I am happy to be participating in this year’s TAMIU Film Festival. The officers and members of the club have taken their time to make a short film. The strategy the officers of the film club took in hosting weekly workshops for students to learn the art of filmmaking was spectacular. They taught us everything from pre-production like screenplays, storyboarding, and shot listing. Not to mention the days they taught us about production such as acting, lighting, and cinematography. Every moment with the club has been captivating and has felt like a film school every step of the way. I am proud to be a member of the TAMIU Film Club.
The process of it all has been an exciting and thrilling journey. My group members did their part in coming up with ideas and making creative choices. It has been a pleasure working with each one of them, as they have made the experience all the more fun and enjoyable. Through days of production, we’d have nothing but laughs and brilliant moments of the types of camera shots we got. For the most part, they started off with not knowing much about how to create a short film. Now that the semester is almost over, I am more than certain we will all walk away with a little more knowledge in the field.
This semester, I was able to not only write a screenplay, but had the privilege to direct and edit the short film. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing each step of the process coming to life. From writing a monologue for a character in your screenplay, to seeing your actor acting it out in front of your very own eyes. Now, it is almost time for it to be presented in front of an audience. This is what I live for, the art in filmmaking. I am so far deep in the rabbit hole of making fictional worlds, dynamic characters, and engaging stories. I love my ideas coming alive on paper, to then being presented visually in front of people. It’s just a feeling I can’t replicate. I think the only way I may be able to put it into words is a quote by Vincent Van Gough who once said, “I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.”