Short Films and the Exploratorium, Part 2
2 years agoContinued from “Short Films and the Exploratorium, Part 1”
….
After searching for almost an entire day, my prayers were answered. Through craigslist, I was able to find someone selling their copy of Final Cut Pro. Since I had started taking a class (I say started because I left after two weeks because of other classes) on how to use Final Cut Pro back in 2008, I figured that I had enough knowledge to effectively use it. Thankfully, it was enough to edit the film.
Finally able to edit, I began. As I got into it, the work became easier, I began to throw clips hither and thither, rearranging, cutting, mixing, and generally turning nothing into something. I was so excited. After nearly three solid days of staring at my computer, pulling an (almost) all-nighter, and spending all day at a coffee place while downing 4 espresso drinks, I was DONE.
Having accomplished arguably the most draining and fun project in my life, I was a unique blend of hyper and tired. I had high hopes for my film- it was the first one I was actually proud of. With the help of my coworkers and family, I had actually made a short documentary in just 10 days.
It was time. The night all 10x10 submissions would be screened. There was live music, free food, and many other filmmakers. Being the last day of the 10th annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival, it was a night to be celebrated. For me, I was about to have my film screened in front of hundreds of people. For the festival directors, they had just finished their 10th successful year.
Thankfully, my film was well received. Since I was wearing the Explainer uniform (vest) that was present throughout the film, many people came up to me to ask questions. A few people actually wanted to work as Explainers! I was thrilled to see how many people liked it.
The next night was the Festival afterparty/awards ceremony for participants in the Festival and their friends/family. All films screened had a chance of winning an award, including mine. Throughout the night, I talked with many people- a producer interested in developing the High School Explainer documentary project, fellow 10x10 filmmakers, and another producer offering me a free copy of Final Cut should I ever need it. The night was phenomenal.
At long last- the awards ceremony for the 10x10 Filmmaker’s Challenge began. I was worried, to say the least. Would my film win? Would it be shut out? Who else was going to win? All of these questions were bouncing around in my head. It went somewhat like this: First- the winner for best use of prop- not my film… my heard was going faster… best use of poster… not my film… what was going to happen?! My heart was racing… Wait now… he’s… what is he saying? Could it be- HE IS SAYING MY NAME!
I won.
I won the Best Use of Concept: Theme award. I was in shock. This was the first time I had ever won an award for a film. It was incredible. People congratulated me- I was blown away.
Since that night, I have wondered what’s next. So far, I have thought about extending the documentary to follow High School Explainers for a couple of years after they leave the Exploratorium. We will see what happens.
I love making short films. It enables me to tell stories, entertain people, and it gives me something to do. As mediums go, I believe film is the most effective way of telling a story. Print, blogs and comics are limited to static text and pictures, radio is limited to sound and music, but film- film can use any one, or all of those mediums at once, and because of that, I am grateful.
-DS
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