Through the Lens

Spring 2023

Ella Fields holds out the clapperboard for her film Over the Moon.

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,

We’re the editors of Through the Lens. We are so excited to bring you this issue of our film magazine.

We explore all aspects of short film including the topic of women in film where 3 female filmmakers talk about their experiences, obstacles, and opinions on the subject. We also cover the process of making a short film, and all of the planning, brainstorming, and work put into them. The technology portion of a film is also discussed, including all of the editing, animation, and on screen aspects involved in creating them. Finally, we examine short films’ influences and how they can be influential to others.

The creation of this magazine definitely took a lot of thought and work, but it also allowed us to collaborate and create something as a team. We had to take into consideration a topic that was all important to us, and the idea of short films came to mind. We all agreed that even though they’re shorter than feature films, they should still be recognized and appreciated. Although it was fun, we did occasionally struggle. Sometimes the process got frustrating and tedious like when we didn’t have luck arranging an interview with someone, or when we couldn’t get our layouts to go together and feel cohesive. It was all worth it in the end though because we’re so proud to have crafted the infographics and stories featured in this magazine all on our own. Having finished a project as big as this was so rewarding and we got to learn so much.

We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we did making it.

Sincerely,

Anna Cho, Griffin Beam, Isla Poole, Savit Verma

Special Thanks

We’d like to thank all of the interviewees that made our magazine possible. Without them, we wouldn’t have had the chance to learn and write about all of these different filmmakers. Not only did they donate useful photos for our magazine, they shaped our feature stories and gave insight on topics we wanted to explore. We are all so grateful to have spoken to them.

Thanks to Marlon Rubio Smith, Roopa Gogineni, Ella Fields, Diane Mason, Shirley Zhou, Katherine Propper, John M. Churchill, David Brotsky, Ben Bays, Frederick Aldama, and Sanjna Bharadwaj.

Sincerely,

Savit Verma, Anna Cho, Griffin Beam, Isla Poole

Meet the Editors

Savit likes singing and writing songs on the guitar and playing basketball. He hopes to one day have a career related to music involving sound engineering. In our Ezine, he will examine the different aspects of short film documentaries and how they influence people.

Isla will write about the experience and challenges women face and their perspectives as filmmakers for our Ezine. She enjoys listening to music, practicing guitar, and drawing. She’s a member of the Art Honors Society at LASA and wants to have a career related to art or animation.

Anna likes to read, draw, play cello, and run in her free time. In the future, she hopes to work in the medical field. In our Ezine, Anna will write about the people who are involved in the process of creating a short film, from the script to the filming process.

Griffin is a member of the radio club at LASA who enjoys playing video games with his friends, going to the park near his house, and playing with his two dogs. For our Ezine, he will look into the technology used in the film industry and the process of using that technology. In the future, he wants to study bioengineering.

Sources: FX Home, Kuoni

Average Length of Short Films

There is no one-size-fits-all process, but these are the major bases to cover.

13:31

Sources: FX Home, Kuoni

by Anna Cho

Create a vision for the film.

Make a plan for everything: the script, storyboard, budget, cast and crew, equipment, schedule, and location.

Make sure to obtain permission for filming locations.

Time to film!

Cameras, actors, and location licenses come into play. This step is the “point of no return.” After this, it’s easier to go through with the film than to back out.

PreProduction Production

Film

Hotspots Around the World

PostProduction

Put all the shots together.

Use a software to edit footage. Add desired visual effects, color grading, and adjust audio. The finished film is now ready for viewing.

What Goes Into Making a Short Film

By Anna Cho

Atrio of girls jump on a trampoline, a pair of bikers rocket down a trail, a young couple glances into each other’s eyes. The emotion in each scene is palpable. A collage of five stories, distributed across age, gender, social class, and interest are revealed in Birds, a short film directed by Katherine Propper.

Short films can be anywhere from fifteen seconds to fifty minutes long. Some might perceive them as a pale imitation of a full-length work. However, less time does not discount the ability of short films to impart the creator’s imagination and purpose. They span a wide range of genres and types, and the emotional impact that a smaller-scale production can leave is incredible. There is no one-size-fits-all order to the process of making a short

film, according to Propper.

“In Birds I had an idea, and then I casted first, and then wrote the script,” Propper said. “But for a lot of my other projects, I write a script first, then I cast, and then do preproduction and find locations and do the producing work and film the production, and then edit and post.”

