Honors Students' Abstracts
Souvenir
Tracy Ip
Souvenir is a documentary that investigates the relationship between olfaction and memories. It personifies this bond by following a perfumer create a scent that would remind her perfectly of her grandmother. In the Fall of 2011 while I was studying abroad in Germany, I discussed with a visiting professor/neuroscientist the importance of the sense of smell. It was from our conversation that the final idea of my documentary surfaced. The connection between olfaction and memories is an overlooked relationship that factors into our daily lives. Awareness of this subconscious link allows a deeper understanding of the reasoning behind the attraction to certain scents. Vanilla, for instance, is a comforting scent that is reminiscent of childhood. This is why it is such a popular fragrance. Through my research, it is shown that these olfaction cues are also the links to memories. If lost, those memories would have no way of being recalled. Due to the structure of the study abroad program in Germany, the documentaries made were of a smaller scale, minimal crew, no extensive lighting, etc. Although they were not the most polished of movies, they felt much more authentic. Each was a passion project that was only visualized because of the perseverance and love of the student creating it.