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Films had always been fascinating for me, to watch superheroes like Spider-Man fight off the bad guys by clinging to miles of sticky, crime-fighting web or see carnivorous dinosaurs devastatingly roar and send waves of terror deep beneath my bones during epic cinematic productions was always my favorite way to experience a story. Mesmerizing for me, was watching those heartwarming films like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” where unlikely heroes end up winning all that their heart’s desire, like when “Charlie” magically wins the Wonka’s ‘Chocolate Factory’ tour.

The characters and messages I knew and loved had lasting effects on my view of the world and on my understanding of what true greatness is. But are all the characters on a screen just born to appear as such on film? Do characters like “Charlie” from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” just go to the  studio, say their lines, and “bang!” a movie is released? I have to admit, when I was young, I may have felt this to be so!

Because of my love for all things cinema, I eventually became involved in movie-making, and I found it was not as easy to produce a movie as my imagination had told me it would be! This became especially clear when I joined the New York Film Academy to experience the filmmaking process…

For the first two days out of six, all of us at the academy were handed a camera. I thought, Really? A camera? I am not here to learn to be a cameraman, I am here to learn to be a Director! Steven Spielberg was never depicted holding a camera! He was always shown wearing a director’s hat and ordering the actors to do what he wanted them to do…!

But time was too short to lament for long that elusive desire for “the hat.” I strove to become, in a very short amount of time, the camera expert I needed to be. To my complete surprise (and to be honest, secret delight!) after several failed attempts to adjust tripods and many close calls saving the heavy and expensive lenses from falling and breaking; it somehow all clicked! I felt like superwoman. My camera instructor’s frowning, wrinkled visage turned into a smile. He looked at me like I was his crowning glory, and the half-open mouths of my team mates released sighs of relief. I felt good about myself. The first hurdle was over.

On day three of this crash course, we were introduced to a bunch of blossoming, young student actors who had come to take part in the workings of our training. While they presented an act in front of us, we all cheered and surveyed the group for potential greats. My eyes were already on the lookout for the Leonardo Dicaprios, Johnny Depps and Meryl Streeps of the group!

We were each going to be in charge of creating, casting, and filming a short film, and these were to be our stars.

When our introduction to the cast member pickings were complete, the big moment came. We finally got to meet an actual director who was to be our instructor for the rest of the course. She was amazing, methodical, and really knew what she was doing!

First, she taught us some real world acting basics. Then, she showed us how to write a screenplay and how to direct.

We all took notes, some of us jotting stuff down, and others just absorbing the entire experience and trying to piece it all together.

Our instructor was not one to dally, so by the beginning of day five, we each were instructed to have a screenplay not just in development, but complete and ready to shoot.

I wrote a screenplay called “The Forest Vampire.”

Day four, possibly the craziest and most stressful day Of My Life, we met at Universal Studios. Now, you have to remember, I was at this stage of my life a director hopeful, and not in any way a renowned or experienced professional. So, the opportunity to shoot here, at the one and only Universal Studios, was literally one of the most exciting opportunities of my life. I will never forget that day. It was hot outside, practically sizzling, and altogether a crazy time! But I did my part: I got the job done.

Next day and half was all about editing which turned out an art worth making a career of.  An art that can turn the loftiest looking object into an appurtenance of higher notability. I finally brushed scene after scene of the silent short film with the diverse musical tracks of love and deception; full of sinister snarls and chirrups. Then released my film to production with the dire hope that the cadence might be more comprehensive to the ears than the very thoughtful visual of the performance.

 When the day was over, I could only hope that my film would be okay!

The final day of this thrill ride of a course, we had a premier. Each student got to see his or her film presented in front of an entire crowd of fellows, actors, and instructors. And each of us was desperately hoping that our own film would somehow make a good, and lasting impression. I headed to the store that afternoon to pick up a cute dress and pair of strappy heels to enjoy the day in, but was delayed by LA traffic to such an extent that I had to reroute just to make it to my own premier on time. I arrived in torn dirty jeans and tennies, much to my own chagrin!

 I decided to try to forget about my appearance and just enjoy the day if I could. As each of my teammate's productions played on the big screen before us, I found myself quite moved emotionally. My fellow students had all done a great job. But soon, it was my film’s turn, and my stomach was in a thousand knots! I was so nervous! This was my first film, and I was really hoping it would be good.

The clip started. It was supposed to be a horror film, and I was hoping that some part of it would ring true. And it did, in a way. For the entire five minutes of my film “The Forest Vampire,” my friends laughed like they had never laughed before. My film had transformed from a horror film into an absolutely hilarious comedy. It was possibly one of the funniest films I have ever seen. The melodramatic acting, the cadence, the short duration of the film... It was too much!  

To be honest, my movie had not really turned out as I had expected, but I have never felt prouder. My cheeks raised in smile like a pastry in an oven. My heart was aglow. That was the moment I forgot about the pain of filming in the sizzling summer, my unfortunate outfit and just relaxed in the success of my efforts. I forgot about makeup, dirty jeans, old tennis shoes and just felt like a shining star. I knew at that point in time that I had made the right choice to enter cinema, my screenplay was a hit.

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