Propper typically comes up with stories from her surroundings. In her

Propper (left) and the film team discuss something. They are in the process of making her short film Birds. Courtesy of Katherine Propper.

opinion, compelling stories stem from compelling characters.

“It’s a mix of being inspired by my environment and the world around me, being an observer of life,” Propper said. “I like building films around a character. If I observe someone who seems intriguing, that is what inspires me to a certain degree.”

John M. Churchill, a composer for film, draws a lot of inspiration for his soundtracks from classical pieces. As a musician, it aligns with his playing style.

“I love classical,” Churchill said. “If I wanted to be more specific, because classical spans a lot of different genres, I am much more of a late Romantic era composer. It’s what I enjoy playing and what I enjoy writing from the perspective of. As a musician, you find your own voice.”

Coming up with a plot and the script is next. Propper usually keeps on editing the script until filming itself.

“It’s an iterative process, so I would say that I write a script and then I use it as a foundation and then I try to improve upon it, whatever that is weak or not working on it,” Propper said. “So whether that’s the dialogue or the story structure, I’m editing cumulatively in each round of edits.”

Propper usually conceives the plot by herself. The production that follows after that is done with many other people.

“When I’m in the early stages of writing, oftentimes I do that alone,” Propper said, “but during production, it’s an extremely collaborative process and I’m working with a team of people. Filmmaking is definitely not something you can do totally solo.”

Gathering people and resources is necessary to bring the project from a plan to reality, explained John M. Churchill, a film composer. Making films, even short ones, require lots of cooperation and time.

“If I’m doing something that is live, whether that is a documentary or something involving actual actors, there’s probably going to be rough scenes that I’ll be able to watch,” Churchill said. “I’m typically going to be meeting with the director ahead of time, scene by scene, to figure out what kind of feel they’re going to be wanting on any given scene.”

Coordination between the director and other members of the filmmaking team

is crucial in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page of what the end result will be. This includes the musical and locations departments. According to Churchill, the music is decided by the genre of the film.

“If it’s something like a documentary or a live action film it’s a little bit more controlled scene to scene and by the dialogue on how the music’s going to go, what direction the music’s generally going to go in,” Churchill said. “I work a lot more often with animation. While working on animation you typically get something called an animatic, which is officially the rough drawing scene-to-scene of what the visuals are going to look like. Along with that you get a storyboard.”

Animatics and storyboards are instrumental to both animated and live action movies, as they provide a way to visualize the film without any actual footage. One aspect unique to live action is the location sector. Location manager David Brotsky said that locations is a highly versatile field and that they are required to communicate between every department.

“The locations department is responsible for securing all the space

Churchill plays the guitar and records it using his mic. He makes music with both physical and synthetic instruments.

Courtesy of John M. Churchill.

The locations department always has an important responsibility: obtaining insurance. This is the key to prevent any outside complications, and it’s important even for short films.

“We’re making deals with everyonewith the cities, the towns, we have to get permission from everyone to do things on a big scale. Of course on a small student film it’s a microcosm of what a large film is, but still you will want to do things with permission and do things properly,” Brotsky said.

“When you’re talking to homeowners to bring a crew into the house, your production needs to have proper insurance and list the homeowners as additionally insured,” Brotsky said. “You have to have an insurance policy because God forbid someone gets hurt on set, or we do damage to a house. Accidents happen.”

Staying within the budget is also important to keep in mind. It sets

a limit on what equipment can be used, but a smaller budget does not necessarily restrict the quality of the film.

“Whenever I’m creating something I’m actually using mostly synthesized sounds,” Churchill said. “They’re known as sound libraries, so if you wanna have a string orchestra, unless you’re working on a really high budget, they can’t afford to rent or hire an orchestra to play and they use synthesized instruments.”

Churchill works with online sound libraries to create massive orchestral works. Using this software can have many advantages.

“They’ve actually gotten really good, because the sound libraries they have now, these companies work for months recording different musicians playing,” Churchill said. “And so when they do that, even though you’re playing synthesized sounds, it’s a

recording of an actual instrument.” Brotsky also includes the budget as one of three crucial factors to finding a successful location.

“I would say the most important factors are that it fits the aesthetic that we’re looking for, it’s within the budget, and it’s logistically feasible,” Brotsky said.

