My Capstone film was a crazy experience, unlike any I have had before.

For the first

time in my life, I was spearheading a project that involved many other people. The Capstone
was a true test of my leadership, organization and artistic vision. During the process, I realized
(a little too late) that a bit off more than I was ready to chew. Not many of my peers where
creating narrative pieces of the same scale as myself, and I began to worry; worry a lot.
Other problems stemmed from this issue of scale: there were many props to make,
many people to contact, and lots of actors’ schedules to balance with mine. During this project, I
struggled to remain consistent with my previous, year-round commitments, such as volunteering
on Saturdays. Creating a scale model of the setting of my film was ridiculously time-consuming.
I think I put myself in a position to do about 2.5 times the work I had to do.
Of course, these problems were solved only through perseverance. Working towards
something I cared about felt very different than being forced to work on something I did not have
an emotional connection to. I am grateful that my Senior project got to be a film that happened
on my terms.
My knowledge of filmmaking prior to Senior year was limited. I have never had the
patience to watch full films for recreation, and I am not a TV-person either. All I had going into
this project, was my artistic inclination and eye for design. I knew ​what​ looked and sounded
good, but I did not know ​why​. Miss Reaves Cinematography course gave me an understanding
of the history of filmmaking, important movie moments, groundbreaking technology, and skills
and techniques to apply in my film art. Watching a variety of classic and modern cinema inspired
me throughout the year in Miss Reave’s class. Every day, it seemed, I would get a new idea
from something I would watch.
If I could do this process over again, I would set out to create something far less labor
intensive. In the end, there were far too many loose ends to tie up, and it caused me more
stress than a Capstone needed to. Additionally, the complexity of my project threatened to cloud
the message of my film.
Despite the struggles I faced in this filmmaking experience, I am happy with the final
result. I felt at many times whilst editing that was making a “frankenfilm” out of the most bizarre
raw footage. In the end, though, I brought it all together. I am proud of the props I made for this
film, considering how many hours went into their creation. The thing I am most proud of,
however, is the atmosphere and attitude that my film developed all along the way. I succeeded
in creating a film that really has helped me ​Find Peace In Chaos​, just like Allison herself. My
greatest success was all the fun I had with my cast and the bonds and made and strengthened
as a result of Dreamhouse.