Samuel Elliot Snowden

Words have always been an outlet for myself, narrative and the works of others inspiration. From early fictional writing as a teenager in the form of short stories and poetry; awards in the Franklin Young Writers competitions fuelled my ambition to maintain my interest in creative writing. During my undergraduate studies I discovered the medium of scriptwriting. Upon completing two short film scripts Hello for a practical video production paper and Hands Clean in a scriptwriting paper my passion for the creation of cinematic narratives escalated once again. A third year practical directed study in which I showcased a video installation called Glimmers of Hope from a Neglected mirror allowed me to create a research piece examining multi-strand narrative within television shows such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City and The Insider’s guide to happiness. Through my findings I garnered the skills to experiment with existing narratives and recreate them for my own research hypothesis; to confront our tendency as a nation to embrace international television shows and neglect our local content. My final scriptwriting endeavour at University came in the form of my Honor’s year in which I created my own multi-strand narrative New Zealand television drama; Somewhere Only We Know: A visual journal of the imagination. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life allowing me to develop vital tools for script formation, character development and narrative formation. It also gave me the opportunity to spend a fortnight working with the story liners of Shortland Street for my practical placement. In 2010 Thomas Sainsbury gave me the chance to work on a monologue for the monster monologues series. This was my first voyage into the medium of theatre and from this process Maxine Ruakura: Reflections from a New Zealand Lager Can transpired. The sensation of seeing your work being received by an audience inspired a drive in me to want to experiment more with this medium due to its instant reception and more intimate yet visceral impression on viewers. I was also lucky enough to submit a piece called Beneath Lennon’s Head for the cabaret showcase Songs for Guy in August 2010.