Justin Ueberhorst originally studied audio engineering, but one of his favorite accomplishments was winning a school-wide video competition. The assignment was to create a “visual poem”: choose a location and use two songs that transitioned into each other. The rest was open.
He chose National Harbor, just outside Washington, D.C., and filmed from daytime into evening. Gorillaz’s “19-2000” gave the daytime footage a summer feel. As evening arrived, the music shifted into The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” Its references to the night and upbeat tempo gave him a way to pick up the pace with quicker cuts. It was a chance to bring his interests in sound and visuals together, and the audio student came away with the win.
His interests have always crossed over that way. He grew up drawing, studied graphic design in high school, and eventually moved into audio, video, and photography. Picking just one has never been easy.
Today, Justin lives in Connecticut and has more than 15 years of multimedia production experience. He creates content for Monica Rich Kosann, a fine jewelry brand where he started as a freelancer before joining full-time. Depending on the day, he might photograph jewelry, shoot video, edit an ad, or spend a little longer getting the colors right. He likes seeing a project through from the first idea to the final edit.
Returning to school is a way to build on that experience. Through Quinnipiac University’s Master of Science in Digital Content Creation and Strategy program, he wants a deeper holistic understanding of multimedia work: how the writing, visuals, sound, and strategy fit together, and how people experience the finished piece. He wants to make more thoughtful decisions throughout that process.
He’s also been reconsidering his online habits. Taking a break from YouTube was harder than expected because it’s usually his first stop for a Photoshop or DaVinci Resolve tutorial. Finding answers elsewhere took some adjusting, but it meant fewer detours into unrelated videos. His morning digital news routine was easier to leave behind.
His portfolio and graduate blog, inJust DIGITAL, gives him another place to experiment. Building the site has pushed him to consider everything from how visitors navigate his projects on a phone to whether a description gives them sufficient information.
Looking ahead, Justin would like to become a creative director, teach as a professor, or run his own production company. Some combination of the three would suit him well. He’s especially interested in telling stories about education, conservation, and causes he cares about. He hasn’t settled on one path, but he’d like it to leave room for what he’s always enjoyed: making things, figuring things out, and trying something he hasn’t done before.