31.May.2009 So what’s going on?
Hi!
It’s been a while since a proper blog post, but now that I finally have time to do it I’m going to talk about what’s been happening in my life. At the moment it’s basically filled with projects, but I’m thankful I’m kept busy because at least if and when I think, it’s only about these projects and nothing else.
I’m currently working on a short film called Emily, and so far things have been going really great. I have awesome team members who’re vocal and contribute to discussions, so it’s not just a one-person thing but a whole team work thing going on.
At the moment I’m hoping to get a primary school to be used as part of the filming location since it’s mostly set in a primary school environment. Well, just a little description so you know what’s it about:
Emily is a short film about the journey of a young girl called Emily who struggles with dyslexia and school bullying. Her teacher notices these things and talks to her mum and now it’s up to her mum whether or not to send her to be assessed for dyslexia.
And that’s basically it. The super condensed version and all. It’s to increase awareness about dyslexia as part of a school project, but after researching and having friends who actually have dyslexia, it’s become a topic that I want to speak out about.
It’s not easy to actually make a film, I tell you. After 3 experiences with making short films, and this being my fourth, all I can say is that you really need to get good team members who share the same vision that you do. If not, some things might be compromised, and the end product of how it’s going to look like is going to depend a lot on how passionate you are and how willing/unwilling you are to compromise on say, production values.
Otherwise it’s going to be quite difficult. Differing views = either silent resentment/big quarrels = rift in team.
Plus with the experience that I’ve more or less gained, I now know what are the things that you need to have and do, and I’m starting to understand the mindset of a director/producer and how stressful it must be to be in charge of such a big project. And guess what?
I’m loving it. It’s crazy and stressful and full of talks and discussions and ideas and brainstorming and dude! That’s just the pre-production part. Call me insane, but I just love filming. If nothing else, it’s reaffirming my goal to be a film maker. I just get so excited when I think about it.
I’m also quite a stickler for perfection, and unwilling to settle for anything but the best, so it’s going to be quite an uphill battle for some parts of this journey, but with every discussion I make with my friends and team mates, the vision I have for this film becomes stronger and clearer and more defined and I know how I want it to look like and to be like. I know what I want to show through this film and I really hope I can do it.
Plus, if it’s done really well, I hope to submit it for competitions and stuff.
And wouldn’t that just be amazing.
Well, the next thing that I’m organising is a fringe festival for a conference, and it’s a little mind-boggling since I, well, never really had experience with organsing stuff that lasts beyond 3 days. The most I’ve done were some school camps that lasted two or three days, but this is going to be seven days.
I’ll also be needing to get team members to help me out with this, so I’m hoping this will go alright. I want to do this really well too. It would be extremely satsifying to see the end result, I should think.
The rest are just school work like designing another website, e-newsletter, poster, writing a news story, research paper and movie analysis, but I should be able to cope. I’m going to make use of tomorrow to settle all the paperwork that needs to be done, and I think I’ve managed to relax today a while with my friends, so I’m recharged and raring to go!
But first, I’m going to sleep. It’ll be a long day for me tomorrow!
sk 
JamesD 