Echoes - A Junior Thesis Film

Hello! Echoes is a Junior Thesis film created by film students at Western Carolina University. We have already begun pre-production for our project, and we are very excited to begin filming at the beginning of March 2023! We are fundraising to feed our amazing cast and crew, as well as cover costs associated with transportation, props, and costumes. Funds left over after filming will be used to help submit to film festivals so that we can share our work!

Any donations are greatly appreciated, and we are so excited to have the opportunity to share this story with you all.

Echoes is a horror/thriller that follows a group of rambunctious teen boys who, while on a hike, decide to wander off the beaten trail. Things go awry as they begin to hear an ominous voice calling for help.

Meet the Team!

Ripley Hawkins - Director

Howdy! My name is Ripley Hawkins and I am a senior at Western Carolina University majoring in Film and Television Production. I am the director of the awesome upcoming horror short film "Echoes." I have always been drawn to horror and creature films, a popcorn genre where I can embrace the cruelness of nature and humanity with open arms, where literally anything is possible. It is a medium where we as filmmakers can dream up impossible realities to tell cautionary tales about real life and real experiences under the guise of fun and scary happenstance. I like creating realities that make you have nightmares, realities that leave you guessing who will win because, in horror, the hero doesn't always win.

Aly Taylor - Writer

Aly Taylor is a rising senior in the Film and Television Production program at Western Carolina University. Her background began in theater and broadcasting, but she grew a love for filmmaking after finding her true passion for storytelling. She has worked on 6 other short films during her time at Western with more in the works. This is her junior thesis film, the first she's been the soul writer of. She also directed her own web series, spanning two seasons and amassing 24,500 views on YouTube. She aspires to continue to write and create more interesting and fantastical films and is so excited to work on Echoes.

Robert Lombardo - Director of Photography

Hello everyone, my name is Robbie Lombardo and I am a Junior in the Film and Television Production program at Western Carolina University. I will be the Cinematographer on the upcoming horror short Echoes.

I have always had a love for the horror genre and the deep connection many audience members bond to. I also enjoy how you can tell incredible stories of emotion and bring the audience into the scary world you create, often representing the world we live in today to not only bring awareness to subjects but evoke action to personal life change.

I look forward to working with this amazing team to put together a story that you all will enjoy visually.

Madeline Vachon - Producer

Madeline Vachon is a Junior in the Film and Television Production program at Western Carolina University. With roughly eight years of film experience, she has spent the last two years primarily focusing on advancing herself as a Producer and Assistant Director. Madeline is excited to be producing Echoes and hopes to be able to use the best of her skills to make sure her team can create the art they have worked so hard on.

Mikayla White - Production Designer

Mikayla K. White is the Production Designer for Echoes! She is currently a junior at Western Carolina University and studies Film and Television Production. Mikayla hopes to continue collaborating with her fellow peers and create amazing content while also working on her editing and writing skills here at Western before she graduates. While gaining as much experience as possible, she will be even closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming a showrunner in the television industry.

Jeremiah Godfrey - Sound Mixer/Editor

Jeremiah Godfrey is an alumnus of Blue Ridge Community College with an AAS in film. Currently, he is a film student at Western Carolina University in his senior year. He has had the privilege to be on various camera teams on a variety of short films such as One Last Drink, Blackout, Simpler Times, Coffee Kids, I'm Glad I Hate You, and a Justice Film Collective documentary of UMOJA in Asheville.

He has assisted Dr. Christine King, an enneagram researcher, with videography consultation. Jeremiah is drawn to sharing stories that dive into surface-level living and the inner experience of humanity's psychological and spiritual struggles.