When Nate Pommering started his senior year, he knew exactly what he wanted to do for his thesis. Since his teenage years, he’s been a creative. At the age of 12, he started making movies and around the age of 14 or 15, he dove into the world of music.
Combining the two, Pommering, a media student in the Honors Tutorial College, or HTC, came up with his thesis idea: a visual album, a perfect combination of both film and music.
“It's called a visual album, but I'm calling it a visual EP, because it's not as long as a normal album— only six tracks, six songs,” Pommering said. “And it's a really long music video for the entire musical project. So in this case, it's taking six music videos and wrapping it up into one movie, like one little short movie.”
Photo provided by Nate Pommering.
For the project, Pommering wrote, recorded and produced all the music. Charles Linscott, his thesis director, helped foster his creativity and assisted in making sure he had the resources to make his vision a reality.
Pommering also worked closely with a friend from Brick City Records, Keith Miller, who supported in mixing the music for him. Pommering acknowledges that it would be difficult to do everything without any help, and he believes if one tries to do everything, falling short becomes more of a possibility.
But, the help he has received has been one of the best parts of production. Another HTC media student, Kyle Schwieger, has helped with camera work, and tons of different students have helped with different elements of the project, like acting or fixing lights.
“It's really awesome that people are so willing to be volunteers for my stuff,” Pommering said “It’s honestly really humbling and it feels great. Because sometimes, I don't believe in what I'm doing…. I spent so much time with it, and I dwell on it. And when I see other people are like so into it, I’m like “That’s pretty cool.’”
The project is titled “Lenses,” referring to a camera lens. It encapsulates different perspectives and mindsets one might experience throughout the foundational years of life.
For Pommering, “Lenses” is a personal glance at his own phases of life.
Each song is like putting on a different “lens,” or obtaining a different state of mind or outlook on life. All the songs sound different and all the videos look different, but that’s intentional. Together, they all show the change and inconsistency one may go through during life.
The project has been in the works all year and will finally debut on April 29 at the Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with free admission. Though the end of the project is coming close, the project couldn’t have happened without overcoming challenges.
This was the biggest project Pommering has ever done, especially on his own, so the biggest challenge was learning to keep moving and not get caught up on one thing. He has to learn how to do good work and how to do it fast.
“I've always been a perfectionist—I know a lot of people who make art of any kind are perfectionists,” Pommering said. “When you spend so much time with something that means a lot to you, you get in your head.”
For Pommering, music is a very personal, vulnerable medium, so figuring out a way to express himself in ways that he felt comfortable with was, at times, difficult to navigate.
“I think I kind of came out of my shell a little more on this one, and I don't know, it feels good,” he said.
Photo provided by Nate Pommering.
The most rewarding part, though, will be the night of April 29 when everyone can see what’s been occupying Pommering’s senior year.
“I've been constantly reassuring and proving (to) myself that I can do this stuff,” he said. “Every time I start on a new song or start on a new video, I go through the same process where I'm like, ‘Ah, I'm excited about this,’ and then I’m like ‘Oh, this sucks.’ And then I’m like ‘Oh my God, I did it, this is awesome.’”
Though Pommering can’t assure that everyone will like every song or like every video, he hopes people come out to view his film and to have fun—he knows for sure everyone will be entertained.
“Anyone can show up, as a matter of fact, I encourage anyone to show up,” he said.
On top of the music produced in the project, Pommering has been producing music for a while. He makes music under the name Passion8 and has music on Spotify, SoundCloud and more.
It’s not every day one can see a music video movie at The Athena Cinema, so Pommering believes it’s going to be a thrilling experience.
“If you want to watch something crazy, fun, new, just have a good time with your friends, I really encourage you to come on out,” he said.
