For my senior thesis in Film at Wesleyan University, I undertook the ambitious task of writing, directing, and editing a short film titled “Seeing Double.” This journey, spanning 11 months, began in May 2023 with the exploration of various story ideas and script development. Eventually, I settled on a 13-page script centered around Deja, a woman who just moved, started a new job and has to face a lurking presence in the mirror.
Once the school year started, I transitioned into the roles of producer and director, bringing the script to life through meticulous planning and collaboration. Organizing a crew of 18 individuals required careful coordination and effective communication to ensure everyone was aligned with the vision.
During pre-production, I utilized tools like Google Drive, group chats, and email chains to maintain organization and facilitate clear communication among team members. Additionally, I recognized the importance of individual check-ins and department meetings in building a cohesive crew dynamic.
In the days leading up to the shoot, I worked closely with producers, the assistant director, and the director of photography to finalize details such as shot lists, schedules, and equipment/supplies lists. This comprehensive approach laid the groundwork for us to still run into several problems and setbacks but prevent a lot others.
Once production wrapped I got some time away from the footage to take a step back and rethink what my story has evolved into with what we were able to capture. Then I began the long, tedious, and strenuous process of post-production. This is where I had to face all of the mistakes and errors that I made previously and try and work with what I had in order to have a final product.
In addition to editing the footage together, I decided to also do my own color correction and sound design. This was an extremely difficult process because I had 4 jobs at once; director, editor, sound designer, and colorist. In order to get all of these tasks done I decided to stay on campus over the spring break to ensure I had extra time to work on those parts of the project. Doing all of those jobs informed me on what I can do the next time I make a short film and how I can improve the pre-production and production processes.
