Shayla Brown

Mechanical engineering students build motorized Vitruvian man for a School of Music performance

Shayla Brown — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 20:23:35 +0000

Mechanical engineering students build motorized Vitruvian man for a School of Music performance Shayla Brown Mon, 04/08/2024 - 16:23

In This Story

Dr. Lisa Billingham

Nathan Kathir

A group of George Mason University mechanical engineering students are building a motorized Vitruvian man for a Center for the Arts (CFA) performance of "Flying to the Stars," a choral concert dedicated to the beginnings of flight from the time of Leonardo da Vinci to the exploration of space.

Team members Kevin Kuck (left) and David Gosselin working on their project in the Machine Shop. Photo provided.

Lisa Billingham, director of choral activities at the Dewberry Family School of Music, said she wanted the concert to be an immersive experience for the audience, and reached out to the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) for help. There she connected with Nathan Kathir, a mechanical engineering professor, who shared the project idea with his students.

“This project is exciting because we are partnering with another unit at Mason outside of CEC,” said Kathir, who is the director of senior capstone projects for mechanical engineering students.

“There is already a lot of art involved in engineering, and this collaboration between music and our department will be very inspiring for future students,” said Kathir.

The four students assigned to the project are working in the Machine Shop on the SciTech Campus and call themselves The Polymaths.

“We were thinking about the show’s theme of Leonardo da Vinci and we knew that the Vitruvian man is kind of his staple,” said Mellany Ayala, a senior mechanical engineering student. “I drew a very rough sketch of the Vitruvian man inside a gyroscopic figure, and it ended up being what our team decided to build.”

The device, which will hang from center stage throughout the show, has two spotlights as well as projections that will shine down on the students as they perform.

“We’re aiming for something similar to the immersive Van Gogh experience in D.C.,” said Kevin Kuck, a senior mechanical engineering student and the team leader.

The Polymaths met once a week with Billingham and her student research assistant and choir member, Ross Calvin, to discuss the project and work on a proposal for funding. They applied for and received a grant from Mason’s University Life.

Billingham also created a QR code fundraiser on Facebook and received anonymous donations, she said.

“Hopefully these cool project collaborations keep happening in the future. It was really refreshing to work with people from CVPA; they were so easygoing and in such happy spirits,” said Ayala.

The Polymaths worked with the CFA’s electrician and did a run-through a week before the performance. They will also give a presentation about the project on Capstone Day to showcase the final product.

“This project has been one of the more hands-on experiences I’ve had at Mason so far,” said Kuck. “Being able to build something with my own hands was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed seeing it go from an idea on a page to something real. I think that's been the most satisfying part for me.”

During the concert, students will perform Jocelyn Hagen's “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” and “Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine” by Eric Whitacre. A piece by alum Peter Kadeli will also be performed.

Topics

senior capstone projects

Center for the Arts

Dewberry School of Music

mechanical engineering

Sonja Phillips-Thomas scores at the Mason Film Festival

Shayla Brown — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:04:47 +0000

Sonja Phillips-Thomas scores at the Mason Film Festival Shayla Brown Mon, 10/24/2022 - 13:04

In This Story

Amanda Kraus

Samantha Sinagra

Sonja Phillips-Thomas

Mason student Sonja Phillips-Thomas at the National Geography headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she interned this summer. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

After a childhood diagnosis of dyslexia and eye convergence problems, Sonja Phillips-Thomas turned to movies, television and music.

She loved stories “but reading them was tiring for me,” said the George Mason University senior. “Movies, television, and music were ways I could enjoy stories in a less tiring way.”

Now Phillips-Thomas is majoring in both film and music at Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and she hopes to utilize both disciples to fulfill her love of telling stories.

“The idea of making the representation I want to see means a lot to me. I can create the worlds I wish existed,” she said.

Phillips-Thomas was also in guitar ensemble in grade school. “Classical guitar became a part of my life and I loved creating pieces with it,” she said.

When Phillips-Thomas worked as an office assistant for Samantha Sinagra, the Film at Mason academic and program manager, Sinagra asked her to create a virtual tour for the program.

“I gave her creative control over it,” said Sinagra. “I knew she could put something together using both her passions. She did animation and composed music just for this tour, and it came out great.”

In addition to creating the virtual tour, Phillips-Thomas also serves as a Mason Music Ambassador and sees her role as a point of contact for current and potential students.

She also recently scored the film White Mirror, directed by CVPA student Taj Kokayi. The film follows a Black man who has the opportunity to appear White to the world. The question is, does he want this opportunity?

