Forest Phenomenon
Maria Norris
Art Director
Video Editor
Video Producer
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Google Sheets
BuzzFeed
Forest Phenomenon was a miniseries I created for Buzzfeed Unsolved Network that explored backcountry cold cases such as missing hikers, along with crypids, paranormal happenings and general mysteries taking place in the North American wilderness.
I collaborated with Buzzfeed's research team to script each episode, designed the set and implemented art direction with Buzzfeed's in-house Art Department, and lighting with cinematographer Steven Gatti. One of the main goals for the creative direction of the series was to invoke a more cinematic visual style, with moody, earthy colors and measured camera movement rather than the bright color palettes, typical studio lighting and fast-paced editing of most traditional Buzzfeed videos. I wanted the audience to feel as though they were sitting around the campfire alongside the hosts as they told scary stories in the woods.
I cast Carolina Reynoso and Mei Eldridge for our pilot episode, and added Steffany Wing for the subsequent episodes. After directing and shooting each episode, I was responsible for all post-production processes including full edits, review and packaging for publishing.
