Flora Nolan
Class of 2024
You like experimenting with Super 8mm and recently made a short film. What about this specific medium attracts you?
My dad taught me how to shoot on Super 8 when I was younger and I’ve been into it ever since. I just love the way it looks. Shooting on film has given me a really great understanding of light and color and I would love to shoot on larger format if I get a chance. WHITE LIE is a film I made in Rebecca Haimowitz’s "Reality and Creation" course last semester. It gave me a chance to play around with footage I had already shot. I got to score it as well which was super fun.
Still from Flora's WHITE LIE
You also make music and often use your voice in your music. What is your approach when starting a musical piece?
If I'm ever stuck, I like to do is take a recording of something around me and use that ambient sound to layer in more musical elements. I’ll record the birds outside or rain or people talking and use that as a starting point. I love singing and it just feels like a really interesting tool to use. There are a lot of ways you can sample and chop up the human voice to create all kinds of sounds.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently producing a short film that two of my friends are writing/directing (producing is a first for me!). I’m also working on a score for a dance film that another Collaborative Arts student is producing. Making music for other people is super intimidating for me but I also love being able to work with other Collaborative Arts students.
Last semester I started a bi-weekly podcast for WNYU called The Good, The Bad, and The Similar with two of my friends. We watch three films for every episode to compare and discuss. I edit the podcast and post it do different social media platforms. We started it just for fun and while we don’t have a ton of listeners, stats on Spotify tell me people have listened in Sweden, Estonia, and Brazil which is awesome!
What made you choose Collaborative Arts as your major, instead of a specific discipline like acting, film, or writing?
I am interested in so many things it was hard to narrow it down. I think initially I was worried that Collaborative Arts may not give me as much structure or discipline as a film or acting major, but I’ve discovered that Collaborative Arts is really what you make of it. I’ve developed so many new interests that I may not have been able to explore in another program. Collaborative Arts connects you to so many different areas and students in other majors at NYU, so I seriously can’t imagine being anywhere else. I don’t think anything like this program exists in any other place.