JTWO

Character Description:
Lex Forge (male) – 21 Years Old
A Pennsylvania State University film major seeking inspiration

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

A man — early 20s, unshaven, disheveled hair — sits on the floor leaning against a bed. He’s occupied the same position for some time now. He sits unmoving, his eyes staring forward into space — they seem to be focused on everything and nothing at once. But his outward stillness is deceptive. 

INT. THE MAN’S HEAD – DAY

He’s wading through a thick haze. The room is quiet but a low rumble fills his ears. It sounds like a muffled chattering, an ensemble of indecipherable voices. They coo, they hiss, but they remain unclear. There’s too many, only the occasional word cuts through the noise. The man is tempted to listen closer, to try to understand them. But he knows following them will only pull him further into the fog.

The ever present fog. It envelopes him. In every direction there only seems to be more of it. It’s beginning to slow the man down. Moving through it is disorienting. There’s no tether to follow back to where he started, no indication of where he’s going or where he’s been. Has he always been in the fog? Was there ever a time without it? He just knows he has to keep wandering. He has to keep wandering through that oppressive uncertainty. But suddenly he stops. He has the distinct sensation that he’s reached a precipice. That one more step will send him plummeting over an edge and into that fog forever. Then the whole struggle will have been in vain. There’s a reason he’s reached this point. He believes that. He was meant to reach it. He doesn’t dare move. The rumbling has stopped. There’s an eerie sense of quiet. Is… is the fog thinning?

Then a bright flash erupts through the fog. It explodes with such force that everything is instantly illuminated. There’s nothing but the light now. It washes over the man and for a moment everything makes sense. The fog is gone. The journey is complete. Then as quickly as it appeared, the light vanishes. The fog descends once more.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY 

The man snaps back to reality, feverishly scribbling an idea down on a piece of paper. It was only a brief glimpse but there’s no mistaking it: inspiration has struck. He knows he will have to travel into the fog once more. But at least, momentarily he has silenced his doubts and remembered why he chose to be a filmmaker.

I see filmmaking as the ultimate form of art. It’s visual, auditory, emotional, informal, and can bring people together. Visual media is something that has become so accessible and dominant in how individuals see and understand the world. Being a part of the film industry gives me the opportunity to create media that accurately represents the truth and heart of a story that can inspire and educate viewers. Film is a window into the cultures and the lives of others. My goal in this industry is to be a part of those stories and help those individuals be heard.

I grew up watching films that changed the way of visual storytelling, Citizen Kane, Tokyo Story, Vertigo, Touki Bouki, etc. Those films have become a foundation towards my storytelling, representation, and the history of film. Film is so powerful and I want to be a part of the new age of filmmaking that elevates these stories to a more equal, realistic, representative level that has allowed more individuals, innovation, and ideas to be seen. 

The funny thing is, I never saw myself heading down this career path. I always had a very natural creative ability, but I grew up in a very math and science dominated school and unfortunately, the arts was something to be budgeted and cut. Not until my senior year of high school did I question filmmaking. I applied to Temple University as a Biology Major and I was not happy. I was doing things that I thought others expected of me instead of taking the risk to say “I don’t know what I want to do”. I declared undecided and took a film class. I finally felt like I was in a space where I could be creative with others. 

From there I declared film and fell in love with Post-Production. In those four years I learned and dedicated myself to working on projects that told an important story. I cannot imagine doing anything else. Post -production is the perfect amount of creativity and technological ability that continues to teach and challenge me everyday. It’s something I can do for hours on end and never be sick of it.

As my final semester at Temple came to an end, I talked to a mentor who told me about JTwo Films. I reached out to their head editor to talk, connect, and ultimately learn from their experiences as an editor in Philly. They themselves interned at JTwo and through hard work and dedication they were recognized and rewarded. Besides their amazing works and stories, that is something that really stood out to me. I had nothing to lose. I applied for the internship and now I am extremely thankful to have this position and be a part of JTwo’s storytelling experience.