“She’s one of the few composers in our program,” said Sinagra. “To have a student so skilled in music and film is rare.”

“Sonja put in a lot of work and time on the film, and it greatly showed,” said Amanda Kraus, a term assistant professor of sound and editing. “I believe her work truly enhanced the overall film and made a difference in the emotional context.”

Phillips won Best Film Score at the 2022 Mason Film Festival for her work.

“I tried some different techniques and asked my music professors their thoughts on some aspects of it,” said Phillips-Thomas, who also used her own voice for the credit’s song.

Phillips-Thomas used a mix of Middle Eastern instruments and synthesizers, she said. “I used phasing/double and countermelody techniques, where you duplicate a vocal take and push the duplicate a little behind the original take to make a wider sound.”

“I had never done that with instruments until I saw an example of that in my music history class.”

Phillips-Thomas was working at the Mason Film Festival and was happily surprised she got the award, she said.

“I was a part of the jury that awarded her this award and acknowledged her countless hours of work!” said Kraus. “I think CVPA gave her a place to grow and breathe as an artist. Sonja’s work stood out and as a result she was sought out by her classmates to collaborate on projects.”

Phillips-Thomas also recently finished an internship with National Geographic Studios.

“I worked under one of the producers, Anna Derryberry, and it was great.” she said. “I got to meet other interns at different departments like FX, Hulu, and Imagineers.”

Disney, National Geographic’s parent company, also gave interns the opportunity to do a 60-second "day in the life" video. During her last week she gave a presentation for National Geographic Studios about all she learned as an intern.

This fall Phillips-Thomas is enrolled in a documentary film class and hopes to film something featuring animals or cuisine. She is also working on a web series and a science fiction book that she hopes to eventually turn into a television or films series.

Topics

internships

Film at Mason

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Students

Two CVPA students use their creative skills as interns on Capitol Hill

Colleen Rich — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 19:13:33 +0000

Two CVPA students use their creative skills as interns on Capitol Hill Colleen Rich Tue, 08/16/2022 - 15:13

Mirella Guzman-Escobar. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

For George Mason University senior Mirella Guzman-Escobar, the summer internship in the office of the House Creative Services, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the U.S. House of Representatives is more than great professional experience, it’s a foot in the door to a job she has dreamed of her entire life.

“I’ve always been interested in working in the government, mainly because my step-mom and my grandpa both work in the government, and I want to use my voice through my design,” said Guzman-Escobar, who is majoring in graphic design.

For Jacques Lykes, who graduates in August 2022 from Mason with a bachelor’s degree in film and video studies, it’s a step closer to achieving his dream of starting his own production company in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Guzman-Escobar and Lykes are currently collaborating on a project called “A Day in the Life of an Intern.” Through captivating video and Instagram spotlights, this project highlights interns and their roles at the CAO, with the goal of promoting the internship positions and encouraging more engagement.

Jacques Lykes. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“They’re really letting us be creative and making me feel like part of the team because I’m working on things that they’re working on, too,” Guzman-Escobar said of her colleagues at the CAO.

The students apply skills that they have learned from Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) as they prepare for their respective futures.

Lykes, who is originally from South Carolina, works as a multimedia intern for the CAO. He transferred to Mason from Northern Virginia Community College in his junior year.

He said FAVS 366 Video Production for Social Change, taught by GMU-TV Executive Director Richard Wood, “really prepared me to take on an internship like this.”

“Jacques takes pride in his work. He’ll put in the effort and the time, because it matters to him personally,” Wood said of Lykes. “I’m not saying Jacques got that from my class, I think that is who he was before, but it’s certainly something I harp on.”

Lykes’ academic adviser Lori Yi shared internship opportunities with him. “They were very adamant about making sure that film program students had opportunities outside of Mason,” Lykes said.

“Jacques’ ability to learn quickly, ask questions, and be adaptable has made him invaluable on student films sets,” Yi said. “He’s been an engaged part of our community from the very beginning, and I’m excited to see his future contributions.”

While searching for professional opportunities for the summer and throughout the application process, Guzman-Escobar said her typography professor and mentor Juana Medina offered her guidance.

“[She] impacted me a lot,” Guzman-Escobar said. “I used a lot of assignments that she gave us in class for my portfolio pieces, and it really helped me.”

As a graphic design intern, Guzman-Escobar helps her team with many of their projects, she said.

Working on hands-on projects, and with fellow Mason students, has been exciting, the interns agreed.

“Working with Mirella has been really great. She’s a fantastic person and one of our strong suits is how well we meld together,” Lykes said.

Topics

Students

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

internships

School of Art

College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies