Jimmy Jackson (‘22) is a Senior who is double majoring in Screen Studies and Music Technology. In his free time, Jimmy is involved in theater productions on-campus, produces his own music, and writes extensive and detailed movie reviews. He is also a great friend and a fun person to be around. I am excited to share the interview I had with Jimmy this past weekend!

Scarlet: Hi Jimmy, thank you for meeting with me. Tell me a little bit about yourself….

Jimmy: Yeah cool, so my name is Jimmy and I’m a Senior here at Clark. I am a double major in screen studies and music technology. I write and record my own songs. Additionally, I play guitar, bass, and piano. I’m also a filmmaker as well, so far I’ve made 4 short films and I’m making my 5th one right now.

Scarlet: Awesome, very cool! So in terms of the future, what post-graduate plans do you have lined up for when you graduate Clark this year?

Jimmy: So I’m planning on taking a year off between graduating and grad school. I want to go into screen scoring, that’s ultimately my dream job. I hope to make music for movies and tv shows, so I’m planning to build up a strong portfolio and then apply to grad school in the next 6 to 8 months.

Scarlet: So this past semester you co-directed CUPS’ mainstage show The Scheme of the Driftless Shifter. Looking back on the show, what was your favorite rehearsal story or moment from the show?

Jimmy: I don’t know if I have one particular moment that was my favorite, but I really enjoyed all of the performances in the show. I was super proud of everyone that we were able to pull that show off. It was a pleasure to work with everyone in our production team and cast. It was a great turn out and I’m proud of all of our hard work. It was pulled together during finals and COVID-19 was still lingering around, so I’m just happy we were able to put on a show!

Scarlet: So along with your work in theater on-campus, you’ve also produced several singles on Apple Music as well? Could you describe what your process for creating music is and what inspired you to undertake this project?

Jimmy: Well it’s all very spontaneous for me. I find that when I sit down and try to write a song, it can be very challenging, but when I’m just jamming on guitar or piano, I can find great little moments to build upon.

Scarlet: In the spirit of music, what is your favorite genre of music and what is your favorite instrument to either play or listen to in your free time?

Jimmy: It’s really hard for me to pick favorites for anything (laughing)….but I really love Jazz Fusion, which is essentially Jazz mixed with Rock and Roll. I also love Progressive Rock, bands like King Crimson and Genesis are some of my all-time favorite bands. In terms of my favorite instrument, I alternate between guitar and piano a lot, I think they’re both great instruments for very different reasons.

Scarlet: That’s great, I’m a big Free Jazz fan so I respect that a lot. So in addition to producing music, you also run a LetterBoxd page for reviewing movies. What inspired you to create this page and if you had to choose a favorite film of all time, what would it be?

Jimmy: Well I started a LetterBox page in December of 2020, but I didn’t quite follow through with it at first. I made it my resolution for this year to log and review every movie that I watched and I’m at 72 movies so far for this year, so that’s definitely been a fun project to undertake. I just really love movies and I love writing about movies, so it’s the perfect platform for me to share my thoughts. It’s also really fun to look back on the movies that I’ve watched, it helps me remember the details in conversation which is nice. In terms of my favorite movie of all time, that would have to be Network starring Peter Finch. It’s a really interesting movie that was released in 1976 and it was a great critique on how media impacts our lives. I think it has a lot of relevancy to our society today, which is really cool.

Scarlet: A completely off-topic question….if you were a food what would you be and why?

Jimmy: That’s a crazy question (laughing)….I don’t know, I feel like if I were to be a food, I would have to be a sandwich. I love sandwiches, but not cheese. I feel like a sandwich is very diverse and I think that I’m also a diverse person in many ways too.

Scarlet: What is a fun fact that you would like the readers to know about you?

Jimmy: I love cats, I’m a little obsessed with cats. I have a cat named Betty and I have two cats at home named Miles and Mowgli. I’ve had cats in my life, since I was nine years old, so cats have been an important part of my life.

Scarlet: Very cool! In the spirit of fun questions, if you could meet any figure in history who would it be?

Jimmy: Definitely Frank Zappa, he’s one of the best composers and guitarists of all-time. I think he’d be a fascinating person to talk to and get to know.

Scarlet: Cool! Any final words of encouragement for Clarkies?

Jimmy: I would say just keep doing your thing, create opportunities for yourself and do what you love!