Rebecca Corriveau

My Film Making Reflection

I think that it’s safe to say that this year is not like we expected it to be like. This year has

been full of many twists and unexpected changes. I have learned so much this year, about film

making and about myself. At the beginning of this process, I had no idea what I wanted my

capstone to be about. There were moments that I felt stuck and wanted to take the easy way out

and do the alternate assignment, which was writing a ten page essay. But I decided that I would

stick through it and finish my film.

When deciding the prompt of my film I had a really hard time at first. I had no idea what

I wanted to film. I was talking to my peers and asking them what they were doing. I was also

asking my family what I should do. I was going to do a film on OCD because it is what I was

strongly struggling with at the time but I had no idea how I would do that and I had a few friends

doing their film on mental health. I wanted to do something different and original. I decided that

my film would be about my real life. I remembered how I had old family videos that my father

took of me growing up and that became the center idea for my film. By watching the family

videos, I saw how much I meant to my dad and I learned a lot about how I got to where I am

today with him. I struggled with how I was going to present my idea in my film at first and

changed my script a lot. I played with the idea a lot. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my film

together but I am beyond happy with my finished film.

The beginning of the year was extremely hard. I was working in a hospital in the

pandemic. In February I quit the hospital after a year and got a new job. I was also juggling high

school and college work. I had a lot on my plate and these changes helped me to shape my film
by meeting new people and by helping my work ethic to grow. The new job is a lot better for my

mental health and has made it so I can work on my film in a better mood.

In film class I learned a lot about film making. I learned that a movie tells a story. I also

learned a lot about the different angles and shots that are used in film and why directors use

them. I also learned how color can set the mood of a video and how light and color work

together. By creating a film, I learned more about collaboration and the reality of what goes on in

a film behind the scenes. I learned about folly art in theatre but I really loved seeing how it is

done on a professional movie set. My favorite part about the experience was watching my

classmate’s films and watching all of the other films that we watched in class. I gained a new

love and appreciation for filmmaking.