Our class was originally given three days to make a news report. I saw a different opportunity, and with assistance from Phillip Quinn, this project was completed in two and a half months.

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This is the 4th video I've worked on, and the first video filmed exclusively with a DSLR. I shot in 14-bit RAW using Magic Lantern on a Canon 5D III.

I color graded in Davinci Resolve, made adjustments After Effects, and pieced it all together in Premiere.

I had basic experience with Premiere, but knew nothing about the other programs prior to this project. I discovered Magic Lantern three days before shooting, and the following day I emptied my bank account and bought a 5d III.

 

The workflow was painstaking, there were so many issues I had not anticipated. I dealt with unreadable files, frame skipping, data loss– most everything, really.

It was a miserable experience, but a necessary one., as troubleshooting taught me how to utilize professional tools to solve complex problems.  

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Regardless of the technical challenges, developing the story was the most difficult component of this project. The three day deadline provided little time to develop the narrative. The first version was coined "Be Invisible", the idea being the only way to be visible is to conspicuously work hard. But it was so generic. Of course you have to work hard in isolation to achieve, that's obvious. I hated it. 

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After months of obsessing, I realized my mistake. The light isn't fame. The light is what it always is; hope.

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It's not about working hard or training,  It's about creating your own hope when none exists, then enlightening those who haven't yet discovered their path. Most importantly though, it's about the necessity of darkness, of isolation. 

Because chasing the lights of others means it's never dark enough to create your own.