Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?
The group assignment was to create a movie trailer for a fictional movie depicting the life of a distinguished woman from the American Revolution. I've had an undercover passion for film and television since I saw Kill Bill at age 13, so needless to say, I was covertly excited. I finally had a chance to pop open the vacuum sealed scene cuts, camera angles and dramatic score combinations that had been pickling on a mental shelf. However I preserved these little fantasies of mine in a safe place: I never thought this would be an activity I would have the chance to pursue.
Somehow I managed to figure my way around keying, cutting, sound effects and transitions. It was enough to put my group's esteemed Margaret Corbin in scenes of the Patriot, running through flames and fighting off genuine Confederate soldiers on a real Union battlefield; set in time to Hans Zimmer's theme from The Rock.
Every day after school for a week, I dedicated my afternoon to making my project just right. All the timings and cuts had to be precise. I replayed it time after time, making sure the soundtrack coincided with each frame and flowed perfectly into the next scene. After a multitude of late nights and coffee breaks, I had finally finished.
Even with all the effort and love I had nurtured my debut film, I still wasn't confident in my work. It looked nothing like the short films on TV or the example trailers that my teacher had shown us. Even worse, I dreading seeing my group mates' faces when they saw it for the first time. The finished product just didn't seem to justify the time that went in it.
Watching all the videos the next day in class was a completely different story. The three other girls and I scooted our desks together and settled down with our popcorn. A few videos went by, and I told myself, "Maybe mine's better." But each video was better than the last. As my clammy hands went into autopilot, I rapidly emptied the popcorn bowl. My shins were sweating. By the time my film was up, I was just about a ruddy puddle on the tile floor. I clung to my friend who tried to settle me, but I was in a nervous daze. The embarrassment and anticipation was killing me.
In the end, my classmates actually loved my video. Even my teacher kept it to show to next year's classes, a major complement from someone like her. We went on to be nominated in almost all the categories for our own Academy Awards, and won four in total; including Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
This project forced me to muster all the patience and diligence I could. My creativity and unconventional thinking helped me gain the recognition I've striven for. Although the project itself wasn't prominent or important, I experienced self-growth with all the confidence I gained. All my hard work, determination, passion and dedication proved to be the best recipe for my own success.
Thank you for reading!
I've had an undercover passion for film and television since I saw Kill Bill at age 13, so needless to say, I was covertly excited.---I finally saw that recently, it was awesome!
I finally had a chance to pop open the vacuum sealed scene cuts, camera angles and dramatic score combinations that had been pickling on a mental shelf .---You are an excellent writer, I love this!
Even with all the effort and love I had poured into my debut film,---I changed this a little...or you could say, ..'with which I nurtured my...'
Even worse, I dreaded seeing my group mates' faces when they saw it for the first time.
The finished product just didn't seem to justify the time that went into it.
As my clammy hands went into autopilot, I rapidly emptied the popcorn bowl. My shins were sweating.---Ha ha, this is great!
This is so great, and I love the expressive and descriptive way you write! Good luck in school and have fun!
:)
