I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

Where has the time gone? I truly wish I could tell you. I feel as if this entire project has flashed before my eyes. I am so beyond grateful to have experienced every single part of this project and hold every aspect of it so near to my heart. I cannot say that this is my first "longterm" project that I have worked on, but I can say it is my favorite, and has taught me the most. From the beginning of the project I was so beyond nervous this is because when you are working on something that you love, the stakes are so much higher for messing up; at least, for myself. I just didn't want to end up being disappointed in myself, I wanted to be proud of what I created and initially, this created so much pressure. I second guessed myself on every decision I made in the early stages of this project from the genre all the way to the actual plot of our introduction. I was just so scared of messing up. I felt relief from my partner, Clara De Luca, as she had faith in me from the very beginning which completely helped me be more sure of myself towards the end.

 Once our film started to develop a backbone, everything went from 0 to 100 so quick. The script, storyboard and shot list were created back to back once we finalized our genre and film concept. Clara and I both agree the this stage flew by so quickly. Soon after we developed our characters and their costuming and other mise-en-scene to bring our ideas and our words on paper to life. It felt like putting a puzzle together and seeing everything fall into place was just so rewarding. Before we knew it, we were picking up equipment to begin production of our film opening as if just two weeks before we felt as if we had no clue what we were doing. We wanted to use two cameras and also lighting kits to make production easier and also to feel more professional LOL but we weren't able to. This really didn't end up hindering us as all the footage we got was exactly what we needed. Whenever we faced little problems such as that, or not being able to use the filming location that we initially wanted to, or having to cut out scenes that I really wanted to keep, or having to change our music although we had our heart set on something else, I realized that in the long run, this all just made Clara and I so much better at what we do, creating. We faced plenty of obstacles, trust me, yet worked around them so seamlessly and when it comes to our final product, no one would have been able to notice. 

It was so beyond surreal to be able to create, write, produce, direct and act in my own film introduction. I felt so much like myself. Working on this project over the past nine weeks gave me a little taste of what the film industry could be like and that only made me hungry for more. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life and if I was ever given the chance to, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am so thankful for this opportunity to become so much more confident not only in myself but also my work, to learn how to work around problems by realizing they are sometimes blessings in disguise, and to enjoy the journey along with the destination. I am sure you know by now that I could go on forever, but for the sake of time, I won't. Thank you for spending time with me on this incredible experience. I am so proud of Clara and I for looking at problems straight in the eye and making something beautiful out of it. 

(Week 9: 4/2-4/4, post 1)