Members of the locations team should know the limitations of the production. Not only is it influenced by the budget, but also physical and logical barriers. “Let’s say they’re looking for a little girl’s room in a house, that’s like the perfect princess room, everything pink,” Brotsky said. And I could find the perfect room, but it’s up five flights of stairs, and I have a crew of 300 people. That’s why we have to think about accessibility and logistics. Because even if it’s the most perfect place, if it’s impossible to get to, and

Propper (center) and the film crew are seated in the back of a van, with actors in the front. She’s on set collaborating with a team of people during production. Courtesy of Katherine Propper.

Churchill

gonna use up our whole day to get through it, I can’t present that as an option.”

Once all the necessary procedures are carried out in preparation for the film, shooting takes place. Propper’s favorite part of the filmmaking process is the filming itself.

“I think it’s the most dynamic and the most exciting,” Propper said. Brotsky recalled an observation he got from working on the set Sweet and Lowdown, a comedy drama directed by Woody Allen. He admires Allen’s directorial vision and the way it made everything go much smoother. “Woody Allen knew exactly what he wanted,” Brotsky said. “When you’re a creative person, the clearer your vision, whether it’s for your own personal goals or for your projects, the more detailed it is, and the more you have that vision, the more successful you’ll be, because Woody Allen knew exactly what he wanted from his actors. He knew exactly what he wanted from everything. And so it made the whole process very efficient.”

During the filming, directors should know exactly what they want from the actors in order to improve the cohesiveness of the production. In fact, conveying a specific vision to the team is important throughout the

whole process. Otherwise, work may be put towards unnecessary projects.

“Oftentimes in the past it’s been a thing when I write something for a

director to director. Churchill said it varies from person to person.

“Some projects you get a lot of creative freedom and some projects you’re essentially working with a director who knows nothing about making music, but you’re trying to make it exactly what they want it to sound like,” Churchill said.

Animated films and live action films also have differences during the production process. Churchill prefers to compose music for animated films.

“Animation is very fun- partially because the music plays such a key role,” Churchill said. “With animation, at least the animation that I’ve worked on, there’s a lot less dialogue and a lot more visuals, so the music and the visuals are really playing off of each other. So you get much more layered, thematic music throughout.”

According to Churchill, the music for documentaries and live action films has a major drawback that makes them less appealing to compose for- having to balance the relationship between the music and the dialogue.

scene and get attached to the music only to find out it’s not what they’re looking for at all,” Churchill said. “And so that’s something that I’ve learned along the way in working with directors, is that you don’t want to compose another idea because if you do, you’ve spent a lot of time on a very particular piece of music that may not be what they want.”

Aligning one’s own musical ideas with the director’s vision can be challenging, although it varies from

“You have to find a balance of controlling the emotion of the scene without being distracting,” Churchill said.” Oftentimes you’ll have music that’s playing while there’s dialogue going on. And if you’re writing really interesting music while people are talking it’s going to be very distracting to the scene. To a certain degree, it’s like your job is to write borderline boring music. It wouldn’t be something you listen to on its own- it’s not interesting enough on its own.”

Short films foster collaboration of various creative minds, and they are manageable projects for people new to the industry to take on.

“I’m definitely really open and excited to do all kinds of filmmaking,” Propper said. “I think short films are a really great place to start from because they require less resources and the length makes it more palatable when you’re starting out.”

plays a composition on the piano. His favorite pieces are from the Romantic era, which aligns with his composing style. Courtesy of John M. Churchill. it’s

“When you’re a creative person, the clearer your vision, the more successful you’ll be.”

- David Brotsky, locations manager

Benefits of Film Benefits of Film Benefits of Film Benefits of Film

By Isla Poole

Help improve moods

Make others feel seen

Uplifing films can create emotional responses which cause us to release endorphins they aren’t in real life or media. alized groups on sceen, even if Theycan help represent marginthe viewer w Films depictin goals and im

Motivat

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Films transport people to

problems and stress behind. different realities, therefore letting them leave their on them. provide new, unique perspectives refection on societal issues and Informational films can provoke

Educate Provide Escapism te

Bring

ng others working towards mproving their live can make

Watching a film with others creates a shared experience and want to do the same.

people together

allows for bonding time.

Central, The Bridge Chronicle, National Center

What people see on screen can positively impact their everyday life whether they’re aware of it or not. At first glance, it may not be obvious how important and powerful films can be. However, they have the ability to influence just about anything from thoughts to actions to relationships.

