Name: Rachel Goldstein
Hometown: Manhattan, New York
Year: Junior
Major(s)/Minor(s): Double majors in Film Television and Interactive Media and Anthropology. Double minors in English and Creative Writing (all useful things)
Extracurricular Involvement: I’m on the eboard of Brandeis Television (BTV). I work at the Getz Multimedia lab (3rd floor of the library) I am the Undergraduate Department Representative (UDR) for the Film Television and Interactive Media major and I’m a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon.
Why did you choose Brandeis? I chose Brandeis because it had a good film program and film community, which was very important to me. I also liked the location, being 9 miles outside of Boston was a big selling point because I’m from a city and every weekend I try to escape to one. I also loved the small-campus vibes that Brandeis gave me, everyone seemed really happy here and it made me think that one day I could be too!
What is your favorite Brandeis memory? That’s hard. I’ve honestly made so many great memories here over the last two years. I’d have to say that it might be the night before I moved out last year. My friend Olivia and I have made a tradition of walking around campus at like 2am and sort of reflecting on our years. So doing that freshman year and then sophomore year and seeing how much both our lives have changed and gotten better was kind of touching.
It’s rare that I see you without a camera, how and when did you become interested in photography and film? I became interested in film when I was 11 years old. I went to an arts summer camp and took a video class. I originally was really into making little skits and music videos, but it has expanded from there. I’ve taken a lot of video courses here at Brandeis and back at home since then. I really love film because of how vast of a storytelling medium it is. You can express almost anything through a moving image and it is incredible.
I’ve heard buying a camera can be like scouting a house or car, how did you choose your camera? I actually was the most indecisive person when I bought my camera. I went to B&H photo in New York (10/10 would recommend) and literally spent 3 weeks going in and out of the store until I finally decided to buy a Canon T5i. It’s a great camera- but I wish I would have known about all of the amazing cameras we have available to us at Getz before I actually purchased one!
What’s the most memorable project that you’ve worked on? My High School made us all pursue “Senior Projects” during our senior year. So for my senior project I decided to create a documentary based around 6 people in my 65-person grade. I went to a very small K-12 private school, and leaving it was very hard. I really wanted to capture that bittersweet period that we all were in during senior year. I was really proud at the outcome, it is a 90-minute long film. It’s on my youtube page.
What’s one piece of advice you have for photography novices? The only advice I could offer is just to pick up a camera and try things with it. iPhone cameras are great, but honestly there is nothing like a DSLR.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Probably as a struggling artist, but hopefully working at a television network as a writer, producer or director of a show.
What are you looking forward to most at Thanksgiving? Food, family and friends. I love Brandeis but I can’t wait to go home. It’s been a long time.
Fast Facts:
Favorite food? Either Pizza or Avocado. Maybe both? But not together- ew.
Favorite movie/TV show? Annie Hall is my favorite movie. Broad City is probably my favorite TV show at the moment.
Favorite holiday? Halloween.