we made a movie in six weeks.

a few weeks ago, I had the chance to edit my first official short film featuring an entire production crew, and professional actors.

it was literally a dream come true - I’d spent the past two years hoping to get on a real film set and experience what it’s like to be a filmmaker with a team.

together with twenty other cast and crew members, we successfully made a 10 minute short film from start to finish in under six weeks, with two days of filming and one week of editing.

throughout the six weeks, I honestly wasn’t sure whether the UCLA Film & Television Summer Sessions was going to be worth it.

after all, everything I had learned up until now about the creation process was through a mix of youtube and pressing the wrong buttons on computers.

so paying for film school at an actual university? idk, just seemed like it was crossing some sort of invisible red line.

after 105 people read my rants about finding clarity on what I wanted to do with my life, I thought I’d be writing two weeks later with some grand article about how film school is either worth it, or not worth it.

but honestly, I’m in no place to decide that. all I know is how these six weeks changed my perspective on filmmaking.

it’s really easy to forget what the #1 goal of creation actually is.

it’s not about getting to use insane equipment. it’s not about being accepted into festivals. it’s not about gaining a huge fan base.

its about telling the best story possible.

the ability to tell a good story is literally the most powerful and dangerous skill in the world.

people choose how to live life through stories. their opinions are influenced by stories. the way they act is decided through the story they want to write for themselves.

since the dawn of civilization, we’ve shared stories to carry forward religion, shape laws, sell products, find identity, and bring change.

you can learn all the tools in the world for filmmaking, but without knowing how to apply those tools to tell a good story they’re completely useless.

similarly, you can spend all the time in the world trying to tell a good story, but without having the right tools you won’t get anywhere.

this is why I really appreciated the six weeks I spent at UCLA - it struck a perfect balance between education and application.

if we were just stuck in a classroom every day learning the rules and theories without applying that knowledge, it would go through one ear and come out the other.

and if we just spent all of our time on soundstages given a bunch of gear with no rules, we wouldn’t know what to do.

it’s the balance between both which is key to find.

and while the tools we use are constantly changing, the core of storytelling has and always will remain the same.

I really loved the way our production professor, Kelly Pike, framed it:

“humans will always need to tell stories, and the most powerful way we know to do that is through the combination of narrative, visual, and audio. this will never go away. maybe the technology to make it will. maybe the formats we use, or what we call the jobs, or how we do them will—but if you enjoy it, don’t attach yourself to the way of doing it but rather to the art itself. this industry will change, but it’s not going anywhere.”

also - I’ve added all of my notes from the six weeks in one document, so you have a little cheat sheet on what topics to focus on studying if you’re ever interested into exploring the world of film.

thank you to the instructors, volunteers, and students of the the UCLA Film & Television Summer Sessions for making this an absolutely amazing experience.

I’ll remember these six weeks as some of the best for many years to come :)