Introduction
The Zenith project was the final large assignment at Freestyle to showcase all of our work and skills we have acquired in the past two years. As a film elective student, I utilized pre-production, production, and post-production skills to create a film where we have our own creative freedom to make something we are proud of and that represents us and our skills
For my Zenith project, I decided to combine both poetic documentary filmmaking and the Reflections project we did at the beginning of our senior year. I wanted to make something that was both inspirational and that combined several of the skills I learned this year. Something I have not previously done was to write a poem and put the lyrics in the background of my footage. I had a lot of fun filming and preparing this project, and I felt that it was very “me.” I went to different locations, including the beach, downtown Mountain View, the highway, and different spots where I saw human interaction. I decided to make my film about the feeling of sonder, and I really wanted my audience to feel an emotional connection to this piece.
I ran into several problems during this project, but I was able to overcome them, and I am very happy with the results! For one, it was difficult to film these strangers, because I felt like if some people noticed the camera, that would make some people uncomfortable (which I had to do my best to avoid). The second problem I ran into was finding human interaction. I found it difficult the first time I went to downtown Mountain View to find the shots I wanted because it was during the daytime and it wasn’t as aesthetic or as many interactions occurring. I was excited to go back at night and find some perfect shots I was looking for the duration of the project.
I also had a difficult time finding a sound that wouldn’t overpower my poetry. I wanted my voice to be heard, but also an emotional yet calming sound to accompany it. I am very happy with the sound I was able to find, and I had a lot of fun piecing everything together. For post-production, I planned out a mood board, wrote out my poem, and did some research about how to do the poetry for the poetic documentary-style piece. I then filmed at various locations and then pieced it all together in post-production on Premiere Pro.
Overall, I am very proud of what I was able to create, and I plan to make many more “inspirational” works in the future! It was rewarding for me to explore sonder and capture clips that I found to be meaningful.