Reel Women Making Waves in the Film World

By Isla Poole

On a Saturday night at 10:05 PM, a girl opens up her computer in search of something to watch. As the titles scroll past, she glances over the listed directors and authors of well-known films. Names like Hitchcock, Nolan, Burton, and Speilberg roll across the screen, and a pattern emerges. The BBC

reported what a lot of Hollywood already knew: most of the films recognized as being “the best” and most highly rated, were directed or written by a man. The effects of a patriarchal society are evident even from the comfort of her own room on movie night.

As said by the Guardian, the film industry is a place where more often than not, men are the ones getting higher recognition for

their work while women’s films and their voices attached to them tend to get overlooked. To Shirley Zhou, films have the unique ability to transport people to an alternate reality for a brief period of time, which can help explore the perspectives and ideas from the feminine mind and can provide insight to their experiences.

“When you’re able to turn what’s going on in your mind into art, and

Shirley Zhou, animator and filmmaker, works on a short film in her office. She is animating her second film On My Mind Courtesy of Shirley Zhou.

then share that with people, it is a very nice way to let people see what’s going on in you in a way that’s easily communicated,” Zhou said.

dressed this way and boys this way, and that was just the way that it was. I just wanted to explore the idea of how our ideas of gender are made up,”

themselves to dream bigger by making success feel attainable no matter who they are.

“That always feels really good to just hear that I can make something that inspires people and also create a spark of interest in this craft and this animation because that’s how it

Filmmaker Ella Fields records on her Canon camera outdoors. She is working on one of her short films. Courtesy of Ella Fields.

She believes that many girls experience a time in their lives when their characters are placed into a construct and are forced to conform to societal standards. Her film Girl Wrestler was a way for many women to see a strong role model like them that wasn’t affected by these pressures.

“I was always interested in that moment in a young woman’s life where you have all of this fire and personality and determination and it’s challenged in a certain way,” said Mason. “And I think that for a lot of girls and young women that happens in 8th, 9th, 10th grade,”

According to Mason, girls are

taught to tell stories even at a young age, but they just need to be heard and put in the spotlight for others to see.

“Little girls are sort of natural storytellers because the way that the world socializes is to use little dolls and little figures in our dollhouse and make them talk to each other. Whether they’re little animals talking to each other or little Barbies or Pollie Pockets or whoever. That’s sort of culturally appropriate and a supported way for girls to play and that is storytelling. That is drama in its most basic form. It’s just two little characters talking to each

other, and so I feel like that is really important. We need those characters talking to each other from a female perspective.” Mason said.

Films may be one of the first times young women are shown that they have the power to dictate who they want to be and how they want to live in a society in which they may have never seen their potential in such a light.

“The bigger picture here is women need to be telling stories, they need to be on these crews. They need to be behind the camera and we’ve gotta do things to make that happen,” Mason said.

Ella Fields uses her phone to shoot her film Bubble Gum. She made it in middle school, and it is one of her most popular films. Courtesy of

A Film to Remember

By Griffin Beam

Remember

Howtomakeananimatedshort

Step1. Createyourcharactersandstory board.Thisstepisreallythestartbecauseyou comeupwiththestoryandcharacter.

Step2.Decidewhatyouwanttheanimationto looklikethisiswhenyoucomeupwithanimation styletomakeyourshortunique.

Step 3. Create the background layout and dope sheets. The dope sheets show the timing of each thing.

Step 4. Start the rough animation then clean it up. A rough animation is like a rough draft of a paper something to start out with and not final.

Step 5. Paint in the characters and background. Just to make it look more fluent, and so it’s not black and white.

Step6.Combinetheseelements togethertomakeafluentpiece.

Behind the Screens

What it Takes to Make an Animated Short

By Griffin Beam

Animation is found everywhere from shows to movies, and the artists making them put in a lot of time and effort to make them. Often behind-thescenes of animation go unnoticed.

Especially the behind making a cartoon.

Associate at UT Ben Bays, who has animated various things from feature films to video games, said animation doesn’t always move in a set path or timeline. He explained the process of making it really depends on what it’s going to be used for.

“Animation is a big idea and the etymology of the word means to breathe life into something,” Bays said. “I come from a background of illustration but if you add change over time you get that idea of animation. So it’s a medium that needs to exist in time but doesn’t need to be linear. So I created a lot of animation for interactive and video games and obviously, there is not a singular timeline that moves through it, it is in response to player input.”

