First Term Shorts

I really enjoyed the “2-minute” film exercises from the first term, and found that learning and executing on the different documentary modes was immensely valuable. Previously, I hadn’t ever really given any thought to the “mode” of my filmmaking, or to the incorporation of myself in my films or stories (even though, it is inevitably there.) The points made about taking responsibility for your story and your subjects really stuck with me, and I think will have a transformative impact on how I approach my creative work. Below I’ve included some of my favorite pieces, with some notes about their making.

You Were Nothing Like Me | Autobiographical

Trying to tell a story about myself or my life was not an appealing task. But, I used this opportunity to interview my mother on-camera about my “origin story,” something she and I both think contributes to why I am the way I am. In a sense this story is more hers than mine, and I didn’t have enough time to really get into deeper psychologies about it, even after going well over the assigned 2-minute run time. I was happy to have some home videos on hand that do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of adding context and situating the time and place. Generally I’m happy with how it turned out, though I worry a bit that it might come off a bit saccharine.

Work | Essay

In retrospect, this piece probably works more for the Music assignment than the essay assignment. Personally, I really hate writing. It’s why I like making videos, and editing interviews from other people. So while I didn’t write an essay or voiceover of any kind for this piece, I still think it’s successful in saying what I want to say about American capitalism and “work culture.” I would never approach filmmaking this way (archival / found footage) but actually found this to be a very fun and gratifying exercise once I figured out the direction I wanted to go in (which was the hardest part honestly.)

Verzeihung | Performative

Making a film where I had to be on-camera as a “host” or “performer” struck me as even less appealing than the autobiography. There is such a shame around attention-seeking, which is now considered “influencing” or, worse than that, attempted-influencing. Having someone point a camera at me in public made me feel like I was just another one of these wannabes, desperate to be internet famous (see: influencersinthewild for the ultimate compendium of shame.) Perhaps this is why I chose to mimic existing photos found on the internet: at least I was self-aware about the artifice of it all, and the perceived narcissism of being a self-selected model. Anyway, the filming made me anxious, but I tried to have fun with it. Ultimately I was impressed with how well we imitated the selected photos, and the film that resulted is a lovely portrait of the relationship I share with my partner.

Men Getting Into Bathtubs | Constructed

I had a lot more fun getting people to perform for me than I did performing myself. I have to give most of the credit to my participants for being very good sports and allowing me to “film them in their bathrooms,” with no other details offered. The article that inspired this film remains one of the funniest things I’ve ever read on the internet, and I was lucky to have a personal connection to the author. She was also a good sport in letting me adapt her article via this silly experiment. Like her, I also find the minutiae of people’s personal rituals very fascinating, and love seeing how they react when you ask them to do the simplest task or answer the simplest question. Again, this film goes well over the 2-minute mark but I think it was entirely worth it.