Creative Work and Scholarship while at RIT - 2020-2022

Much of what the public understands about mental illness comes from movies and television while much of what is depicted in movies and television is based on public expectations. The time is now to break the negative feedback loop and depict mental illness as it actually exists, and with the sensitivity it deserves, not only for the sake of effective drama, but also as a public service.

Joker, Psycho, and Silence of the Lambs are great and brilliant films depicting violent villains with mental illness. Part of the reason these films are so effective is they give their villains' evil behavior a kind of scientific legitimacy through a specific mental illness diagnosis. But, in actuality, people struggling with depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders are not any more likely to be violent than the general population; and, if they are violent, it is more likely to manifest as self harm.

This presentation examined the accuracy and lack of accuracy in the depiction of mental illness in past and present movies and television, especially when it comes to the conflation of "evil" with "crazy." The documented medical facts and the best present understanding of various mental illnesses were considered; and then a more accurate depiction for a more responsible, more authentic, and more effective entertainment was imagined.

The RIT previsualization and virtual  production group began planning and brainstorming meetings in the fall of 2019. I joined the group mostly due to my familiarity with RIT alumnus Chris Edwards and his highly-successful Hollywood pre-visualization company The Third Floor which I had visited on several occasions as a member of RIT's Entertainment Advisory Board. 

Though I was familiar with some of the basics of 3D computer animation and Epic Games' "Unreal" game engine, as a screenwriter, this field was not my specialty. In meetings, I mostly listened and learned, but when I expressed concern about the clarity of prose in early drafts of the grant proposal, RIT MAGIC Center Director David Long assigned me the task of rewriting and revising the document for clarity and style. My lack of close knowledge of the subject helped me discern where descriptions were confusing to readers technically unfamiliar with the subject. I tried to construct a document that could be easily understood by someone like myself and most of my work was on the Executive Summary which I believed could make or break the proposal. I found the work challenging as I strove for clarity without undermining the original meaning.

In January and February of 2020, I worked with David Long and 3D Digital Design Program Director Shaun Foster to create a clean and understandable proposal. I also included photographs in the proposal, half of which were taken by me.  To put it simply, David and Shaun took charge of the content and I took charge of the clarity of prose, as well as the look and layout of the final proposal to Epic Games.

In July of 2020, our proposal was funded by Epic Games at $275,000.00 and a Virtual Production curriculum was established at RIT. That curriculum was described and discussed at our "21st Century Film School: Teaching Virtual Production at RIT" panel at the University Film and Video conference on July 30, 2021.

In May of 2020, I submitted to an article abstract to the international Journal of Screenwriting. My abstract was accepted for publication in its November 2021 Special Issue: Screenwriting for Children and Young Audiences. My article "Fear and Wonderment in a Limitless World: Learning to Write from a Child’s Point of View" will be included in that issue.  

In the summer of 2018, Photo Professor Susan Lakin and I began research on a promotional Virtual Reality film to promote the Society for the Protection and Care of Children which has operated in Rochester since the 1870s. 

Formerly the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the organization grew out of animal protection society whose founder saved Mary Ellen Wilson from her abuse and helped get her to a new family on a farm outside Rochester, NY. She lived there until the age 92, survived by many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

The SPCC continues to do crucial work in the Rochester area. Susan and I interviewed several young women who were severely abused and who found new lives through the SPCC. Their testimony will be part of the immersive film experience were are currently working on.

Isabelle Anderson has joined out team as a virtual reality animator. We expect to have a version of the experience finished in September 2021.

In late 2015, author Jonathan Stevenson contacted me about my research interview with well-known CIA turncoat Philip Agee. I had several meetings with Stevenson, first in-person in New York City, then on the phone. I also sent him a PDF transcript of my three-day recorded interview with Agee, which he used in the book with my permission.

The book was published on May 21st, 2021 and included a subchapter about my three days with Agee. 

Click here to read a PDF of Subchapter.