Professor at UT Frederick Aldama, who is working on a cartoon called Carlitos the Chupacabra, has worked on a variety of things including comics, TV and radio, literature, and cognitive science. He explained that even if you don’t have an animation background or don’t know how to animate, it is possible to find companies willing to do that part.

“I found a company based out of Mexico City, and we work well together,” Aldama said. ”When I need something animated I send them a copy of the script and storyboard and then get to work on animating it.”

Aldama explained that after the animation was completed, they wanted to get it on a big network like Nickelodeon. In order for that to happen, he needed to find a company that was willing to do the marketing for them. They found

There are many different styles used to make animation. Some styles are done digitally and others are more hands-on and physical, but each style has its own positives and negatives that come with them. Through the Lens 25

the company they were looking for, and are now getting close to the marketing part.

“We are planning on heading to a company that will be able to fund us enough to make advertisements and get it on Netflix and Nickelodeon,” Aldama said. “We found a company willing to fund us enough to be able to do the advertising and marketing we need for our film. Their name is Astra Media. They like to help projects like ours get off the ground and find success.”

Sanjna Bharadwaj, a student in a fine arts school, was required to make a cartoon by the end of the year as a project for this school. She also talked about how friends can help with unfamiliar challenges and that there is always someone out there willing to help you with those obstacles when it comes to animation.

“I would say for anyone who wants to animate films get their friends to help if you want to animate,” Baradwaj said. “I have also learned through my journey with animation that you might think you’re the only person you

know who does animation but I guarantee other people also do it and are just thinking there is no one out there willing to help.”

Bays explained that there are two main genres of animation digital and physical, and both of these types have their own benefits and defects that come with them. According to Bays Digital can be done mostly on a computer while physical is typically filmed in person and the materials are manipulated by a person.

“ A hard part about physical animation is that what you see is what you get; you can’t change it that much,” Bays said. “A hard part with digital is that most people say oh we can fix these mistakes later meaning they end up taking longer to finish their animation.”

Bays explained four different main types of animation each of them having their own different workflows too. One of the types Bays explained was frame-byframe, In this type, you draw the frames individually and then assemble them which is why it’s called frame by frame.

“The workflow is different for if I want to make water drip compared to characters talking,” Bays said. “One is frame-byframe animation where you draw or sculpt with clay making it frame-by-frame.”

Bays mentioned that the other three also have their own workflows these three being Interpolation, procedural, and

In the film Carlitos the Chupacabra Carlitos and the girl find a wolf. This wolf then joins them in their journey across the Border. Courtesy of Frederick Aldama.

In the film Local Middle Schooler the main character has magical eyelashes that people exploit her for. She is then seen handing them out to everyone who requests one of them. Courtesy of Sanjna Bharadwaj.

simulation. He also elaborated on what they are and how you complete them, and how the steps have a wide range of variety between the three.

“Another type is interpolation where you use digital media and you can plot the frames and digital tools will interpolate it into an animation,” Bays said. “Another way is procedural where you use curves and trigonometry and imagine different types of waves and make them intercept to make it seem like it was the purpose. It makes it seem like it was random but it wasn’t what we call this noise. Another one is simulation where you animate something and then apply

rules to it to make it seem more realistic. So the workflow depends on which type you decide to use”

A lot of people think that animation is only the main character however

“Something I would like to add is that Animation can include things like background and what’s going on and effects,” Bays said. “while most people only think it is the main character and how it moves.”

Bharadwaj explained that you need to keep on trying no matter what happens and that she never expected that her animation would be as successful as it was. This was mainly because she didn’t know as many people compared to others according to her.

according to Bays that’s not exactly correct. He said that it includes anything that moves and also counts as animation.

“I also didn’t expect to get into SXSW because most of the time film festivals revolve around your connections,” Bharadwaj said. “I would also say that you need to keep on trying for your film to be successful.”

Carlitos (left) meets a girl who isn’t scared of him. This shocks him because he thought all humans hate Chupacabras they then become good friends. Courtesy of Frederick Aldama.

“Animation means to breathe life into something.”

- Ben Bays, UT professor

1. 2.

3.

Genres of Film

By Savit

4. 5. 6.

Horror - 11 votes

Comedy - 6 votes

Family - 5 votes

Rom-Com - 3 votes

Drama and Fantasy - 2 votes each

Crime - 1 vote

3 4 5 6

1 2

Based on the responses of 30 high school students in Austin, the most and least liked genres of film were observed.

