JTWO Welcomes Tom Morrison

TOM MORRISON


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By Tom Morrison

Yo! I’m Tom Morrison, and I’m beyond stoked to be spending my co-op experience here at JTWO Films. It took me most of my life to discover that filmmaking was the path for me, but I’ve been a creative mind for as long as I could remember. Starting from my intense love for drawing, music, and my hyperactive imagination, I was coming up with stories from the moment I could talk (and I talk a lot), but I’ve found that the medium of film is the best possible way to bring this myriad of ideas to life. 

My niche is in directing, as it allows me to interact with every aspect that goes into making a film, from pre-production, to being on set, all the way to post. I’m also a people person, and directing allows me to put my love for working with others to good use. However, because I’ve always been a very hands-on person with my approach to art, I’ve also had extensive experience and enjoyment in my work with camera operation, G&E, and even special effects makeup and art department. Whether it’s directing or any of the aforementioned jobs, I bring my creative mind to everything I do and enter a project with the goal of being able to creatively express myself while efficiently helping execute the overall vision for the film, whether that vision is mine or not. 

When I tell a story, I tend to think past the constraints of genre and instead seek out to create a film that elicits a strong reaction from my audience, whether it be laughter, getting scared out of their seats, or just thinking even after they’ve left the screening. While I don’t bind myself to one genre, I try to experiment with how I can convey the messages and emotions of the most ordinary human experiences, and portray them through a more fantastical lens, so that my films are relatable while still making the most emotionally driven aspects of human existence appear as big on screen as they do when we experience them in our day-to-day. My desire to experiment with how my stories are told also branches out into the many aspects of art that I engage in on a regular basis, beyond just caring about how everything looks on camera and how I feel about my actors’ performances. How can I make this scene look more like one of my drawings? How could some music in this scene convey the emotions of the story better than the confines of dialogue? In everything that I do, I’m always exploring and seeking new ways to communicate ideas to my audience, in hopes that they truly feel something once the credits roll. 

Tom Morrison is currently a Junior studying Film and Television Production at Drexel University. Having been interested in an artistic career from a young age, Tom has made a point of taking on a variety of roles on multiple short films since coming to Philadelphia, not only to ensure that he is useful on set in more ways than one, but also to explore the ways he can creatively express himself in filmmaking. He is always excited for any opportunity to grow and learn that comes his way, and to be able to meet and work with new people. 


JTWO Welcomes Miranda Avila

MIRANDA AVILA


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By Miranda Avila

 Growing up, I experienced films and tv shows like most kids, but my parents were very adamant on showing me the TCM channel. From there, I got to explore media from all decades, which opened my eyes to comedy, dramas, and thrillers that influenced my influencers and from there, there was no going back. I knew content unlike anyone my age and I loved it. It felt as though I was in on something no one else was. That being said, as a kid, I would be embarrassed to share my favorite movies, because they seemed so weird, so different. At ten years old I declared the 1996 queer comedy Birdcage my favorite movie. For obvious reasons, being a shy kid in a small town with even smaller ideals I felt weird not saying Big Hero 6. I loved sitting down and watching such a spectacle. It wasn’t until years after the first watch that I really got the movie. Of course, I would laugh and enjoy the film, but it wasn’t until I was old enough to understand the sophistication of the humor that I knew, I wanted to make people laugh. I wanted to entertain people like Robin Williams. 

From a young age, I knew I wanted to tell stories. From playing make believe to stories written in my wide ruled notebook, I loved building worlds and personas. It quickly became a passion of mine, but I didn’t realize it at the time. It wasn’t until I received my first camcorder at the age of 9 that I was able to find an expressive form for all these ideas, film. It was unlike photography and writing, things I have explored at this point. It was an untapped medium I thought could only be utilized in Hollywood. I quickly discovered how wrong I was and began recording everything around me in hopes to one day use it for my movie. I still have yet to create said movie and honestly question if I was ever going to, but now, I am left with hours of footage and I refuse to delete any of it because it all has value. I like to think of SD cards as sketchbooks. Each one, each off load of one is a wrap on a certain era of your ability. I am able to go back and flip through some of my very early “sketches” and I can be inspired or just amused by what I was, but either way, I learn and grow from a period in my life I didn’t think I had any knowledge to share. The beauty of film is not only in the stories on the page, but the visuals that tell that story and realizing that was life changing.

