Senior Survivor

The Biggest Event of The Year

Senior Survivor is a charity event for Howell Highschool. It is a competition to raise the most funds possible for each team. A select amount of seniors are voted in to become a "survivor" to represent a team. Each year, they record the events that happen at night, which becomes a YouTube series that the entire school watches. A film crew will record the events, and edit that night, while sleeping at the school.

Context

To me, the intro was very important. It sets the stage for the entire series, and my predecessors set the bar high. My main drive was to hold up the integrity of the Senior Survivor brand.

Music Was My Inspiration

I can visualize cinematic scenes through music

Many times, music can precede a storyboard, and can actually create it. I interpret songs, their moments, their feelings, and translate them into visuals, imagining full scenes in my head.

What Should People Feel

I wanted a song that wasn't too intense, nor too happy. I wanted a song that was grand, heartfelt, joyful, and bittersweet. You can find this feeling in anime openings, or in a lot of Japanese or Korean pop/rock.

What defines Senior Survivor is the people. I wanted a major focus on personalities and camaraderie among the survivors, similar to the show "Friends". You can feel everyone bonding together and having a good time.

Directing the Survivors

To direct is to teach

No matter how talented the actor, the director’s role is to teach how to move, how to feel.

None of the survivors knew the vision, and they didn’t have to.

Directing is about telling people practical actions that will fulfill the vision of the scene. So that is exactly what I did. I tell people to stand next to a tree, to walk in a line, group up, look at the camera, pretend the camera is not there, etc. I asked people to practice a move, so they get it on the next take. The process is practical, and it is meant to just capture the visual.

Capturing What Comes Naturally

Not all scenes can be perfectly planned out. For example, the survivors posing came from whatever flare they wanted to add. All I said was, “Do a pose that represents you.”. Another improvised scene was the playground. All I thought was they would generally play on the playground. Whatever they do is authentic and would represent them more than I could direct.

You give people the freedom when authenticity is needed.

Combatting Being Average

Toward the end of the shoot, there was the final shot of everyone in hazmat suits (because it was covid time satire) and I didn’t quite get the perfect shot. However, the energy was waning and people began dispersing.

It’s easy to just move with the crowd, but my priority for excellence superseded comfort.

Despite the “exhaustion” from performing, the job wasn’t done until it is done. I rounded everyone up to let them know this was the final, and most important, take. That final shot would not exist without extra initiative.

Final Result: I Created Magic

The people loved the intro! Some even went out of their way to tell me. And that’s when I know I did a good job. But when speaking with some survivors, one unique phrase struck a chord within me:

“You made us look so cool!”

They were blown away with how they were presented, like that could not have been them. People may see themselves as very little, but that is not true. There is a deeper meaning in everything and everyone.

Practically too, when recording, all they saw was the boring details, but with the combination of elements and visuals, I was able to tell a story, portray deep meaning, power, and emotion.

I honestly loved hearing that, and I believe that is a part of how I want to give to the world. To see the deeper meaning, to show people can be more, and to create things that have inherent purpose and power to them. I want to take people on an adventure, an immersive ride, that reveals something true.

What to Do Next Time

I do look back on this project fondly, but I will always go back to improving on quality. This project had a good camera, so picture quality was good. Only a few moments had shaky footage, so I would be mindful of that for future.