When I first heard that we were going to create a film for our final I was super excited. “Yessss! One less test that I have to study for!” I thought this project would be a piece of cake, but I learned quickly that creating a film isn’t all that easy.
Waseem, Arlene, Steven, and Arwa are all members of my group. At the beginning of the project we had each chosen different roles. Arwa was the director, Waseem was the cinematographer, Steven was the dramaturg, Arlene was the editor and I was the production designer. Throughout the film making process, each of us contributed in ways other than our roles had described. We each helped each other where we could and eventually we realized that these roles weren’t very accurate of all of the hard work that we had done. At the end of the film, when we were writing who had which role in the credits, we were all stuck. We all helped in so many ways that it was hard to put one specific name on each person. So, we did the best we could to figure out who would fit into these boxes.
The most difficult part for me was memorizing lines. It’s harder than it seems! I can’t even count how many times we had to redo scenes because one of us would mess up our lines. It was also challenging for me to play the role of my character. I played the role of Blu, who I am very different from, so getting into character and being sassy and arguing with others was a new experience.
To be completely honest, my favorite part of the process was getting to know each of my group members more personally. Working together and trying to achieve a task when none of us are expects at film making was a fun experience. Through all of the drama on stage we were all able to connect in one way or another. Steven and I became obsessed with playing Trivia Crack (a game on our phones), I learned all about Waseem’s praying schedule, I got to witness Arwa’s artistic talents in action, and I found out how much Arlene loves Penne Ala Vodka. It was nice to get to know my classmates outside of the classroom.
All in all, we all worked together really well and did a great job helping one another. There were obviously moments when we were so frustrated that we began to bicker, but overall we made a great team. Each of us had our own unique ideas and opinions and we brought them all together to create the film. I’m glad I had the chance to partake in something that I would have never thought I would see myself doing. I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned a lot about myself, my classmates, and the entire film making process.
