Ever since first attending the Film Production class at the Freestyle Academy for Communications and Arts in Junior year, I have grown immensely as a filmmaker and collaborator. I have always had a soft spot for filmmaking, all the way from my humble beginnings of making Lego stop-motion animations and movies with neighbors. But Freestyle Academy had given me the opportunity to learn from an experienced film teacher, collaborate with like minded students, utilize advanced equipment, and the incentive to explore my creativity! I couldn’t be more grateful for the doors Freestyle Academy has opened for me, making me a much happier and fulfilled person.
Here is my portfolio of my best works from over the course of 2 years I have attended Freestyle!
Tuxedo Dude – Chase Scene
As the first assignment where I had full creative control, I wanted to create something absolutely awesome for my chase scene assignment. With light inspiration from Reservoir Dogs, Tuxedo Dude follows the adventure of a hitman given a mission of delivering a mysterious container to his box while 2 police officers attempt to stop him. I am very proud of this movie as it was my first time to truly show off the ideas I had layered deep inside my head.
Fun fact: I was so excited for this project, I shot and edited the whole thing in one day!
Iron Tiger – Junior Narrative
With a partner, we were tasked with creating a short narrative film without dialogue.
Inspired by martial arts and samurai films, I decided to make a Japanese Edo Period piece, following the adventures of master and student fighting against the prideful samurai lord and his ninjas. Although most other students had their films clock in around 5-7 minutes long, Iron Tiger is 12.5 minutes long, which meant I was very busy over the few months we were given to create this film.
I created over 150 storyboards to plan out each shot, built a samurai costume out of cardboard and rope, 3D printed and painted a Katana, and created costumes for each character. Although it was a LOT of stress and work, I had an amazing time, learned so much, and grew as a filmmaker!
Burn – College Application Film
As my first film in Senior year, I created a short film for applying to film colleges.
Prompt: Without dialogue, show a character making a difficult decision in 2 minutes or less.
I experimented with the cinematography, trying unique angles to make the shots look as interesting as possible. I also experimented heavily with sound design, using the train’s horns as a way to represent the tension building inside the main character’s head.
Man of the Midnight – Senior Narrative
In November of 2022 I began long multi-month project with my partner and good friend, Jean Marc Langlois. We worked hard together from November all the to May to make this film as good as it could possibly be. Although there were many setbacks, we powered through and finished the film in time for the Freestyle Exhibition. This project wouldn’t have been possible without Jean Marc, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the time and effort he poured into our project!
The story follows Norman, a boring man who is bullied by his boss at work who wishes to find a more meaningful existence to life. But after he was saved from muggers, he meets Eclipse: A superhero who is willing to mentor Norman into becoming his sidekick. However, as they fight crime alongside each other and grow closer, Norman slowly uncovers Eclipse’s harsh methods of fighting crime. Norman must make a decision: ignore Eclipse’s unwavering violence, or face against him.
Mind’s Eye – Zenith Project
As my final “Zenith” project at Freestyle Academy, I decided to try something radically different from what I had been doing for basically my entire Freestyle career. After for looking for inspiration for something other than action and fight scenes that I could be excited for, I eventually settled on making and shooting miniatures (inspired by the Blade Runner films).
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed my portfolio!