Go with the Flow

The hardest part of being a creative is having a vision in your head that you can’t seem to figure out how to execute. You can have a million amazing ideas for a cool shot or interesting transition, but when I go to film it, it turns out to be extremely disappointing - this is pretty much what I’ve been dealing with in the past week.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, I suppose), making visions come true and having to problem solve to get a certain shot is just part of the job. It’s difficult, and especially because I’ve taken all the roles in this project as director, producer, gaffer, and cinematographer, it’s hard for me to get everything pulled together in the way I originally envisioned it. Nonetheless, I think I got some good work done on my film - I just need to look at all my footage and edit it together now.

In creating the vision for the visual story itself, the biggest roadblock I was hitting was that I was telling, not showing the story. The narration or audial aspect of the film can tell its own story while the visuals tell an entirely different story that intertwines with the audio. A saying I’ve heard for years and years is “show, don’t tell” and this is exactly what I wasn’t doing when drafting my shot list.

After consulting my brother for advice on how to better convey my message and my mother’s story for the film, he suggested that I try to tell more of a day in the life type of video visually. From there, I created a list of shots that takes the audience through a somewhat average day for my mother - the point of this is to portray her as ordinary and human, just like everyone else.

Because her narration starts with the idea of being an outsider, and racism is most often based upon the belief that one is superior to another, I figured this was the best way to portray my message that everyone is human and equal.

Despite some of these challenges, I’m happy with how things are turning out. I’m hopeful that the rest of my shoot will run smoothly and come together as one cohesive piece that tells my mother’s story while opening the conversation about racism in America.