It wasn’t until I arrived at film school that I found my love for documentaries. Experiencing raw, entertaining stories in this format felt like a natural extension of what I’d been doing for years; following subjects with a camera. I was drawn to the idea that the camera can act as a character itself, capturing the richness of people’s lives.. Much like the mockumentary Tv shows I have grown to adore, this was the same style and I relished in that. There is something that fascinates me about sharing someone’s story in a way where the camera can act as its own character. I have always been immersed by people living their lives. I recently found out that there is a word for this, “sonder.” Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Whether through narrative or documentary, my driving force in this industry is to share and entertain through the stories of others. 


JTWO Welcomes Leta Armstrong

LETA ARMSTRONG


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By Leta Armstrong

I grew up with parents who were both photographers, so I was always surrounded by cameras. I got my first digital camera at 9 years old, which I mainly used for photos such as the one you’re seeing. 

As time went on, I started using my phone to make trailers, music videos, and shorts with friends and family. I loved making these, and I loved how easy it was for me to do so using apps like iMovie and Video Star. But one thing I almost always insisted on was being the one behind the camera. I was fine to be in any kind of video, but I preferred holding the camera and bringing my vision to life. 

Middle school rolled around, and due to me spending copious amounts of time on Youtube and Instagram, I gained a love for editing as well. I would edit clips from TV shows and movies, as well as my own videos that I took over time. I used Cute Cut Pro to cut and add music to my little edits. 

I got my first Nikon DSLR at 14 years old. I went to a sleepaway camp every summer for six weeks, where we were completely unplugged. But I desperately wanted to document my time there, and writing in journals wasn’t enough for me. I needed a visual aspect to look back on fondly. I brought my DSLR to camp in 2018 and my love for photography skyrocketed. 

All of this culminated in me deciding to become a film major halfway through my freshman year in college. I had such an appreciation for the art of filmmaking, and paired with my love for visual storytelling, I felt like it was the right move for me. And boy, was I right. I took basic and intermediate level courses before hopping on my first student set, which ignited a spark in me that I hadn’t seen before. Once my first set was over, I had the opportunity to be on many sets afterwards, learned so much, and made so many connections. Learning the theory and also the practical behind filmmaking was crucial to my development as an artist and creator. I love working with other people, it’s one of my favorite aspects of this field. I’m so excited to further my education and push myself to create, collaborate, and connect with everyone here at JTWO! 

Leta Armstrong is a third year student at Drexel University planning to graduate in 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in Film & Television. She is from Salt Lake City, Utah and currently lives in Philly. She has experience working on student sets, at a rental company called AbelCine in Burbank, CA, and doing coverage as an intern at ColorForce. She’s an aspiring cinematographer, camera assistant, and editor. 


JTWO Welcomes Caleb Argueta

CALEB ARGUETA


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 A Voracity for The Movies 


By Caleb Argueta

 While I don’t have a Christopher Nolan or Steven Spielberg “movie maker from the moment I was born” story, I definitely started making up for lost time since I was fourteen or fifteen. I would say The Matrix was my entryway obsession to film and the endless possibilities which can be explored through the medium. But the movie itself was not entirely responsible for my appetite now, it was really all the exploration that came with learning about it. What got me hooked was the idea of a Matrix trilogy, an expanded universe, director’s voice, inspiration and rhetoric behind the ideas, a story being told across multiple films which had to be fleshed out in a correct way. 

The research that felt required to understand these films, and learning about the directors’ careers has me on what I describe as chasing that never ending high of finding movies I like and that resonate with me. I started looking backwards, forwards too eventually, realizing even the all-too-precious Matrix trilogy was actually a tetralogy/anthology of sorts, with the Animatrix being a sort of unsung movie in the series. Discovering movies this way, uncovering hidden gems, expanding my taste, and going back to directors’ earlier works became a sort of hobby of mine. In this, discovering the Wachowskis Bound felt like a pivotal moment for me and was sort of a tradition I never dropped. I live for my favorite director’s first movies (usually they’re crime movies), and I take all them into account as good examples for films to aspire to for a first movie of mine. My favorite films are dialogue driven, with limited scope due to budgetary restrictions, and have high-concept plot ideas that help propel the story forward in a unique way. 

