A year of favor

This is my last semester at Regent University. That's a weird thought. 

What's next after this? I don't know yet. I plan to stick around Va Beach for at least the summer, maybe longer, to take a break and just enjoy this stage of life. But I can't stay too long. I'm afraid of getting complacent.

If I could sum up this year, I would say that it's been both incredibly rough and incredibly blessed at the same time. I've been calling it a "year of favor" from the Lord. Never have I been more challenged in my life. And never have I been more aware of God directing my steps and being present in a very real, day-to-day way.

I do have some regrets when it comes to my college experience. 

First, I wish I could have had four whole years on campus, instead of only two-and-a-half (or technically just two, since summer doesn't count because I went home). I think that I would be much further along and more skilled than I am, and have more to offer as a filmmaker. I feel that, while I'm familiar with a whole range things required to make a film, I'm not proficient at anything in particular--which is a problem when you want to go out and get a job in the industry. 

My second regret is that I didn't push myself my first year here. I didn't maximize the time I had. I let the fact that I didn't know what I was doing keep me from trying things and from asking questions. I ended up doing a lot of production design and artsy stuff, which was still great experience, but I wish I would have been bold enough to ask to try other roles as well.

My third regret (well, not really a regret, but a reality) is that I've had to constantly juggle work and school. There are pros and cons to that, but I can't help but be envious of the students who come in and do nothing but study and practice their craft for four years. I've had to turn down offers because of work and I'm constantly trying to fit film shoots around my work schedule. It's also forced me to have super long days--such as a couple of weekends ago. 

That Friday I was up at 5:50am for an 8-hour shift at work, then buzzed over to campus as soon as I got off work at 4:00pm to meet up with the crew for a music video shoot. We shot all night, finishing Day 1 by 4:00am and I got home at 4:30am. I slept until noon, then was up again to make myself some food, pack for work and the shoot for that night, and spent a couple of hours calling people trying to find someone to take my place on set for a few hours that evening since I wouldn't be getting off work until 10:30. I worked 3-10:30pm, then went directly to set. We finished Day 2 at 4:30am, and I was home by 5:00am and slept until 1:30 and had a few glorious hours to relax before Day 3's crew call at 5:00pm. We shot all night again and finished at 4:00am. And then I slept for 6 hours (yay!) before I got up to work on stuff of my own.

I don't mean to whine; I knew it would be a tough weekend when I committed to this. I seriously love what I do. But juggling commitments is draining and I can't wait for the day when filmmaking is my real job instead of a "hobby."

Below are a few photos from that crazy weekend. We were shooting a music video for a local acoustic band called Bison (check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9smAxoCYcA). The song is called "Switzerland" and the story involved some really cool "fantasy world" scenes. The set design was AMAZING! (And the pictures aren't a good example of how gorgeous it was.) It was like an eclectic Narnia + vintage props + the best tree fort ever. Every child's dream :-)

That's my hand holding the slate. I was second assistant camera, so I slated each shot, kept camera records of lenses and shot names, and helped our first assistant cameraperson build and break down the camera rigs when needed.

Our camera operator and dolly grip hard at work.

A shot of the "fantasty world" set with all the cool lights and vintage stuff. The photo really doesn't do it justice. When I walked on set my jaw literally dropped. The place was gorgeous!

My friend Dan McCullum, the director of photography for this project, had texted me while I was on my way to Alaska for my sister's wedding and begged me to 2nd AC for the Bison shoot. I'm so glad I said yes. It was a great experience and the crew was fantastic! I'm going to really miss these folks when everyone graduates and moves on :(