Ashlynn Farney working a camera during a film shoot.
Hello, my name is Ashlynn Farney. I am a recent graduate from Wichita State University’s
School of Digital Arts. I graduated in the fall of 2023 with a major in filmmaking.
I chose the School of Digital Arts because I have always known I wanted to do something
creative with my life; I just was not made for office desk jobs. For a long time,
I thought my path would be photography because I loved telling people’s stories; however,
after my first year of college truly pursuing photography, something just didn’t fit.
I started thinking about what might be the problem or why I wasn’t feeling complete.
This led me to consider film as an option, and having lived in Wichita my whole life,
I was really excited to find out that WSU had a film program.
After my first class at SODA, I was hooked. I knew I had found what was missing from
my previous path. Since graduating, I have had a lot of cool opportunities. I started
freelancing for local film companies: ICT Films, PANO Marketing, and Dream to Reality.
This year, ICT Films, run by the head of the film department at SODA, Robert Thomas,
has made me the official production manager. I am so proud to be a part of a company
that tells interesting, human, and local stories.
I also had the chance to work with the City of Wichita, PANO Marketing, and ICT Films
on a documentary called Hope in the Heartland. This documentary was really special to me because it told the important story of
the struggles of homelessness in Wichita. We got to meet amazing individuals and help
spread the word about those in need. This documentary also went on to win a Midwest
regional Emmy award. If I’m being honest, it still feels weird to look at the award
or have people talk about it because that’s not why we did it. We did it for the people
we followed.
Filmmaking program coordinator, Robert Thomas, with Ashlynn Farney holding their Regional
Emmy.
If someone were to ask for my advice, I would tell them what a professor told me:
“Film school is about three things: getting to use high-end equipment, making a lot
of projects, and meeting your future collaborators.” This advice shook me out of my
shell and let me truly start doing college right. I began meeting incredible people
that I hope to be working with for years to come, I got my hands on equipment I, in
a lot of ways, never thought I would, and I made some projects that are still really
special to my heart. Even if some of them really struggled, but hey, you have to start
somewhere.