PROJECT SCOOP & overview
Wow. Where do I even begin?
First, I have to say—this was an incredible experience.
First, I have to say—this was an incredible experience.
While I’ve used video for storytelling countless times for clients and a variety of projects, this was my first time creating something that truly tells a story. A real story. A story about human interaction—not one about how burgers or pastries are made.
Martin Scorsese famously said that true cinema is about the complexity of human feelings and emotions: “Cinema was about revelation — aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual revelation. It was about characters — the complexity of people and their contradictory and sometimes paradoxical natures, the way they can hurt one another and love one another and suddenly come face to face with themselves.”
This being my first experience not only directing but also writing a story, I lost count of the roadblocks I encountered during development—whether in writing, directing, filming, editing, or even on set with my team—so many challenges.
So much went wrong. So many things left me unsatisfied—whether it was struggling to properly light a dark scene or dealing with unexpected issues in post-production.
The biggest lesson I learned through this experience is that time is of the essence—but in a way that creative projects like this should take time. Because this project was so crammed on the timeline, I was more focused on getting all the items on my shot list checked off, rather than paying attention to the individual quality of each scene while I had the chance to do so on set.
The lack of time ultimately impacted the overall quality of this short film. Multitasking so many different roles made it difficult to focus on the cinematography or to use screen time effectively to convey emotions. This was my biggest challenge—it pulled my attention away from my main focus: the story itself, not the logistics or set setup.
And that is my BIGGEST takeaway and lesson from this project.
Reflections aside, I hope you enjoy(ed)!
As always, all and any feedback, comments, & questions would be valued.
As always, all and any feedback, comments, & questions would be valued.