Hollow Eyes Film Production
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Authors
Alexis Norko
Issue Date
2026
Type
Language
Keywords
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Abstract
A constant tension I felt when I was a double major in Art and Design as well as New Media Studies was that conflict between creative freedom and market-driven success. For my NMS capstone project, I set out to expand and explore on the struggle critically and creatively.
Hollow Eyes is a 12-minute narrative short film that examines the erosion of creative identity under professional and transactional pressure. The film follows Darcey, a skilled portrait artist navigating the tension between artistic expression and financial survival, as she confronts a client who values accuracy over meaning. What begins as a routine commission gradually becomes a crisis of authorship, forcing Darcey to reckon with what is lost when creativity is reduced to deliverables.
For this presentation I will first present the title and meaning of this project, followed by presenting a clip of the short film I have produced. Third I will discuss the controlled production design, restrained method, and visual contrast between color. Lastly, I will discuss how these methods help to communicate my theme.
The eyes—repeated across portraits, mirrors, and self-representations—serve as a central motif, reflecting the difference between technical precision and emotional presence. As Darcey ultimately produces the “perfect” portrait her client demands, the film resists catharsis, instead landing on a quiet, unsettling resolution: professionalism achieved at the cost of connection.
Thematically, Hollow Eyes interrogates where artistic integrity ends and consumer demand begins, asking whether creativity can survive within systems that reward results over expression. Positioned as both a character study and a broader commentary on art under capitalism, the film is designed to resonate with emerging artists and creatives navigating similar compromises. The project aims to be festival ready while demonstrating controlled storytelling, visual coherence, and a mature engagement with contemporary creative labor.