ERIKA A.LOBATI
elobati@gmail.com
elobati@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Arts Anticipated, Spring 2025
Temple University (TU)
Cumulative GPA: 3.96
Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies: Production Spring 2022
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Minor in Spanish
The University of Kansas (KU)
Cumulative GPA: 3.94
WORK EXPERIENCE
Associate Video Editor/Producer | Vox Media, Lifestyle, The Dodo (May 2025 - Present).
Produce short-form content with social media talent, including conducting pre-production calls and interviews, constructing a narrative, creating a shotlist to deliver the narrative vision, and editing collected footage into a cohesive story in alignment with the brand’s aesthetic voice. Source and edit 20-25 allotted social videos per quarter. Develop and pitch video ideas weekly for team feedback and managing producer approval. Create and maintain strong relationships with talent, including following their platforms for updates and maintaining open communication for future collaborations. Brainstorm ideas for midform and shortform content.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Teaching Assistant | TU. "Film, Video, and Interactive Foundations I & II" (Fall 2023 - Fall 2024).
Planned weekly labs for undergraduate film students. Workshopped student film proposals and work-in-progress edits. Facilitated student lab equipment exercises for three-point lighting Dracast kits, Panasonic and Canon cameras, Tascam recorders, and Sennheiser lavalier and shotgun microphones. Provided written feedback for finished documentary, narrative, and experimental films.
Seminar Assistant | KU. “Developing a Scripted Podcast” (Fall 2020).
Assisted instruction for a scripted podcast honors seminar, compiled supplemental materials for curriculum, facilitated class discussion, advised students, and fostered a welcoming environment for freshman honors students.
AWARDS & HONORS
TU Special Distinctions:
University Fellowship Fall 2022 - present
KU Special Distinctions:
McNair Scholars Program 2021 - 2022
University Honors Program 2018 - 2022
Multicultural Scholars Program 2018 - 2022
Sloan Discovery Prize Finalist. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation X The Museum of Moving Image (Fall 2024)
Film and Media Arts Thesis Grant. TU FMA (Fall 2024)
Ben and Minnie Lazaroff Screenwriting Award. TU FMA (Spring 2024)
Philadelphia Student Media Maker Grant. Scribe Video Center (Spring 2024)
Film and Media Arts Thesis Grant. TU FMA (Spring 2024)
Philadelphia Student Media Maker Grant. Scribe Video Center (Spring 2023)
Film and Media Arts Production Grant. TU FMA (Fall 2022)
Honors Opportunity Award. KU University Honors Program. (Spring 2022)
Mike & Lynette Robe Screenwriting Award Finalist. KU FMS. (Fall 2021)
Charles “Buddy” Rogers Scholarship. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2021)
Best Body of Work Honorable Mention. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2021)
Loren Dolezal Community Service Award. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2020)
Arts Research Project Grant. KU School of the Arts. (Spring 2020)
Honors Opportunity Award. KU University Honors Program. (Spring 2020)
Multicultural Scholars Program Scholarship. KU Multicultural Scholars Program (2020 - 2022)
Excellence Scholarship. KU (2018 - 2022)
FILMOGRAPHY & MEDIA
Crashing | 2024, Narrative Dramedy, 12 mins
Writer, Director, Producer
Screenings:
Diamond Screen Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA (May 1st, 2024)
Trenton Student Film Festival, Trenton, NJ (August 10th, 2024)
Diamond MFA Showcase, Philadelphia, PA (September 24th, 2024)
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Narrative Short. Trenton Film Festival: Student Film (Fall 2024)
Feeding Reminiscence | 2023, Documentary, 15 mins
Cinematographer, Producer, Co-editor
Screenings:
The Film Collective Short Film Festival, Bensalem, PA (March 1-4th, 2024)
Diamond Docs Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA (October 11th, 2023)
Love is Bagged | 2023, Comedy Sketch, 5 mins
Co-Director, Co-Producer, Co-editor
Screenings:
Diamond MFA Showcase, Philadelphia, PA (September 28th, 2023)
Rumination X Single in Progress | 2022, Visual Poem, 4 mins
Writer, Director Producer
Screenings:
Diamond Screen Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA (May 2nd, 2023)
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Experimental or Animation. Diamond Screen Film Festival (Spring 2023)
Body Paragraphs | 2022, Narrative Dramedy, 22 mins
Writer, Director, Producer
Screenings:
Free State Film Festival. Lawrence, KS (October 7th, 2022)
Tallgrass Film Festival. Wichita, KS (October, 2nd, 2022)
Kansas City Underground Film Festival. Kansas City, MO (September 24th, 2022)
Capstone Film Exhibit. Lawrence, KS (June 3rd, 2022)
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Short Film Audience Award. Kansas City Underground Film Festival. (Fall 2022)
Best Screenplay. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2022)
Tarpit | 2021, Experimental Documentary, 10 mins
Co-Director, Co-Producer, Co-Editor
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Documentary Nominee. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2022)
Best Experimental Media Nominee. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2022)
