Junior Workshop Highlights

The inspiration: Growing up, I never had representation in action films. With my project, I wanted to have a main character who is Black and struggles with the idea of being a hero. You can’t just have a Superman, so I wanted to give a realism to the hero. 

The process: I started the project wanting to make an action film. Throughout the mod, I worked on sectioning off and planning out how to do it. I spent two weeks writing a script and looking through action films, then a week focused on how to make movies on an iPhone. I've done martial arts in the past, so developing choreography wasn’t a problem, but I had to create a game plan on how to teach others and determine who is playing what role. Next, I started filming – going to Riverside Park and Ten Mile River Playground. I ended up with a decent group of recordings, then took two weeks to edit. I also composed music for the scenes using BandLab, a platform one of my friends taught me to use. I finished editing over the summer and ended up with a trailer-length project.

What I learned: Junior Workshop taught me hard work and dedication. Being a martial artist is hard work, but this project was another level, plus there was a limited time to do it. It's a really hard task, but the lessons I learned, like using an iPhone to film and composing music, were very rewarding. My project was a challenge that allowed me to experience all of these fields. It showed me that writing is something I will always want to do.

What's next: In the future, I want to pursue my intended major of dramatic writing. I knew I wanted to do writing, but now I want to do writing and film too, and I have the experience to do so. Not many kids get the opportunity to find an area they're really passionate about and make something out of it. This opportunity was very priceless and an important part of my high school experience. I will remember it as my starting ground.