A moment to reflect

Its been so long since my last post because I have been so busy with school I haven't even been able to think about posting.  Now that I am finally done shooting my first film project I have a little time to breathe and do some self-reflection.  A few weeks ago I asked myself, what the hell am I learning here?  But as soon as I was about to begin my first film shoot everything that they have been teaching us in class seemed more relevant then ever.  The one piece of advise they gave to us before we went on our shoot is to be nice to your crew on set because your reputation is the most important thing to maintain even more than the work that you produce at this point.  Its no surprise to me that the people who don't pay attention in class or show up late, are the same people who people end up having problems with when it comes to production.  I have to say that the 7 years of real world experience has prepared me for this fishbowl group mentality situation.  At the end of the day, my motivation and purpose is the same and not anyone or anything can take away focus of that.  It’s not about where you are, but your state of mind and how you decided to handle yourself in situation is what defines your experiences.  Although I am one of the oldest people in my first year program, I can honestly say I wouldn't have been emotionally or mentally prepared for this adventure anytime sooner.  

I definitely lucked out with my production team that I am working with.  We are 5 totally different people from different life experiences that bring different strengths to the table.  It’s been really fun working with them.  My crew and myself worked really hard to bring my vision to life, but this is filmmaking and anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  

I was really happy with the story by the time I was ready to shoot, although like anything, just because you may have a clear understanding, doesn't mean that it translates to screen very well.   By the end of the first shooting day, I felt so overwhelmed and exhausted!  I wasn’t even able to articulate how I felt at the time, because I really just needed to rest.  Someone asked me, how my first day was, and I said, "It was rough".  He asked me if I at least had fun and I that’s when it hit me.  Filmmaking is supposed to be fun!  We aren't curing cancer and we aren't saving lives.  I am supposed to be having fun!  Why else would I be here?  So I made some minor adjustments for the next day's shoot and decided I was going to have fun and make sure my crew is also having fun.  Needless to say, we got through a lot more shots than expected and we laughed all the way through it!  There were some shots that I wasn't able to get because of time or because of limited amount of film, but I think that will always be the case when you are making movies.  

Now that my shoot is out of the way we have everyone else’s shoot to do in the group.  We have a really good momentum happening in the group and we all work really well together.  I am enjoying the time I am in school and I feel like I am learning so much.  I find myself missing my teachers and missing being in class.  Singapore may not be the place for me, but NYU has proven to be where I am supposed to be.  

A few things I learned.

1. The first shot will always take the longest to set up.  

2. No matter how much you think a shot is easy to get, it isn't!  

3. It will rain, so just suck it up and get over it.  

4. You will always feel like you need more! More people, more money, more film...

5. The director sets the tone of the set.

6.  Have fun!