Degree Name

Department

Theatre and Media Arts

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2024-11-19

Publication Date

2024-12-17

First Faculty Advisor

Kelly Loosli

First Faculty Reader

Megan Sanborn Jones

Honors Coordinator

Dean Duncan

Keywords

Pre-Production, Production, Post Production, Producer, Director, Creative, Film, Short Film

Abstract

This thesis reflects on the process of creating Promposal, a coming-of-age romantic comedy short film that explores the societal pressures surrounding high school relationships and the feeling of being “left behind.” The story follows Peyton, a student who is asked to prom but starts questioning the nature of romantic relationships. As she navigates this new territory, she grapples with both her own expectations and those of others. The production journey presented several challenges, including a smaller budget, a shifting cast, and communication hurdles. As a media arts minor with less experience than my peers, I learned to ask a lot of questions. Through these challenges—especially my own limited understanding of production—I realized that storytelling doesn’t need a lot of resources. Instead, these constraints pushed us to innovate, think creatively, and focus on what really mattered: the heart of the narrative.

Additionally, this thesis explores the process of bringing Promposal to life, from pre-production through post-production, and reflects on the personal and professional growth I experienced along the way. Promposal will be entered into film festivals from December 2024 to December 2025. After our festival submissions, we plan to explore distribution options, including publishing the film on BYU’s student film site (studentfilms.byu.edu) and considering platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or potentially Angel Studios for wider release.