My First Short-Film

I've had half this post written for two weeks. Probably time to finish it. Ready. Go.

I never really did anything film related until I was a Junior in college. Sure, I made a few slideshows on iMovie and I considered myself a bit of a powerpoint wiz in high school, but doesn't everyone?  Somewhere between being bored in my religion classes and longing to do something I was passionate about, I felt God pushing me to switch my major to Film and Digital Media. For the past two years I have really enjoyed learning and growing as a film student. I have aspirations to be a filmmaker. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'd like to go beyond being "the video guy" and move into, "this guy is a respected filmmaker."

I recently finished my last ever film project as student. The assignment was to write and direct a 5-10 minute short-film for my directing class.  For months I prayed about an idea that would somehow glorify or shed light on the Lord without being too preachy.  Two weeks before the assignment was due I had nothing. I grabbed a sheet of paper from my idea book that Jillian (my biggest fan) bought me for a place to record my creativity.  On it I listed important themes:, death, life, mortality, purpose, love, redemption, that sort of stuff. Jillian also gave me a bulletin board to post all these sheets of paper, and I had a bunch of ideas for short films written all over it. I spread all these sheets of "idea paper" across my desk and just started writing. The script grew into a mix of all my previous short-film ideas combined into one.

The first idea was a modern interpretation of Matthew 13:44, or the parable of the treasure hidden in a field. That became kind of the central theme for the story.  The second, more plot-driven idea, was about a guy who finds out he is terminally ill and has one day to live. What would your emotions be like on that day? How would you view your life, your purpose, your decisions? I thought it was an interesting idea to play with, and it provided good conflict, so I slipped it into the video.

After I had the script written I really struggled to find actors. So much so that, yes, I play one of the characters. Comedy is so much easier than being serious, even when I was saying words that I myself had written. Luckily I had just shot a music video with my good friend, and talented musician Clark Jones.  He told me he would love to be my lead actor, and he did a phenomenal job.  There is very little dialogue in the short, and it is amazing how much he conveys, and how much of the story is told with his subtle looks.  He embraced the character, made it his own, and did more than I could have thought of. If you need an actor, call this dude up.

We ended up shooting the whole thing in two, half-days.  When it came time to editing, my footage was absolutely beautiful.  I was very pleased with the way it looked, but of course, it had some flaws. Post-production in all took about 60 hours, including four straight nights past 5 am.  It was wildly fun. Most of the work was done on audio, which was pretty terrible at times due to my lack of preplanning. As I cut the whole thing together, I was pretty discouraged as some of it just didn't work, and the audio wasn't helping. Here is where I feel entirely blessed by Clark, as he agreed to score the short for me. We were hanging out one night and he tells me he has some ideas and is gonna head home around midnight to record some stuff.  By 12:30 he sent me three unbelievable tracks. You'll see, the music practically makes the short.  I was blown away. I also have to thank Will Meier for helping me with audio, some video, equipment, and pretty much just everything. Could not have done it without ya bud.

While the short-film is not my masterpiece by any standard, I think I have come a long way in only a year and a half as a film student.  I wish I'd had more time in my major, but I think I did the best with what I had.

For comparison reasons, I have posted the very first video I ever made in my entire life. It's a silly comedy from my intro production class, the first one in my major. Below that is the very last student video I will have ever shot, my final short-film.

My first video

My final short-film

Yes, I do believe I have come a long way.  Given time, and a lot of prayer, the masterpiece will come.

I would love comments and criticism on the short-film, if you have any. I am always trying to grow, and the opinions of those close to me really matter to me. So, please, don't hold back.

Also, if you have any questions about technical stuff or production process, I love talking about it, so shoot.