That's a Wrap

 Finally, finally, after 10 long weeks of hard work (or should I say, 9 weeks of planning and one long week of anxiety-inducing pain), I can now proudly say that I am done.  My film opening, as well as the Creative Critical Reflection that goes along with it, are safely exported and now residing in my OneDrive and YouTube accounts.  Sure, I did go to sleep at 9 AM today (in all fairness, though, I did pass out and sleep until 2 PM), but I actually really enjoyed this entire process.

All my life, I have struggled with finishing passion projects.  I always start off determined, certain that this time it'll be different, but inevitably lose interest halfway through.  This project, and the amount of stress that I was under to complete it, have made me realize how capable I truly am to create something good when I simply put my mind to it.  This has been a huge learning process, and the experience I have gained from this is almost on par with the good times I had.

Being able to work alongside friends like Ren, Joey, and Ale, and being able to gain input and have meaningful conversations with the people I value most has been truly invaluable.

My project went through a lot of ups and downs.  Although I always knew that I wanted my film opening to follow a Christian boy struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality, the plot itself went through several different stages.  In writing this, I was able to communicate with friends, teachers, and my own family to discuss topics regarding religion, acceptance, and social ostracism.  If anything, I feel like these conversations were what I valued most about the project.

Filming alongside my friends and family, although at times stressful, was a great experience as well.  People like Lauren, Joey, and my own dad - who never fail to make me laugh - were always so comforting to be around.  Although at times I felt I could be a little demanding or nitpicky, they were always patient and eager to help.  Here's a behind the scenes of filming:

As for the CCR, which was a great source of stress for me, I'm extremely happy with what I have.  Upon examining the first draft, I was immediately overcome with the feeling that I had irreversibly f-ed up.  The whole thing, which I couldn't cut down to less than 12 minutes, was insufferably boring and long.  At this point (which was about 1 AM), I was feeling lost and disappointed.  Realizing that I was running out of time and was forced to work with what I had, I thought, "screw it man, lemme make this more me."

I found some silly music on YouTube Audio Library, gathered some goofy audience sound effects on FreeSound, found some funny emojis online, and got to work.  The final draft is what I can only describe as reminiscent of those really stimulating Cocomelon toddler videos.  Regardless, I think that this definitely accomplished the job of keeping the audience's attention.

To wrap everything up, I'm actually really glad that I took this class.  Despite really doubting myself at various points, I'm surprised at how good my final project came out.  I'm posting everything later today, so keep an eye out!