had a specialty it would be breads.
Yumm...
3.) My favorite television show, and I guess I could say production, of all time is Breaking Bad. Although film is a focus of mine, this show has played the largest role in why I want to make any kind of film or television production.
(This clip is graphic; exercise caution before clicking if you are some how unfamiliar with the nature of the show.)
4.) I'm obsessed with the American West. The photography of Edward Curtis is particularly fascinating. I love reading just about anything I can get my hands on about it. I've wrote about it at length as well.
5.) I am a hardcore New England Patriots fan. I have been since as far back as I can remember so don't think I am a band wagon fan. Go Pats!
6.) My favorite cinematographer is Roger Deakins. One of my favorite scenes of all time came from a film he DP'ed: The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
7.) It's hard for me to pin down a favorite film. If I had to pick one that has placed at the top of the list for a few years now, it would be Lawrence of Arabia. The film is pure cinematic brilliance, and this scene blows my mind.
8.) I have a love for the game Magic the Gathering. My favorite card of all time is Darksteel Colossus; it looks a lot like the Iron Giant, which is my favorite childhood film.
9.) My favorite thing to collect is anything Calvin and Hobbes. I have all of the collected works.
10. ) This may be cheating a bit, but oh well. My favorite directors are Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, and the Coen Brothers. These directors craft the stories with the type of palettes, writing, design, lighting, and acting that make me come back for more and more every time.
Bonus: I love a lot of painting as well even though I am not incredibly gifted in the actual practice. My three favorites: Jeremy Mann, Leonid Afremov, and Vincent Van Gogh
Links to Afremov and Mann's work:
http://afremov.com/
http://redrabbit7.com/
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