In the beginning of film class, we were assigned a short film lasting about 5 minutes. We were to put to use the knowledge we had gained in lecture and discussion to make films within our 6 groups and finally combine them together in a film festival at the end of the semester. Last week in class, my group was assigned the genre of drama as well as some lines and props we must include in our film too. We didn't have much to go on at first, except for maybe a something like a stalker drama. We had our director take the idea and run with it, and now we have something really close to a finished product. It still includes what the audience thinks is a stalker at first, but there's a certain twist at the end that I don't want to mention quite yet. I'm sure with some reworking and molding of our initial ideas, we'll have something great to film.

As camera operator (which can almost double as director of photography), I'm already thinking of how the shots should go along with what happens in the story. I find myself wondering what shot looks best with the situation, like a pan or a point of view following or showing something in particular. I also think of what the audience will see and how this will affect the way they feel and experience when watching the film. Right now, we have a rough draft of our script and I'm pondering what kind of actors we'll need and where to shoot our scenes. We have begun to collaborate and even started a Facebook group to keep our discussion going.

I think we could definitely do some good editing and a few special effects with the software available to our editors. I want our film to have a clean, polished look, and that's a big responsibility of mine as the camera operator with the high-tech camera we are provided with. We won't be needing an elaborate set, as we are filming mostly on a college campus, but we will need some way to set up the scenes that we have in mind and that will require some organization and troubleshooting. I'm confident that we have the creativity and innovation to make all this possible, but getting some help with the acting and the scenes wouldn't hurt either. We have a few more weeks to figure things out, but that's where we are for now.