“A Letter to the Wind” is a short film created by Bella Smith for her senior thesis exhibition at Pepperdine University.

As the production designer, Bella created 3 surreal sets (a bedroom, a garden, and a window setting) that were consistent with 1950s and early 1960s design styles. Bella converted her own bedroom into a set by lining the walls with sheer curtains, making the bed with vintage silk sheets, and placing a vintage lamp on a bedside table. She converted her friends living room into a garden scene by laying astro turf on the ground, standing up a blue paper backdrop, hanging hand-made clouds crafted from pillow fluff on fishing wire, placing a white picket fence, and lining the frame with pink roses. She used a studio space at Pepperdine to create the dream-like window scene in which she blacked out the studio by hanging black curtains, built a structure for a found window to be placed in, tinted the glass panels with light gels, and sourced a vintage candelabra for the actress to hold. Bella designed, sourced, and built all of the set elements in the film.

For her installation at the Weisman Museum, Bella took some of the props from her film (the curtains, the suitcase, and the window) and sculpted them; bringing them into the gallery space. She cut the window and suitcase in half using a jig-saw, a Dremel, and circular saw; cutting various materials such as plastic, wood, metal, and glass. Bella painted the window and poured tinted resin in the glass to make it appear as stained glass. In the exhibition space, she projected the film onto the curtains. Her prop sculptures from the film appear to be melting into the floor and serve as a mediation on material value in the scope of the eternal.

Roles: Production Design, Set Building, Writing, Directing, Editing, Cinematography, and Costuming.

Date: 04/2022