Friday, January 29, 2010

Charlie Taylor - Phoenix, Arizona

Charlie Taylor
Film Connection Student - Phoenix, Arizona


I guess it's a cliche, but there is nothing short of magic when it comes to making films. Any films. All of it starts from a brilliant mind. But ideas get nowhere unless you put in the effort to reflect those ideas into the screen.

And that takes a lot of effort.

Being a director is not quite an easy job, as I am learning from my mentoring program. It's not just about calling the shots and ordering people around. Even that takes skill because when you're telling people what to do, you've got to do it in a way that's clear so they know you mean business but you must not antagonize them either. You want these people at their best so they do their best and not mess up the project that you are all trying to finish. It's like being the mayor of your very own town. You've got be as diplomatic as you could, but you've got to know when to take the hard line and make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing.

And on top of that, you must now compromise your creativity, vision, and integrity, even with frustrating issues such as location shooting, budget concerns, marketing issues.

But in the end, you get to power through all of that and more, and you have the chance to end up with a wonderful film. Our very own film connection to magic.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Jennifer Garcia - Denver, Colorado

Jennifer Garcia
Film Connection Student - Denver, Colorado


Who doesn't want to be in charge, right? Wouldn't you want to be able to take the reigns and make sure that your vision is brought to life exactly the way you want it to be? Of course, you've also got to be able to command your team into believing in your vision as well. And that is the mark of a good leader, knowing that it's not just about you working to accomplish you mission, it's also about letting the team believe in it that they are inspired to work on it just as hard you do.

And for me, that's pretty much the qualities of a good director too. Without such focus, how else could you make a good movie.

It's pretty easy to be director these days. With the Internet, and YouTube and Vimeo, it's not that tough get your films out there and show them to the world. You won't even be limited to your country, you can have viewable to the rest of the world. The possibilities are endless.

I guess what I'm saying is, aspiring film makers no longer have the excuse of so much going against them, preventing them from achieving their dreams, when there's so much all around us, going for us, as we bring our visions to life. In this modern day and age, we've got the right tools, the film connection that can let us reach everyone. So we better start working.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Aaron Morgan - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aaron Morgan
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Film Connection Student


It's kind of tough to accept this fact at first, but we've gotta face it. Dreams are not exactly affordable. In fact, might as well say it outright, it's pretty damn expensive. And sometimes, when you go to school, it's not even enough.

With a lot of graduates and dreamers and not enough jobs to give to each and every one of them, it's going to be pretty tough out there. And for a while there, I wasn't sure I wanted to pursue something as „unsure‰ as being involved in films. As a cinematographer to be exact.

Lucky for me, I know that that's not impossible. And the good thing is that while I'm still a student and learning the ropes, I also get work experience that I can actually use when I complete a course and try to find work. Future employers would be more impressed by the fact that I know my way around a film set, more than most graduates would be.

It's going to be tough. It's going to be challenging. But with the right amount of determination, confidence, and the smarts to know where to look, I'm going to be okay. I'm glad I took the chance and got myself that film connection to my dreams. It's not that hard after all.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Emily Walker - Richmond, Virginia

Emily Walker
Richmond, Virginia - Film Connection Student

I was an only child, and although my parents did their best, a lot of the time they were out working. So I was basically left by myself and my dolls, and to keep myself entertained, I would create stories. After a while, this used to be a way for me to break out of my shell. Because I didn't have any sisters or brothers, I was too shy to interact with any other kids. But with writing stories, and getting them to read these, I could still show them that I wasn't boring or mean at all. This was also how I got to bond with my parents. They'd read my stories, sometimes I'd act it out in front of them, and we get to really bond despite the short time we spent with each other.

Of course, when I was eight or nine, I stopped doing it, but I'm still very fond of memories of these.

And in school, joining the theater club and helping them bring these stories to like (and some of them even happened to be mine!) I finally knew just what I wanted to with my life. There's just something about starting with nothing and bringing out something that everyone can appreciate. And now that I'm working my way to making my dreams come true, I'm glad I've got this film connection to make something for myself out of that which used to be just a way for me to pass the time while waiting for my parents.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Wanda Collins - Carson, CA

Wanda Collins
Carson, CA

Oh wow, it's a brand-new year, and a brand-new decade at that. Time to work on my new year's resolutions. And definitely on the top of the list is to not give up and continue with my course so I can one day get to produce a film.

I believe in dreaming big, that's why even though I'm still a student, I'm also envisioning myself that I will one day be a producer of a movie. Of course, I know that's still a long way to go, and I've got so much to learn. And boy, do I ever. It kind of gets tough at times, dealing with so much information. Everything we're learning here is just so important, it pays to really pay attention. Then again, it's not that tough to do so. Given that our classroom is a film set, it's such a great motivation to work harder. Being able to see just how films are made and assisting in behind-the-scenes work really gets you pumped up to be a better student and to learn more.

Being behind the scenes this early on in my career is a great inspiration to keep doing well here. Hell, I'm still a student, and already I can feel that I'm starting a career. That's just amazing, isn't it? I've got this film connection that just pushes me to do harder and be better. Keeping that resolution won't be too hard this year, that's for sure.