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Short Love
This short film portrays a picture of relationship challenges caused by misinterpretations. The events' internalization can cause misunderstanding, create distance between people, and ruin their relationships. My original plan was to portray love and happiness as the core theme in this film, but the story evolved and the subject changed by the time we reached the filming stage. It was in the editing room that the story took its final shape. It was also in the editing room we realized that we needed more shots to tell the story. As a learning process, it was a good experience.

In this short film, a strange smell raises the curiosity of a laid-back boy who launches into a search to detect the source of it. In this detective effort, he finds the source of the smell - a dirty shirt that comes to life, attacks, and chases him from room to room. To defeat this persistent villain and overcome the situation, the boy decides to use his only weapon; the air freshener can. I wanted to highlight the importance of good hygiene and self-care by relating to my personal experience in an engaging and entertaining way and encouraging good hygiene and self-care. Neglecting your physical and mental needs can become suffocating. At first, I wanted to focus the story around the emotion of disgust, but the sense of humor kicked in and caused a twist in the story. The next step was to visually communicate the story through various shots, camera angles, and staging-and-blocking. Using a point-and-shoo camera, I filmed the story in my room and finished its postproduction using Davinci Resolve, which is professional editing software. I paid close attention to the type of music and pace of the film to make sure it remains entertaining.

The media and beauty industry have led society to believe that a body that does not look like what we see on screen is not beautiful. Fat bodies are attacked by their owners and the world around them, yet deserve just as much respect and love as any other body.“Skin,” a short abstract film, portrays the violence toward the body that does not deserve such treatment and an owner who does not accept the  negativity. She chooses to love herself and everything that her body is. Bodies are not ugly. Fatphobia is. The film’s idea comes from my own experience of having a plus-sized body while wanting to be in an industry that does not represent body diversity. Showing that regardless of what society says, people can and do still love themselves, and deflecting negativity allows us to be free from the heat society gives people with larger bodies. Filmed on an iPhone in my bedroom, I wrote, directed, and acted in this film. Bracing the challenge of not having a cast or crew due to the COVID-19 difficulties, I had to work as a one-person band to complete the production and postproduction stages of this film.

The Relief tells the story of a young widowed man who struggles to let go of his late wife's memories. The only way to overcome the pain of loss is to spread her ashes in the ocean and make peace with the loss. Sometimes it is difficult to release ourselves from our most immense pain or situation, but life becomes a new opportunity when we do. With some help from a friend, the film was entirely shot on an iPhone 11 in Puerto Rico. The exterior scenes were filmed during the golden hour, utilizing the early morning sun. The film’s postproduction was completed in Thousand Oak earlier this month.

Eleanor Woods is accused of adultery and tries to escape the consequences when an escape finds her in the form of time travel. Another age brings about a different outcome to her situation. But did she really travel in time, or was it just her consciousness or spirit traveling into another world or dimension?  As times change, situations change too. This film's goal is to present how the results or consequences of situations can transform depending on what era or decade they occur. What we hold to be a virtue today may turn to vice as times change or vice versa. I wanted to create a film that illustrated this continuous cycle of changing norms.  I aimed to show how dramatically a situation can change with the addition of several decades. I also sprinkled in mystery elements that give rise to questions of where exactly did Eleanor go or did she not go. Once the concept for this film sparked, I got straight to planning, had my friend play one of the roles, and film when I was on camera. We had a very small crew with minimal resources, but the idea and ambitions were great, driving us forward to make this film. Our efforts resulted in a film that raises questions and curiosity in the viewer.