By Amy Ta
Staff Writer
An actor sits silently on a chair, soft light hitting her face as a camera slowly zooms out, revealing a green room covered in intricate drawings. Everyone held still until the dolly left the room, and a loud “Cut!” sliced through the silence. From behind a bright monitor, alumni Naomi Cho smiled, happy with the dramatic scene for her senior thesis, “Dahlia.”
Ever since she was a kid, Cho always admired the process of making films, and the interest grew after she joined Dragonflicks in high school, where she appreciated the set building aspect of filmmaking.
“Growing up, I would watch the behind the scenes footage of going on set and how the actors were,” Cho said. “I loved dreaming about being on set and seeing the movie magic happening, it was so cool to me. I wanted to be a part of the team that makes the magic.”
Cho’s interest in filmmaking led her to apply to Chapman University Dodge College, majoring as a creative producer and minoring in production design. Throughout her time there, Cho worked on multiple films and documentaries as assistant producers, where she learned how to budget catering and film sets.
“I enjoy the logistics of production the most,” Cho said. “For me, it is a creative art in a way, because you are trying to figure out all the puzzle pieces of how to make it work with the budget.”
Now a senior, Cho is working with others on a senior thesis film, “Dahlia,” which follows a tattoo artist trying to reconnect with her estranged father through her profession. Cho worked as the producer, where she dealt with paperwork and the budget for the film, grabbing $15,000 through applying for grants.
“It’s been really cool trying to figure out the process,” Cho said. “Since in the many years that we’ve had to do film theses, no one’s ever done something with tattoo art before.”
In order to space out the other senior theses, Chapman University divided the year into eight different cycles. Cho and her group chose cycle four to begin production, with only two weeks for filming.
Production of “Dahlia” began in the summer, where Cho and director Geovanna Escobar, storyboarded the film. Once greenlit, Cho filled out permits for the sets and filming time. Filming began Nov. 11 and ended on Nov.19.
During pre-production, Cho built and designed the sets with help from alumni Jameson Wen, a tattoo artist brought on as an advisor for the film. During production, Cho worked behind the scenes, signing actors, organizing lunch and giving feedback during shooting.
In the future, Cho hopes to be a line producer or a network executive, but is applying for assistant jobs to start her career. She is currently working as an intern for HBO Max, where she archives data from old shows.
“If you’re interested, don’t be afraid to pursue the entertainment industry,” Cho said. “If you are really passionate about something, people will see your hard work.”