My pitch was to create a poem identifying some causes of suicide and helping to spread

awareness of suicide. Staying on that path was hard because I had to show my actor and our
school in a sad light. I went a different route on how to show the causes. That route entailed the
causes as obstacles and the main character's goal of creating a poem that wasn’t possible
because he couldn’t think of an idea worth placing in his poem competition. Still, I would end up
scratching that idea too and put the main character at the center of all the causes and make that
his reason for not being able to think of an idea with all this going on and then him ending up
writing about it.

During the pre-production phase, I had to really plan out my ideas to make this story
come to life. These plans included scripts, storyboards, call sheets, and choosing actors. To
choose my actors, my teacher and classmates helped me set up a table read where I could see
who I really wanted to fit each character. Writing is usually draining, so having them read the
script. I could see the mistakes in my script and hear different ideas to help produce this project.
With the script written and the actors chosen, I was ready to film but underestimated the call
sheets. My actors would be absent a lot and it would really delay my film a lot. The locations
would also have some trouble booking and people in the background. I overcame the actors'
absence by readjusting their part in the script and having backup film shoots in case they
weren’t there, and they helped progress my film into a slow but steady matter. I couldn’t
overcome the location spots then, but now I know I should book places earlier, know when
crowds will be present, and promptly time my shoots.

The pre-production phase can be hectic, but the more you plan out, the smoother filming
becomes. To make my films smooth, I created a call sheet and wrote a script, but pre-production
isn't limited to only that. If I could start over again, I would have taken more steps within
pre-production, like planning my equipment earlier, location scouting, creating a storyboard, and
prop shopping.

Post-production, the final part of filmmaking, is where you really get to set the picture to
reality. The action toward this includes editing, video editing, color correction assembly, sound
editing, re-recording, animation, and visual effects insertions. While editing, I realized I made
many mistakes during the beginning of my recording sessions and had to refilm. I also had to
color correct a lot, and my film needed a lot of voice-overs. I also needed to put green screen
effects and design my film. I tried to overcome some foul shots by refilming, but it didn't work out
completely as planned because the lighting was different, and there were more people than last
time. Post-production also enabled me to create a thumbnail and poster.

My favorite part of the filmmaking process is the post-production, and that’s because it's
the final step of the project before it comes to life. Post-production makes me happy to put the
finishing touches on my project and see it come to life with the actors and everyone who took
part in helping make this film come together. I also enjoy editing, so being in my nature is really
fun. I get to really have fun putting green screens and putting the puzzle pieces together. I also
got to do things I hadn't done before, like making a poster and thumbnail, which I found really
fun.
 My strengths are definitely my creativity with shots and editing. I plan to improve my
editing strength by becoming more in touch with After Effects and practicing with green screens.
Before I do that, I want to work on my weakness, which is filming as creative as my shots are, I
still feel like a novice when I hold a camera, and want to change that noobie feeling so I can feel
confident in my ability. I also don’t know much about how sounds work and want to better that
skill. I see myself strengthening those weaknesses by practicing and becoming more familiar
with the area rather than running away from it every time.

My program objective was to spread awareness of suicide I feel was not met. I say this
because even though my film introduced some of the problems, I don’t believe people realized
that that’s what I was going for. I still believe the target audience is the same withing teens and
older because I kept the energy the same, which was serious. My project wasn’t completely how
I envisioned it, but it did come out with a positive outlook, so I have no regrets about making the
film. I showed my character having problems in his daily life that should have made anyone sad
and depressed but then showed just because he faced those, he was still able to focus on his
goals and not give up. The theme may have changed, but it was still a brilliantly told story.