Final Reflection

When I first embarked on this endeavor, this odyssey, of making four films in four weeks, I did not know what to expect. Would I tell narratives? Would I expose some sort of fault in our society? Would I make people question the world around them? Or would I simply just make silly little videos that were fun and easy? Well, now I know how I spent my time. I spent my time learning how to make videos to the best of my ability. Were they the best ever created? No. Were they the videos that truly conveyed depth and meaning? Not necessarily. The videos I created were videos that I put my time, effort, sweat, and heart into, and I am so happy to have made them. The process was long, challenging, and strenuous, but I have grown so much because of it.

The senior project is not just an avenue used for the creation of some final product, but it is also a learning experience. In particular, I learned about the creative process that is film making, which includes preproduction, production, and postproduction. Something that I learned almost right away was how integral each part was, however one stood out above the others. Post production. Mr. Silverman told me “It is like building a house on a foundation of sand, if the script isn't right. You may build a wonderful, technically beautiful beast, but it will surely sink into the earth if the script is porous.” I understood this a little too late, as the first video I attempted to create failed because of the awful script. So, I decided for the second video to create a script that actually meant something, which is why the second video was more of an essay piece than a narrative. For the third and fourth videos, I also worked hard to create scripts and plan for these videos far in advance, which helped move them along much more smoothly and also allowed me to have more in-depth videos.

I also learned about production and post production during this time. I learned, first and foremost, that both of these activities are tedious and take an exorbitant amount of time to create something worth watching. I also learned how to collaborate with other people on film projects like actors (Parker Wierling), cameramen (James Kolsby), and consultants (both aforementioned people). It’s an interesting thing being in charge of a project like this because I learned how to be both demanding and understanding. Communicating and collaborating with others is an important skill to learn, and through this project I have definitely improved those skills.

This project taught me several things about myself too. It taught me that I have a lot less confidence in my own work than I originally thought, even though the work deserves my confidence and appreciation. It taught me that I can be resilient and keep at a task for long periods of time, even when I am discouraged. It taught me that when everything goes wrong, there are other ways around those obstacles. It also taught me to take pride in accomplishing tasks that I was unsure about. This project was insightful, challenging, angering, and wonderful all together, and I am so glad to have done it.