The Collection | 2021, Video Essay, 7 mins
Writer, Director of Photography, Editor
Superglue | 2021, Narrative Drama, 7 mins
Writer, Director, Actor
Screenings:
Diamond Film Festival. Philadelphia, PA (September 28th, 2022)
Personal Exhibit and Poster Fundraiser. Lawrence, KS (September 17th, 2021)
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Drama, KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2022)
Mental Media: “Sole Competition” | 2021, Nonfiction Podcast Pilot, 42 mins
Writer, Producer, Host, Recordist, Editor
Awards and Recognitions:
Best Editing Nominee. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2021)
Best Sound Honorable Mention. KU FMS. Tensie Awards. (Spring 2021)
The Flanders | 2019, Narrative Comedy, 4 mins
Writer, Director, Editor
PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE
Co-Director of Photography | Butter Sculptor Documentary (2023)
Post-Production Supervisor & Sound Designer | Roadkill (2023), Narrative Drama
Production Assistant | Blue (2022), Narrative Drama
Production Assistant | ShopRite Cooking Star Season 2 (2022), Reality
Stylist Assistant | Hopscotch (2022), Music Video
Production Assistant | Mantis (2022), Narrative Drama
Production Assistant | Wish You Were Here (2021), Narrative Drama
Key Grip | Entropic ( 2021), Narrative Drama
Production Assistant | Rainbow Boulevard (2020), Narrative Suspense
Boom Operator | The Con’s Split (2020), Narrative Drama
Key Grip | Royal Crest Lanes (2019), Narrative Dramedy
Co-Producer | A Journey in Spirituality and Being Human with Kyla Dawn Love (2019), Documentary
Soundperson | Love.io (2019), Narrative Romantic Comedy
Grip/Gaffer | The Mannequin (2019), Narrative Horror
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Tactile Imaginations: How varying levels of audiovisual context influence the development and clarity of situation models among different dimensions (Spring 2021 - present)
Primary Investigator
University of Kansas McNair Scholars Program | Mentor: Dr. Tamara Falicov
Designed and conducted an interdisciplinary experimental design to examine how different modes of media (text, audio, visual, audiovisual) alter the way humans mentally represent, interpret, and understand discourse.
Mental Media: EP1 - Sole Competition (Fall 2020 - Spring 2021)
Primary Investigator, Writer, Editor, Host
Independent Research Project | Mentors: Dr. Tamara Falicov, Professor Meg Jamieson
Through the medium of podcasting, analyzed a reality television program called “Solitary”, exploring both the psychological effects of social isolation and the ethics of reality television through the lens of ethical experimentation.’
INVITED PRESENTATIONS
“An Innovative Mentorship” Presentation with Dr. Tamara Falicov under NHC Podcasting Institute. AACU Educating for Democracy Conference. Washington, DC. (January 21st, 2022)
“Tactile Imaginations” Research Powerpoint Presentation. MKN McNair Heartland Research Conference (September 25th, 2021)
McNair Scholars Representative Panel. KU OPTIONS Program. (August 2021)
“Tactile Imaginations: Reenvisioning the Academy” Keynote Speaker Presentation. McNair Scholars Program Research Symposium, Lawrence, KS (July 23rd, 2021).
“Me-Search: Voices of the Second Gen” Nonfiction Podcast. National Humanities Center Podcasting Institute (virtual), San Diego, CA. (June 18th, 2021)
“Tactile Imaginations: How varying levels of audiovisual context influence the development and clarity of situation models among different dimensions” Research Poster Presentation. KU Center for Undergraduate Research Summer Poster Session (virtual), Lawrence, KS (July 30th, 2021)
SERVICE
President. KU Screenwriters. (2021 - 2022)
Managed KU Screenwriters social media accounts, posted club announcements, provided resources and supplementary writing materials, collaborated with KU Improv and KU Filmworks to plan events. Previously held positions as Social Media & Events Coordinator from 2019 - 2020.
Panel Presenter. McNair Student Panel. (August 2021)
Participated in a panel for KU OPTIONS Summer Program as a representative of McNair Scholars Program. Shared experiences about program membership including research, funding, and resources.
Velocity Church Production and Creative Team. Volunteer. (2018 - 2021)
Served biweekly during academic semesters, organized and presented PowerPoint slides for worship and sermons, filmed and edited sermons for youtube accounts, and operated switcher systems for live streaming.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Podcast Institute Student. National Humanities Center Podcasting Institute: “Podcasting the Humanities” (virtual), San Diego, CA. (June 2021)
Creative Team Intern. Velocity Church. (Summer 2019)
Recorded and edited weekly video announcements for Sunday services. Scheduled and planned weekly hosts to be selected from church congregation.
SKILLS & COMPETENCIES
Languages:
English (Native Speaker/Fluent)
Spanish (Intermediate Proficiency in reading, writing, listening, speaking)
Cameroonian Pidgin English (Beginner Proficiency in speaking, Intermediate Proficiency in listening)
Hardware Competencies:
Bolex 16mm Camera
Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k
Sony A7C Camera
Canon Rebel T7i
Software Competencies:
Microsoft Office
Canva
iMovie
Adobe Premiere Pro
Logic Pro X
Audacity
Creative Writing:
Poetry
Short Story
Stand Up Comedy
Scriptwriting