Films for Justice

How filmmakers address social issues

By Savit Verma

Whether it’s through marches, strikes, boycotts, or petitions, protesters find ways to speak out about important social issues, including film. Not only does film entertain, but it also portrays a message. Some are hidden while others are the main element of the

film. Throughout the film history, there have been many movies made to spread awareness and let people know about the many problems we face in this world. Short films are a popular category in the industry of film for their short length, as it takes up less time to see, which is a helpful characteristic for conveying certain

messages on screen . In a full length film, filmmakers have to fill in the time gaps with character development and other details. With a shorter time, there are less gaps which forces the message to be more obvious and direct.

According to Smith, director of I’m New, this is a useful method for spreading awareness and providing

Sudanese youth in Roopa Gogineni’s film SuddenlyTV look over a city at night. SuddenlyTV won multiple awards, including from SXSW 2023 and IDFA. Courtesy of Roopa Gogineni.

information on a social or political issue.

“I would just watch movies to entertain myself, but also to escape the real world,” Smith said. Smith said how movies in general help people find entertainment and fuel their imagination. Besides the coping factor that film brings to the community, it also helps with spreading awareness about certain topics or issues.

“It evolved into my way of honoring the immigrant in English as a second language student

- Marlon Smith, filmmaker

experience,” Smith said, “and also highlighting, you know, some of the challenges that we face that are not often seen,” In order to have a short film address a social issue and have it relate to the people who have experienced it, hearing their perspective and point of view is vital. A method for this is actually to interview them and listen to their experiences from their words. This is used by many documentary filmmakers such as Roopa Gogeni, director of Suddenly Tv.

“I found these kids at this protest, who had made a cardboard camera and started filming with them and filming what they were kind of pretending to tell them themselves” said Gogineni “and they were running around protests, meeting different revolutionaries and protesters and interviewing them. And so I filmed what they were pretending to film in their performance.” said Gogineni. Roopa Gogineni had directed

The cast for Smith’s film is acting on the set. They’re filming the short film I’m New. Courtesy of Marlon Smith.

“Honestly, the greatest gift that I get from this film is when people come to me and tell me that they were able to connect to the material.”

a film called “Suddenly Tv”, which was a documentary about the revolution that is occurring in Sudan.

“I mean, there was a couple times with the protests with attacks when I was there. Yeah, that was pretty scary.”

Gogineni said.

Gogineni had decided to attend to some protests in sudan so that she could see the experience through her own eyes. Sometimes when it comes to understanding people’s view , it may not be possible to get the first

hand experience of what they have witnessed.

Smith wanted to make a film to highlight the experience of a ESL student and how they have to face problems that others don’t, and then chose to make his film I’m New for a college project. Smith’s film I’m New, was previewed at three festivals and received multiple awards.

“It won the Western short film at the Hispanic Film Festival.” Smith said.

The film is still going through the process of entering other film festivals, and has gained many compliments and comments.

“I was very surprised to see the number of people who relate it to,” Smith said.

Marlon Smith discusses the film with his fellow peers. The scripts for I’m New were introduced. Courtesy of Marlon Smith.

“Throughout this, there’s been a incredible society that has sustained in many ways.”

- Roopa Gogineni, filmmaker

Something that makes film a popular interest and a popular entertainment is when it relates to the audience. It connects both the film and people in that way.

“I really wanted to include very specific moments, you know, that either I experienced or some friends experiences, because I also interviewed my ex classmates, you know, from that time. Smith said. And I asked them, you know,what

were some of your experiences? And when you’re talking about

with your surroundings with the environment. So the film that I was doing was heavily inspired by like, Latin American Mexican background, because that’s what I know. And, you know, it was kind of like a hard balance of like, how much of your experience do you want to portray versus how do you also portray ESL students in general, accurately, so it was kind of like a tough balance, but then some of my friends encouraged me to be authentic, to be specific. And I just embraced that.”

ESL students, your background, your nationality, what are going to influence the way that you interact

“Everyone wanted to help me tell the story that I wanted to tell.”

- Marlon Smith, filmmaker

A shot from filmmaker Roopa Gogineni’s short film. This shot is from her film Suddenly Tv Courtesy of Roopa Gogineni.

Ella Fields looks through her camera for an outdoors shot during her short film.