This Essay was written by Brett Kushner.
My Film School Essay
As a child, I wanted to create something. I wanted to
take charge; be the one to
make decisions; to lead the way. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this.
That's right: I wanted to be a mommy. After much education, however,
especially an anatomy class or two, I realized my dreams were futile and I
began to seek out a new area of interest that did not involve any kind of
surgery.
I entered high school as an actor. At the time, I was even considered
the best actor in my forensics class. At the end of my freshman year, my
forensics class required groups of four to make a short narrative film. As an
actor, I was able to watch my original inspiration, Adam Fairholm, make
Sleeper, the highly regarded short narrative that is still shown as the ideal
film in forensics class. Adam was a grade above me and taught me how to fully
utilize a mini-DV camcorder and Adobe Premier. I have always been very computer
literate, so I picked up this new skill quite quickly. Since then, I have loved
every moment of amateur filmmaking. I continued to watch Adam Fairholm create
teasers and trailers for the school plays, and I would go home and try to
recreate his After Effects techniques. I knew that he would graduate a year
before I would, and that I could take his place one day. Scouring the internet
for as much information I as I could find, I learned that being a filmmaker was
much more complicated, in some respects, than being a mommy; however, I knew
that I was up for the challenge. Junior year rolled around and I had been
creating many videos for personal use, friends, class projects, etc. In fact, a
rumor had spread around the school that I could help with any video
assignments. People that I had never even seen at Saint Thomas would come up to
me, greet me by name, and then ask, or sometimes beg, for me to help them with
a last minute project. These tasks certainly helped me improve my skills
because I never turned down a request, and I never settled for a mediocre piece
of work. I experimented with blue screen, animation, music videos, hidden
cameras, DVD's, Macromedia Flash, After Effects, and many other tools. With a
motto "Nothing is impossible with filmmaking," I would go to great
lengths to see my vision on the screen. When I applied to the Duke's T.I.P.
Filmmaking In California summer program, I thought I had no chance of
acceptance. I was thrilled to find I was wrong. During my two-week stay on the
Chapman University campus, I was able to learn more about film than I had for
three years. The two weeks culminated with a gala, showcasing the films we were
able to make. I presented Put It In Reverse, a short narrative filmed entirely
in reverse and then played at -100% speed using the Avid. This created an
effect showing the main character acting normally, while the world around him
was in reverse. This required much pre-production and choreography with the
actors, and it worked out superbly. After my arrival back in Florida, I
acquired a position as intern editor at RMS, the leader in private television
networks. With my own editing bay, I learned about many of the real-life hardware
that a professional editor might use. I started out using their Avid Media
Composer, cutting down music videos. Now I am using In-Sync's Speed Razor,
working at the same level as the other editors there. I constantly put out
content that is broadcasted throughout the day across the country in stores
such as FYE, Music Nation, Sam Goody, Advance Auto Parts, and upcoming Office
Depot and Autonation. The highlight of my internship was visiting an Advance
Auto Parts in Tallahassee and seeing my work playing there. I work at RMS three
times a week, and I always look forward to it. All of my technical experience,
however, means nothing compared to my creativity. My technical abilities are
just a beneficial edge, since they are all learnable in time. What greatly
advantages me is my creative spark. I have always been taught to think outside
the box. In eighth grade I began "The Annals of Brett" that soon
became a bi-monthly newsletter read around the world. Besides my friends and
family, my newsletter was subscribed to from Michigan, California, Denmark, and
even Taiwan. The Annals were my first real outlet for creativity as I was able
to write on any humorous idea that I could think of. My next forte was acting.
I started as a stage manager, but by the end of eighth grade and beyond, I
acquired all parts from dramatic to comedic, major to minor roles, whether it
be for school, camp, or forms of community theater. Meanwhile, I started a
band, the PHB's or Pretty Hot Barbers, which produced the two hits "Tangerine"
and "The Brett Song" that have become quite popular amongst friends.
I also learned programming languages such as PHP that certainly provided a
means to express myself. On my web page, with PHP, I started "Brett's
Schedule Matching and Lookup" that allows Saint Thomas students to input
their schedule before the year starts and find out whom they share classes
with.
EDITOR's NOTE: This was a precursor of Facebook
After the success of that service (594 students or roughly thirty percent
of my school), I created "Brett's Friend Rankings?or how to lose a bunch
of friends" that ranks my friends based on a point system that I can
update freely. Luckily I have not lost any friends yet. What drives me to
create such pieces of work is the understanding that they will help or touch
others. That is why I want to pursue my dream of a film career.
Film can affect
another more greatly than any other medium. People lose themselves in film and
I want to be a part of that experience. With my creativity and my early
practical experience, I know that I can successfully continue to learn about my
passion and continue to share it with the world. I want my work to influence
the world, just like mothers want their children to. I guess I wasn't so far
off as a child; I guess I still do want to be a mommy.
[NOTE TO STUDENTS: yes, you can submit your essays here – why not see your work in print?]
This is a well-written essay that effectively connects experience with narrative. It is not a dry resume listing skills, talents, and accomplishments, but rather an engaging narrative about how the student impacted her community, and how the student's experiences impacted her. Also how the student broadens her academic learning outside of the classroom; stepping over and beyond. Introspection is key in such essays. All written in a clear voice and highlighting touches of humor.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see, however, would be a description of a failure and what was learned from it. We are all imperfect no matter how well we try to gloss over what we've done wrong. To me, briefly interjecting a failure and expanding on what you gained from it shows a sense of humility and strong analysis in of itself. Colleges do not necessarily want perfect students, but students who can get up after falling and help others up as well.