Under the bright studio lights of the former KSPR newsroom, my neck and palms began to sweat. Five cameras beamed upon me, monitoring my every facial movement. A tiny clip-on microphone tied me to the armchair, recording my every sound. I was being interviewed, alongside my friend Marcus, for co-creating a short film for last year’s SATO48 film contest. He was the producer/director, bringing 30 people together to storyboard, shoot, edit, and soundtrack our film, no small organizational feat. I was the screenwriter, a title that overstates my role since our film’s dialogue was largely improvised. A few sound checks, and I felt a pressure in my bladder – that would have to wait, it was important that the show’s producers captured the entire conversation in one free-flowing, hour-long take.
So how did I end up in this position? By saying yes to opportunities, and often. I met Marcus last year at Startup Weekend, an event that I nearly backed out of attending. A month later, he invited me to Springfield’s Rated SGF film festival, which, truthfully, I only attended because I wanted to become his friend. Paying $35 to watch a 16 hour movie marathon didn’t sound like my idea of a fun weekend. But the majority of the films were incredibly enjoyable and memorable, especially those that were followed by live Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. The after-party featured some fun interactions with the directors, writers, and actors that we watched on-screen, as well as with local filmmakers. At some point during the weekend, I learned about SATO48, and to this day Marcus maintains that it was my persistent urging that drove him to assemble a team for the contest.
For a first-time director, Marcus assembled a power team. Our cinematographer, Michael, came with professional camera equipment and video editing software. Our sound guy, Andrew, brought an array of microphones and a vast knowledge of sound effects. A professional composer, Daniel, created original music to accompany the film, sight unseen. Five experienced, semi-professional actors volunteered for yet-to-be-determined roles. Then there was me, the lead writer, with no screenwriting experience. My task was a challenging puzzle: incorporate our actors, locations, and inspiration package into a coherent, Black Mirror-esque sci-fi concept that both entertains and conveys an instructive message. I’m reasonably pleased with the resulting film, Memory Chip, considering we had only 48 hours to condense all of our ideas and scenes into a 5-minute piece.
Most importantly, it was a ton of fun. Especially after the fact: we attended a screening with several of our friendly competitors at the local independent cinema, where it was fun to watch our production on the big screen. Then the SATO48 awards ceremony was like a mini-Oscars, where our film was nominated for a few awards and we had the chance to rub shoulders with seasoned filmmakers/actors/critics. Our film aired shortly thereafter during the SATO48 Sci-Fi special on the Ozarks CW network, and we attended the watch party hosted by the contest’s organizers. This was a tremendous experience, discussing strategies, feelings, and effects from the constructively critical perspective of film enthusiasts. A particularly vindicating moment came when one of the hosts said to me, “It’s great to see fellow chemical engineers get into the film industry.” I’m obviously far from a professional, but the welcoming encouragement keeps the distant dream of working as a Hollywood science consultant alive!
Back to reality, I believe it’s very important to continue cultivating your hobbies as an adult. I nearly forgot the joy that I felt making short movies as a teenager, competing in the library film contests, and pushing the boundaries of what was appropriate for school projects. It’s been incredibly satisfying to rediscover my past interests that ended up on the back burner, including outdoor adventuring, making music, and now filmmaking. You never know where your side endeavors might lead – yesterday, mine led me to a lengthy sit-down interview and TV studio tour, culminating in some light recruitment to join the news production team. It’s been a wild sequence of events, complete with plot twists, unexpected highs, and a bunch of new characters in my life. Now I can’t wait for the sequel.