Elon alumna receives Platinum Award at Minefield Film Festival

After graduating early from Elon University in December 2015 – but a few months before she’d relocate to San Diego to work for Sony PlayStation – alumna Mia Watkins ’16 took on a freelance assignment producing a music video in her hometown of St. Louis.

Nearly a year later, Watkins’ project recently collected two notable accolades, including a Platinum Award (second place) in the music video category at the Minefield Film Festival in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Communications Fellow’s music video was officially selected for the Toronto Short Film Festival in March.

Watkins created the video – available on YouTube – for Jake Brown, also known as Handbook, a United Kingdom-based music producer. The video’s track is called “Wanting You,” featuring Supreme Sol, and appears on Handbook’s new EP, “Devotion.” Coincidentally, Watkins knew Supreme Sol, also known as Robert Warren, through an old friend. It was Sol who introduced Watkins to the song he developed with Handbook.

​In addition to producing the video, Watkins – who works professionally under the name Mia Ginaé – served as the project’s director and editor. Andrew Tivon handled the video’s cinematography. The video was shot in March 2016, with post-production wrapping up in early April.

Watkins described the video’s theme as “an epic quest of self that takes place between shadows and graffiti walls,” and she incorporated many visuals and backgrounds of her hometown.

​While the Elon graduate enjoyed the creative process, she noted not every challenge was simple, especially the scene where Supreme Sol is depicted as having six arms – a task accomplished thanks to Adobe After Effects. “That was a fun challenge,” she said.