When Bella Palmer looks at the world, it’s often through the lens of a video camera. Since childhood, she has always thought visually, even while growing up in a family of musicians, who were more focused on sound. Fortunately, she’s found a way to blend both, by embarking on creative projects like the recent music video she shot for her musician father, as part of her final project at the Community College of Aurora.
As her final days at CCA approach, and her cinematography studies are behind her, Palmer already has an impressive set of tools and experience under her belt in the world of visual storytelling.
Palmer is studying cinematography and videography in CCA’s Cinematic Arts program, and will graduate this semester. After three and a half years at the school, she says she will leave prepared and ready to take on a career that will let her flex her creative muscles.
“The thing about being at a more intimate school is that you get to know your professors, and they really do care about you and want you to succeed,” she said. “Pretty much every one of my teachers was like that. They were all so knowledgeable, and had been in the industry, and really cared about us working on our projects.”
Before CCA, she already had a solid understanding of video and filmmaking, having attended New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe, where she studied video.
But CCA’s hands-on approach to teaching gave her an advantage of actually utilizing the equipment she’ll be using in her professional career, especially the high-end cinema cameras and editing tools you’d find at any professional level production studio.
“I feel like I have experience with so many different types of cameras. And even though every camera is different, it will be very useful to have a wide range of knowledge on different cameras.”
Even starting her program during the height of COVID didn’t derail the program’s efforts to give students a worthwhile education.
“The school got me what I needed; I didn’t still have access to equipment. I didn’t have a computer at the time, and they let me borrow an iMac for the whole semester.”
Palmer has already put her skills to use working on marketing projects for the college. She spent nearly two years as a student employee in the division of Strategic Communications, where she created social media videos that helped promote the college, and tell CCA’s important stories.
She envisions herself on a similar path going forward, working with small businesses and organizations on video promotions and commercials.
“Right now I’m working with one woman who runs a sustainable collective of women, who sell glassware and different items. I think it’s very rewarding to be able to do that with smaller companies.”
