About Melissa Parsons
Melissa Parsons graduated summa cum laude from Pace University in May of 2020, earning a B.A. in Film and Screen Studies along with two minors in Digital Media Studies as well as Arts and Entertainment Management. Upon graduation, she also earned the “Outstanding Academic Achievement” award from the film department at Pace University. Throughout the past four years, she has been able to hone in on both her hard and soft skills, and she looks forward to using them as she enters the film and television industries during this next chapter in her life. Specifically, she aspires to be a film director, producer, or production designer.
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Having the opportunity to work and learn in New York City has been quite influential on Melissa’s work, influences, and aspirations. In particular, she finds it very inspiring to see female directors, queer directors, and directors of color take control of their narrative within Hollywood cinema. Most recently, she interned as a Production Intern at SYFY WIRE with NBCUniversal. At that internship, producers and other members of the crew noted her ability to finish tasks efficiently and effectively as well as her ability to handle many projects at once. Namely, she worked to conduct research and gather assets for their many projects. Because the majority of WIRE’s content is shared via social media, she gained a great deal of insight into the world of digital content production - particularly in terms of short form videos and podcasts.
No matter what medium the content is created in, Melissa is always passionate about content that is meaningful and strives to drive change in the world. Her most recent project, Pace University: Working Towards Greatness?, which was done as her senior thesis project, strives to tell the honest student experience that Pace students have. When bombarded with PR that shows the best of the university, it is important to consider what can be improved upon. Especially for the price that many students have to pay, they should be receiving a quality education and experience. This project is expected to be finished by the end of 2020.
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Besides her professional aspirations, Melissa has a strong passion for travel! She finds it enlightening and eye-opening to visit other countries and regions and learn about their cultures. Once the pandemic is over, she looking forward to visiting South America for the first time! Among travel, her other passions include art history, photography, and Mexican food.
My Latest Projects
WORD OF MOUTH
Word of Mouth is a travel show produced by SD Media for Hearst Broadcasting. After producing two episodes in the Sacramento, California area, our team was invited to create three more episodes - two in Florida and one more in Northern California. For this project, I worked as a field producer to coordinate the street interviews and b-roll portions of the episode. This involved research on the best locations to scout for people, managing releases, and interviewing participants. I also operated cameras during street interviews, b-roll, and segment shoots.
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I am credited as a Field Producer and Cameraman.
NEW APARTMENT
New Apartment is a short film done for my Directing course at Pace University. Inspired by a song by Ari Lennox of the same name, the film follows Ella as she moves into her brand new apartment. Working endlessly to make it look perfect, Ella begins to ignore her friends and loved ones.
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I wrote, directed, shot, and edited this piece myself.
SYFY WIRE SONIC PRESS JUNKET
While interning with SYFY WIRE at NBCUniversal, I was tasked with editing the video footage from this press junket for Sonic the Hedgehog. Finishing touches were done by a senior editor, but all prior work such as selecting responses, selecting and inserting b-roll, trimming footage, and adding music was done by me on Adobe Premiere.
ADTECH RELIEF SQUAD
My university's Brand Marketing Team reached out to me to help with their 30 second advertisement that was included in their submission for a marketing competition with a major brand. Working with the creative director through the pre-production and produces phases, I sought to bring their vision to life.
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I directed and shot this video.
CHOICES
Choices is a short film directed by Sarah Gibney that was completed for the Directing course at Pace University. It is a comedic short about the hardships of trying to choose something to watch on Netflix before one finishes their dinner.
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I was the videographer for this piece.
THE BEST PART OF WAKING UP
This short film was completed for a Television Production course at Pace University. Along with two other classmates, we produced a comedic short poking fun at the Folgers coffee brand slogan. My edit was chosen as the final version of the short.
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I co-directed, co-shot, and edited this film.
DOES THE NEWS DESENSITIZE VIEWERS TO VIOLENCE?
This video essay was part of a project for an English course at Pace University. In it, I ask the question, "How do millennials negotiate and understand the social and global violence that is presented by news outlets in an uninterrupted manner?" To attempt to answer this question, I conducted research and interviews with four Pace students.
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I wrote, directed, shot, and edited this video.