When I was in the third grade I wrote my first "screenplay" for
an Indiana Jones movie I wanted to make with my friends. The following week
I snuck onto the set of the Young Indiana Jones TV series and began asking
the director for advice on some shoots in my script. This pretty much sums
up my background. As far back as I remember I have wanted to tell stories
with moving images. I grew up riding my bike to movie sets and studying everything.
When I was fourteen I started writing feature length screenplays and when
I was a junior and senior in high school I was the youngest intern for the
WB's Dawson's Creek. Basically, I knew what I wanted and was lucky enough
to grow up in a city that allowed me to really learn hands on.
I've always planned to pursue graduate studies in filmmaking, but when I got
to UNC I began to explore other directions. I discovered that in many ways
telling a story for a movie and reporting a story as a journalist share many
of the same qualities. The PBS show Frontline is what made me ultimately decide
to focus on broadcast journalism. The idea of telling dramatic and important
stories through documentary journalism appealed to me. I am also a history
major and I feel that this has helped me a great deal in placing current events
in a great context. Last semester I had the pleasure of producing a piece
for Dr. Linden's Science and Medical Documentary course, a class that was
one of the most difficult and more rewarding I've had at UNC.
Last Updated 4/19/2004
Email: Thomas Mann
Copyright. Thomas Mann 2004