Eventually, I had watched enough films and gone on a die hard Spaghetti Western binge, and felt like I was done watching movies… I wanted to write my own. Taking cues from a couple older screenwriting books and filmmakers, I broke out my index cards and wrote a Western out on about 120 index cards, roughly a card per script page. Of course, when I was done, I realized I hadn’t sworn off movies completely, instead I just wanted to fuel my passion in a new way. I wrote this first script, then went back to watching tons of movies, and the cycle has just kind of stuck, but recently they have overlapped a lot and I try to write daily and watch a couple movies a week. I have roughly four feature film scripts under my belt, most of which have focused on adolescence, naturally, but I am looking to break out of my shell soon to focus on more adult stories. 

More and more, my passion has been in screenwriting, and honing in “chunky” dialogue to fill pages in scripts to focus on smaller budget ideas…how else am I going to get short films going? Eventually, I want to become a professional writer/director, but for now, I will continue to consume movies like my life depends on it, and draw inspiration and take cues from my favorites to create my own works. My favorite genres to work in are thriller and crime, and I absolutely love writing from these grittier themes to ask questions about humanity and what drives people to do things. 

Caleb Argueta is a third year Film & Television Major at Drexel University by day, and a screenwriter, movie watcher, and extremely independent filmmaker by night. He is constantly tinkering away at his screenwriting craft, and incessantly chatting people’s ears off about the productions of his favorite films. He is excited to cultivate his filmmaking career through internship at JTWO FILMS, and pursue any opportunity to further his artistic intent through projects consistent with his voice. 


JTWO Welcomes Alex Vineburg

ALEX VINEBURG


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 Awesomesauce


By Alex Vineburg

When I was little, I would record vlogs under the name “Awesomesauce”. Every video would start the same with my intro that would go, “Hey Guys Awesomesauce Here”, and then I would go through the rest of the video. No matter the video, each of them started with my little spiel. There’s even a vlog where, shaking and sniffling, I still give the intro even though the power is out and there’s a blizzard outside. I would record my vacations, make stop motion animations, and even dabble in some short films. Needless to say, I was pretty cool (or Awesomesauce as some would say). 

So cool, in fact, that my parents decided to send me to a creative arts day camp where I got to make little movies with my friends! I found myself always wanting to do something out of the box that others would find fun. We made a ton of little projects, like Hannibalistic (the story of a coroner, a detective, and 3rd century Carthaginian general Hannibal). 

 Flash forward to middle and high school, I would always choose to make videos for projects if it was an option, would record little shorts with friends, and became more interested in photography. I remember one time I made some classmates recreate an episode of Bill Nye for a science project. I would always make the most of every project, and do the most I could. 

However when it came time for college prep, I sincerely thought I would be a graphic designer, even though I sucked at it and wasn’t really interested in it all too much. For a long time I genuinely didn’t really know what exactly I wanted to do, but something kept calling me back to film. So, I decided to take a film class senior year, which reminded me how much I loved working with cameras, but also in editing as well. That same year I began working as a freelance youtube editor as well! Everything kind of all came together at the right time, and looking back on it I don’t think it couldn’t have worked out better. 

At Drexel, I’ve made so many incredible projects with so many amazing people. I get to go to school to make movies with my friends, which I treasure every day. College has taught me so much in the world of film and how to work on a set. I am so excited to start this new chapter at JTWO! 

Based in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Alex is a filmmaker and student with a passion for cinematography and post production. He spends most of his freetime learning new programs and studying up on camera specs. He is a 3rd year student at Drexel University studying Film & TV, and has 5 years of freelance editing experience under his belt. He is excited to learn and grow as a filmmaker with his time at JTWO! 


"OCBP" By Ryan Console

"OCBP"


Director: Ryan Console

A camera crew follows around two problematic lifeguards as they fake their way through their jobs on the beach patrol.

