There is something incredible about being able to come together with people you barely know, and create four meaningful projects in the span of three weeks. Being able to leave my mark on these stories is something that will stay with me for a long time.

While these sets had their challenges, being able to work with three other filmmakers who were passionate about what they were doing made the process that much easier. I had the position of director of photography for all the projects created this summer, which meant I had the job to make everything look good. While I am very comfortable with a camera in my hands, directing, set design and interacting with the actors is not something I am great with. That is where the other interns really showed what they can do. Being able to have people on set contribute in such an impactful way, in ways I couldn’t, really helped to tell the story and move the shooting days forward efficiently.

There were many things I thought this bootcamp experience would bring, this included getting on sets with JTwo, which happened many times, shooting projects with the other interns, and finally learning how other creative professionals work with each other and how they produce content efficiently and creatively. This was one of the aspects of the bootcamp experience I think I gained the most from. Watching how DPs work with the directors and vice versa was amazing for me. Listening to them bounce ideas off each other and come up with solutions to problems was inspiring and fascinating. I would say that was the most important thing I learned from these few weeks. To be successful in this field, you have to be able to solve problems, and solving problems is not enough, you have to be able to find solutions fast.

I am extremely happy with how the projects turned out this summer. We were all able to make projects that not only showed our strengths and capabilities, but also how we could tell captivating and compelling stories.

The project I took on was not my original idea, this was because the nonprofit that I was supposed to make a documentary on had a hard time finding the time to film with me. So this meant with the remaining days I had left, I had to come up with a new idea, film and edit a whole project. The project I decided to work on was a documentary on my friend who dropped out of school to start his own production company. This process was a lot of fun for me because I had the opportunity to get really creative. My friend gave me more opportunities and freedoms that working with an actual client wouldn’t allow for, this meant I got to try new shots and new storytelling strategies that I hadn’t before.