In Coexistence
by Elle Chernaskey
Well, it’s finally uploaded. After many weeks of trial and error, my intern project has come to an end. Although there have been some very stressful moments, I am so grateful for all that I learned.
Some key lessons that I’m taking away from this project: really focus in pre-production to avoid being totally flustered on the day of the shoot, be cognizant of background noise that could may just ruin most of your audio (wind ugh), don’t forget to turn the mic back on (worse than the windy audio), if you suck at post-production like me — become friends with Youtube videos – they are so helpful, kill your darlings (big thanks to Ian) sometimes you just have to get rid of some stuff your clinging to, and most importantly make sure there is a story. I still feel like I did not capture a sufficient story but it was my first film from start to finish and I’m happy with where I started.
I feel good about most of my shots and I think I know where the subpar ones need improvement. Shooting was the most exciting part of this project. I woke up at 6 am the day of, got my coffee, and studied my storyboard. I felt like a lot of what I visualized came to life which is a great feeling.
Learning more about Premiere was a great experience. I feel like I now have a solid baseline knowledge of the application and can continue to learn with skills that I didn’t have before. Thanks to Maria Cantu for always answering my questions even when you were busy — you’re the coolest.
Audio was the most difficult part of the project. In some of the early morning recordings there’s a lawn mower that I didn’t even notice because I was so focused on the shots. Luckily, I was able to include other audio that surprisingly worked. I had to come back another day to record audio. I recorded in a rush (the subject needed to get to a surprise party — another lesson for me — plan ahead better) and it came out pretty poorly. I also had to use someone else’s computer since my hard drive had recently crashed. In the end, I made some adjustments to the audio that made it workable. I definitely could have spent more time fleshing out the script but time was dwindling. I got lucky with some things that I was underprepared for.
This internship so far has been wonderful. Now, I am ready to improve on my shortcomings, learn as much as I can about gear and applications, and hopefully get on set more. I am so excited for my next film and to incorporate the knowledge I have gained. Thanks to everyone at JTWO for the support!
This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.