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OCBP started as an idea I had about 3 years ago. I would spend all my summers down the shore goofing around with my friends and family on the beach. I wanted to mix my love for comedy and Mockumentary TV with this place that means so much to me. I wrote a bunch of episodes and even filmed some short scenes with my buddy Matt (who plays Clay in the show).

Fast forward to my internship at JTWO, where I finally got the chance to turn this idea into something real. It wasn’t just a concept anymore – it became an actual project. Making OCBP has been hands down the most fun I’ve ever had while filming, and it brought together everything I love about comedy and the beach.

Shooting on a beach comes with many challenges, the first of which is that you’re very much in the public eye. The beach has crowds of people wondering what you’re filming or wanting to be in your shot, and it becomes difficult to deal with when time is of the essence. To mitigate this, we shot all our exterior beach scenes very early in the morning. We began filming around 6am every day and wrapped by noon. This way, we avoided most crowds and made filming smoother. Getting up at 5:45 ready to hit the beach wasn’t easy, but it paid off when our shoot went smoothly.

The second challenge was sound. Getting good quality audio on a beach is very difficult, not only because of the crowds but also the roaring ocean. I combated this with a dual mic setup: boom with windscreen and dead cat, plus a lav as backup. Shooting early eliminated most crowd noises, but as the beach filled up, we had more people approaching us. This affected our sound quality as ambient chatter increased, but in the end, we got everything we needed.

Cast:
Clay – Matthew Carey
Trent – Ryan Dixon
Chet- Rick Console
Jenna – Jenna Little
Random Beachgoer – Kayla Thompson

Crew
Writer/Director/Editor – Ryan Console
Camera Operators – Evan Moreau, Kayla Thompson
Assistant Director – Tessa Martinko
Sound Mixer – Peter Burghen


MEET THE DIRECTOR

Ryan is a filmmaker based in Philadelphia, PA with over 6 years of experience with directing, shooting, and editing films and videos. Through the years he has filmed a series of short films, interviews, and promotional videos for companies. With his background in filmmaking and specialization in comedy, he loves making content that people enjoy watching.

This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.

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Little-Places1

"Little Places" by Tessa Martinko

"Little Places"


Director: Tessa Martinko

Immersed in a surreal journey, a woman navigates through three distinct spaces, each decorated in a different color palette.

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When I began brainstorming for this project I was very inspired by the surrealist art and production design I had seen in the media. In my production design experience, I have not gotten to deviate outside of decorating sets to look like real-life events. I wanted to push my limits and try out something abstract and creative instead of more lifelike. Always finding inspiration in the world around me, I decided to pick three colors and form a tiny world based on how the colors make me feel.

This project was something I had never done before and at first I was very hesitant to take on this challenge. I have always loved working with paints, clay, and other art materials but the idea of making mini models was something I had never done before! During this film, I faced many challenges, from finding the right materials to compositing myself into the project itself. When it came to the models, my biggest challenge was scaling down my ideas from life-size to mini.


MEET THE DIRECTOR

Tessa Martinko is an aspiring Set Decorator and also dabbles in cinematography. Tessa has worked on both the East Coast and West Coast, gaining experience on commercials and shorts. After completing this film, Tessa hopes to continue pursuing crafty and creative projects while growing her skills as a filmmaker.

This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.

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"Garden of Resilience" by Kayla Thompson

"Garden of Resilience"


Director: Kayla Thompson

Garden of Resilience is an experimental series that parallels the life cycle of a flower with the stages of healing experienced by a series of girls. Each chapter of the film reveals a different phase of their individual journeys toward healing and self- discovery.

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Chapter 1: Waiting

Chapter 2: Falling

Chapter 3: Rooting

Chapter 4: Rising

Chapter 5: Blooming

With this project I wanted to express true female emotion through experimental imagery and editing. Throughout my history in videography and photography, I have always felt that you can say more with fewer words. I have always preferred experimental filmmaking because I express myself the best visually. This is a topic that is very close to me and I chose to use a series of girls to highlight that this is not only my experience, but the experience of all females all around the world who sometimes need to lose themselves to find themselves again. I made this project for them, for my friends who have struggled alongside me, and for myself, who discovered a lot through the process of filming this project.

