Ghost in My Kitchen

Helena Frawley, Stamps School of Art & Design

Collaborator: Alexa Kenny, School of Music, Theatre & Dance

Ghost In My Kitchen is a collaborative project that marries visual arts and music, and explores the themes of death and the value of life both visually and lyrically. The overall project will consist of creative direction/art by STAMPS student Helena Frawley, and music and sonic production by Performing Arts Technology student Alexa Kenny.

The primary directive of the project will be to create two fully produced music videos, promotional photography, album cover art, and cover art for various singles that enhance and provoke thoughts about what it means to be alive. The goal will be to create a complete experience for viewers (whether it be during the official screening of the project, or on their own time after the project’s initial release), where the music and visuals complement each other to elevate the theme to new heights.

We want the collaboration between SMTD and Stamps to serve as the heart of this project – both my collaborator and I believe that the two schools could intermingle much more than they do currently, and we want to prove just how effective a collaboration of this nature can be. We want to see what is possible by combining our expertise in both of these schools and learning to tell a story through visual and sonic media.

As for how the arts play a role in this collaboration, they are the main focus of the entire project. We want to prove that different aspects of the arts can be incredibly effective at adding depth to a narrative, and how music and visual art can both elevate one another to new heights.

This project will be created in equal parts by both myself and my collaborator, Alexa Kenny, and we have discussed at length how we will each contribute to the project. We have been trying our best to communicate our respective visions with one another, and have used clear communication as a solution when coming up against a wall. We try our best to be open with one another and respectful of the other’s ideas – no idea is a bad idea in this project.

As for the logistics of this project, we have spent the last few months creating an in-depth plan of how we will execute the creative direction of this project. Right now, we have completed a storyboard, location scouting, costuming, and makeup, for the music video, and album art/ promotional material for the album release itself.

Right now, we are in the middle of finalizing a filming schedule and shot list and hope to carry out filming and editing the music video between January to April. I am in charge of general creative direction and curating the general artistic aesthetic of the project, while Alexa is in charge of writing, recording, and producing the musical aspects of the project. However, we are both working to produce an overall visual album that shows an equal amount of both of our efforts.

We want this final project to have a very big impact on the campus around us – not only do we want to show just how effective a collaboration between SMTD and Stamps can be, but we want to inspire those around us to create something similar. We haven’t seen many professional-level projects of this caliber around campus, and would love to set the precedent for other students who are looking to create similar projects.

Both Alexa and I are highly skilled in producing media, however, my skills lean more toward camera work, and Alexa’s lean more toward audio engineering. We both have taken many classes regarding producing high-quality content related to videography, so we have high hopes about producing a professional-level album and related content.