A new semester at Berkeley Digital Film Institute and another production under my belt. I spent alot of time writing and rewriting my script, not to mention all the time I spent working with my producer Peter Burns on putting the production together. After lots of planning and prep we finally had the actors, location, and crew scheduled and ready to go. I got almost an hour and a half of sleep the night before production. We spent a day in prep for the shoot with just the crew and setup and it paid off, despite my lack of sleep we had a great day of production. My crew (Jodie Martinson, Jules Kobelin, Marcelina Cravat, Tasha Isolani, Rob Dewitt, Karen Dea, Peter Burns, Liz Devon) were fantastic. They’re hard workers and gave me all they could to help me realize my vision for this project. Thanks, guys and gals. I couldn’t have done this one without all of you.

Wow. So much has happened. Location scouting, sending out casting calls, running auditions, scheduling rehearsals and shoot dates and now down to editing. We’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool in film making and we’re actually coming out of it. Personally I felt overwhelmed when we were getting started. I mean, even though I’ve had a chance to take part in other productions I’d never actually ran auditions myself or scheduled dates for shooting or rehearsals or any of it, but I jumped in head first and made myself do it and now I’ve actually seen the process come to life. It’s yielded not only experience, but even more confidence for me. I know I can do this now. I was born to direct and now that I’ve been tossed from the protective nest and forced to fly, I know I can. Coming here to BDFI was the right thing to do.

“Sundance is our arena. Bring it on!” - Patrick Kriwanek

My first day at Berkeley Digital Film Institute (BDFI) was more than I had expected by all means. It blew me away hearing what I was being prepared for in terms of leadership, method, and the way into a job for great studios. Patrick did a phenomenal job of describing our place in the film industry today and in describing the changes that were taking place between L.A. and Northern California. He put into perspective how much this school focuses on leadership and our role on set as opposed to the more technical side and vocational schooling. It was his confidence in himself and his school that really pushed things over the edge for me and helped me to decide to step out on my own in BDFI and have confidence in who I am and why I am here.

After leaving class on Monday I had lunch with a few of my classmates and was extremely excited to see the energy and confidence that they had and had been given in class in just that one day. Like me, some came into it nervous and not knowing what to expect, but sitting down to hear Patrick’s confidence in the school and in us was exactly the thing we all needed. Every student is hand picked by Patrick and it shows us that he sees something in each and every one of us, so when he steps up to show confidence in where we’re going and why we’re here it’s a huge boost and something a little surreal. It’s almost like you’re getting your first taste of success when he shows that confidence in you.

After going to BDFI for only 1 day I’ve still got that anxious feeling, but I’ve never felt more energized, confident, or ready to take control of my destiny in the life I’ve chosen in film. I was born to direct, BDFI’s showing me how.