I think the biggest challenge in making this project was time. I decided to do five shorts and while shooting five shorts wasn’t super stressful, editing five of them in less than 2 weeks was (extremely). I also decided to have each of the shorts personally composed by friends and family in music, which meant I had to finish my rough cuts at least a week and a half before the due date and I had finished shooting a few days before that timeframe. In hindsight, I could’ve chosen to do something shorter, or focus on three shorts instead of five but I think each chapter plays a crucial part of the story – and I would do the same again.


MEET THE DIRECTOR

Kayla Thompson is a Junior Film and Television Major at Drexel University. She has been taking classes and pursuing film since the 5th grade. She is an inspiring cinematographer who has been working on short films in the Philadelphia area to further her skill set. She is excited to continue working on all sorts of projects to help her learn and gain more experience to become a better film major, and will be graduating in spring of 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Film and Television Production in hopes of continuing her filmmaking journey. 

This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.

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Meet TasteFrame


MEET TASTEFRAME

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After more than 15 years creating TV Shows, Commercials, Documentaries and Brand Films, we decided it was time to make something that we could really sink our teeth into. In that moment, TasteFrame was born and our creative pallets were changed forever. 

In our homes, the kitchen is hallowed ground – the hearth around which life dances. It’s where ingredients blend into sustenance, where bottles are uncorked and stories uncork with them. Where laughter seasons every bite and dirty dishes become evidence of a night well spent. Nothing is more precious than these frames in time, burned into memory by the tastes, aromas, and bonds created over a crowded table. This is our ethos. Those nights are our why. 

That’s why we launched TasteFrame. A new creative marketing + production company specializing in food, beverage and hospitality storytelling. With a crew stacked full of industry veterans and epicureans hailing from the high-end world of hospitality to beyond the scorching fires of the line, our team is obsessed with your world, because we come from it. 

Building on our collective experiences, our team traded in their knives and name tags to become award-winning filmmakers, designers and creators hellbent on telling meaningful stories about the people, the products and the brands behind the food + beverages we love. 


JTWO Welcomes Ava Hanuscin

AVA HANUSCIN


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Everyone Has A Story


By Ava Hanuscin

If you were to ask any aspiring filmmakers when their love for film came about, they would most likely tell you they had a camera in their hands by the age of 7. This wasn’t the case for me. At age 7, I had a basketball in my hands and a soccer ball at my feet. Although I’ve always had a creative side, there was no time for cameras when you played sports all year round. It was all I had ever known. That was until my junior year of highschool. I was allowed to take one elective class of my choice and I randomly chose media production. During the class, I was tasked with filming highlights of the boys soccer game and interviewing the players. Five minutes into their first game of the season, I was having more fun behind the camera than I ever did on the field. At the time, I wasn’t sure why this was, but I was eager for more. As I was putting the footage together, I realized that it was more than just showcasing a game and its players. It was a story, and I was able to bring it to life.

From that point on, I knew I wanted to pursue that feeling professionally. I applied to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and can confidently say it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Through my work in short films and student media organizations, I’ve come to understand storytelling as a form of connection. I believe everyone has a story to tell, and each one deserves to be shared. And as a storyteller, I’ve had the opportunity to make that happen. I am constantly looking for the chance to inspire, promote change, and form everlasting connections.

These aspirations brought me to One World Media, a London-based non-profit media organization during my recent semester abroad. The organization works to highlight underrepresented voices in journalism on a global stage. As an intern at One World Media, I was responsible for promoting documentaries from journalists all over the world and making sure they received the recognition they deserved. By doing so, we were able to shed light on a variety of social issues and bring them to the attention of people that could help. I came to realize how important and powerful storytelling can be by connecting both the teller and the receiver. Not only was this position extremely rewarding, but it also gave me the confidence and desire to keep pursuing this art of communication.
Therefore, when I came across JTWO’s internship program, I figured what better way to continue to enhance my skills, further my passion, and build my confidence than accept the challenge that is the [INC]ubator Project.