Showcase
The thing I want to showcase is my Junior year documentary. This was one of the most important pieces of media I created, as it was the first one I felt truly proud of. I loved making this documentary and diving into a culture I knew nothing about. If you’re going to watch any of my work, I recommend this one.
The second piece of work I want to showcase is my senior narrative. After documentary, I realized how much I could truly do with film. I grew the most in terms of skill in my documentary, but I think I grew the most as a storyteller with narrative. Putting together the technical skills I learned in documentary with the creative and story skills I learned in the narrative unit as a senior helped me and my partner to make something amazing.
I have grown so much as a digital artist because of Freestyle. I have been forced out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions. I’ve learned everything from music production to lyrical essay writing to audio editing to color correction. Mostly, it has taught me how to face a challenge. There’s no easy answer for when something goes wrong. When an actor doesn’t show up, when audio gets corrupted, when a battery is forgotten, and when the YMCA starts playing music at 8am, you have to find a solution yourself. Unlike so many other schools, with tedious lessons amounting to nothing, at Freestyle, I spent months working a video that would only last a few minutes. I was editing from 4 until midnight with barely any breaks. I stood in the street and traveled to San Francisco every week just to get the shot. It taught me how to face adversity with a positive attitude and that there would always be a community behind me.
My digital skills have gotten so much better since I started, as well as my storytelling skills, for which I am forever grateful. As someone who loves writing, learning how to better shape a story and character arcs has been extremely beneficial for me. I’ve also learned a lot about editing techniques and story structure, which have helped me even outside of film. As someone who wants to go into theater as a stage manager or someone on the creative team, Freestyle has given me a lot of skills in creation that will benefit me as I move on to college. It has truly been a privilege and a pleasure to get to be a freestyle student.