Cutouts from fashion magazines scatter the walls. A light board softly brightens a dimly lit bedroom. Dozens of professional quality, hand-drawn illustrations of people and emotions clutter the desk, floor and walls. And the sound of electronic music blares from the speakers on the wall.
This is the workspace that gives Michael Fredericks the inspiration and motivation to draft yet another page of his script for the feature length film, "Secret Scientist Society."
Michael moved from one Oxford (Oxford, Michigan) to another, immediately enrolling in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami. He's also working toward minors in creative writing and fashion.
Michael lives and breathes art, through both interest and necessity. If he isn't spending his time designing clothing, finding new work music or brainstorming ideas for his other projects, he's creating new sketches to hang on the wall.
For him, art takes on a more meaningful persona. Michael has battled with ADHD and other emotional struggles in life. Looking for a way to cope, he found art to be the most effective method.
Currently, Michael spends his days toiling away on his final project -- a 150-page movie script for his media and culture capstone course.
The students were free to choose what their movie script would be about, and the one Michael's group chose -- one of the five concepts he came up with -- has allowed him to push his creative limits in a new medium.
The plot wraps space travel, Mars colonization, environmentalism and a powerful technological device all into one.
Richard, the group leader of the secret society, recruits new members who help him build the "planet killer," a device that will blow up Mars, ending all life there to prevent colonization.
Neither this film, nor Michael, will be seen at the Oscars, though. Instead, Michael hopes to pursue a career in personal communications within the fashion or media industry.