With this last assignment, I wanted to release my best work yet. As I edited my film, Precious Prey, I noticed with all the footage I had taken, I was well over the maximum time limit. This caused me to not only truncate my work, but to snip the big ‘plot twist,’ at the end. Nonetheless I believe the work is still sufficient, but the meaning behind my work shifts quite reasonably.

With this new ‘ending,’ the runner ( Tali Joy ), escapes from a hidden black figure that never actually exists. The figure is simply a product of her imagination, and it’s supposed to represent the problems and challenges she faces in her everyday life. With this new ending in place, Tali successfully escapes her problems, and comes home unharmed—an ending which although I am comfortable with, does not accurately represent my intention.

I wanted to convey to an audience that the things they most often procrastinate on or forget to do, can, and will catch up to them. In the last segment of my video ( the part that is edited out ), the runner ( Tali Joy ), wakes up from a nightmare-like state. As she tries to go back to sleep, a dark figure ( Iliana Barnes-Diaz ), arises from a rocking chair, and creeps toward Tali. This performance concludes the idea that at times the greatest problems you may be running from, may often be too great to outrun.

Despite this setback, I enjoyed filming this project. I learned how to better hold my hands still, how to freeze-frame a short, and how to pick up a scene from where I left off. These new practices will in time prepare me for the film industry, and I’m excited how much further I will be able to progress. But for now, I will continue to practice filming, and urge myself to try new methods with every project. Thanks for reading!

By: Gabriel Sampedro