The Man Behind The Camera
Introducing David Karp, a senior at Cornell University, a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, but most importantly the next Woody Allen.
School: College of Arts and Sciences
Major: American Studies and a minor in Film
How did you start photography: “I originally came to Cornell wanting to become a lawyer, and I was set on taking the LSAT’s and going to law school. After I took one film analysis class, I got really excited about the subject and took as many film analysis classes as possible. Eventually, I got my own camera and started shooting videos with friends. I became obsessed almost immediately from that point”- DK
Who is your biggest inspiration? “Any person who doesn’t consider his or her job work and wakes up excited for what they are doing day in and day out.”- DK
Memorable Project: “My first short film- ‘Disconnected’- I wanted to make a social commentary on the use of technology among our generation, so I took hundreds of clips of Manhattan and I edited all the people and cars out of the streets, while leaving my protagonist looking down at his phone. This film made it to the final 5 films at the Student Academy Awards under the category of Alternative Films.” See film here
Fun Fact: David won the “My Cornell” video competition last year as part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, and got a tattoo of the Cornell 150 logo on his rib cage. See video here
What are your future career goals? “For someone to pay me to use a camera in any way. Ideally, I would love to have a career like Woody Allen, The Duplass Brothers or Wes Anderson where I could write and direct projects that I not only choose, but also construct myself… but I would be extremely happy if I made Jeep commercials my whole life. I hope to teach film at some point as well.”- DK
What is your favorite spot on campus? “Seeing campus from the drone because the architecture is so beautiful. I couldn’t have chosen a better location to explore my passion for film.”- DK
“I taught myself how to use a camera via Youtube.”- DK
List of Accolades: 1) Finalist in the 2015 Oscar’s Student Academy Awards for my film Disconnected (Alternative Category)
2) Winner of Cornell’s Sesquicentennial Film Competition: MyCornell
3) Created a promotional video for New York Fashion Week that was posted to their social media accounts and website (Summer 2015)
4) Worked for a summer as a production assistant on the HBO pilot Vinyl (Directed by Martin Scorsese)
What gadgets do you use? JDI Phantom, GoPro Hero 3+, 16mm Bolex, Canon 5D Mark iii
Whom you most look up to in the film industry? “Jay and Mark Duplass, a pair of brothers who write, direct, produce, act and edit. Unlike the majority of their filmmaking peers, the Duplass brothers are involved in every aspect of the filmmaking process and consistently choose to tell stories that are grounded in realism. They are quickly becoming juggernauts in the film and television industry both behind and in front of the camera.”- DK
Currently working on: “I’m working on a project (fiction-narrative) with two other Cornell Students (Andreas Valhouli and Adam Lurie) about Tour Guides at the University.”- DK
To see more by David, find him on Instagram: davekarp88
