I haven’t written a whole lot on this website in a long time and I think it’s time to start creating for myself. I get bogged down with either focusing on work projects or the fear of showing anything that I’ve made personally. I’m working to change that this year so I decided to document my process of making a movie just for me and my growth journey in the video/podcasting world.
I will start with an introduction. My name is Dana. I am 34. I have a wonderful husband, 2 year old son Hooper and our 13 year old chihuahua named Hesher. I’m trying to find ways to bring more creativity into my life because recently (or not so recently) I’ve been feeling stuck, feeling too scared to put anything out there, too busy, too tired, the list goes on.
Photo by Lauren Newcomer
But in the last few months, my husband Brandon, has been encouraging me to seek out creative things more. I edit and produce a lot of videos for my job and he made the simple suggestion of me watching more things (videos, short films, films, docs, TV shows, inspiration is everywhere) and I was almost kicking myself because it’s a great idea and I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it. I think it’s always something that’s lingering in my head but I never put it together that way. So simple.
Sometimes it just helps to say your frustrations or what you want to do out loud and someone else can just put it together so perfectly for you. Anyway, that inspired me to start watching more.
I didn’t know where to start so I googled short films by famous directors. I just wanted to share a few of my favorites so far:
Lick the Star - Sophia Coppolla - WOW what great short film. Tales as old as time with mean girls but I really liked the rawness and brutality of these girls. Growing up, I saw some of that with the popular girls at school and I can relate to wanting to fit in.
Two cars, one night - Taika Waititi - I thought this was a clever one. As I get older, I forget how hard it was to be a kid, to be waiting for your parents with nothing to do. Just kids killing time but showing their aspirations of where they will be when they’re older. Perfect encapsulation of childhood.
Interview project - David Lynch - I could do a whole blog just about these! What I really loved about Interview Project is the randomness to picking these people and that everyone has a story to tell no matter what other characteristics define them. I hope to do something like this one day. You never know who might have a story to share.
It’s not a huge time commitment, if you’re looking for something to watch all of these are on YouTube. Definitely worth a watch!
Next steps for me?
I’m going to continue to consume and absorb content that inspires me everyday (hopefully) and I’m going to film more.
I have started shooting footage of our daily lives and recording some audio talking about it with my husband. Maybe I can call it my own version of Interview Project? Just trying to shoot a little bit each day and see where it goes.
I’ll keep you updated as I have things shot and get ready for editing.
Thanks for reading!
Dana