Hero’s exist

I was never the best at writing or showing off any skills whatsoever to the best of my abilities when it came to film and tv production. I’m not gonna lie I had no idea what I was doing but frankly I don’t think anyone really ever does when they start in their first semester of a 2 year technical school. Unless of course you grew up thinking you knew more than everyone else and already mastered the technique but just wanted a degree to look good for yourself. Unfortunately I wasn’t like that, I had issues I’ll admit, no idea how to work a camera, no idea of how to bring any of my ideas to life. Once, I tried in middle school but that was a complete fail. College came up after 3 years of graduation and then I’m in. My first semester already, nervous yet eager to learn. That’s when I first saw him, old yet so unique in his own way, smart and didn’t know just yet but he would be the biggest inspiration of everyone in his classes life. It started with a proper introduction of everyone, then following an introduction to himself. His name was Steve. People called him Alien Steve because he loved Aliens and it was also surprisingly part of his email address. Anywho, steve was a bright and talented guy, he’d been teaching for so many years of his life but also has helped in so many big film and tv shows. Coming from a bad spot in his life to enjoying it in the spot light with so many great actors and directors, he was very well loved and respected. He’d sent students to work for film projects and they’d land major roles in the industry like C.I.A Miami, The avengers, different horror movies and so on. When I heard his story I knew he’d be the key to a better mind and would help me love the film industry more than I had already did. He didn’t teach from books, he taught from knowledge and experience. Wisdom of his own words that meant more then just words out of a textbook. When he was asked why he didn’t use one he’d respond with “A textbook doesn’t actually teach you anything and it’s not always correct, I choose to teach you with my experience because you will need to learn it from someone who knows more than just a book.” To be sincere, he made college so much fun and easy for us.

This was it, our first hands on projects we would do for his class which is why I enjoyed it so much. Audio! Yes, it might sound not so fun to you but it was amazing to me. Still, not what I wanted to do, but to learn and get experience came in really handy. He taught us the difference between bad audio and good audio, how to use a boom mic, lavalier mic, using higher equipped devices such as Audio recorders and how to make your audio sound clean and not have such horrible background noise like chattering or the air vents going off. Obviously when you record you hear those things but after we were done recording our little projects we hopped onto some iMac computers and installed our projects onto RX pro. He showed us how to cut out the scruffy noises in the back and how to make everything sound so much better. Aside from the audio projects, we got to work in front of cameras and a lot of other fun little things. Point being said, why is he exactly my hero? He left the year after my second semester. I regret not being there as I had been fooling around and not attending school. I went to his classes a lot and attended my first class with him but I missed out on a lot and I just felt so overwhelmed and upset that he retired. We got a new teacher in and he was a pretty goood teacher but Steve had always found a way to only talk to me in his office and give me advice on how to do things the right way. Never once doubted in his mind that I could be more than what I thought I was capable of. He was a man of faith and belief. He believed in me when no one else would. I learned a lot from both teachers but after my 3rd semester, with him not being there and me not enjoying as much as I had use to, I quit college and never got a degree. I still followed in his footsteps though and got into writing a lot more to make my own movie/tv scripts. It was a fun process that I still love to this day and all I hear in my head is Steve reminding me I can do it. Life right now hasn’t been the easiest, I wished I had just finished school and maybe my daughter wouldn’t have such a horrible unstable life. That’s why, in the fall of this year, I will go back to finish what I started. I’m going to do it in honor of Steve, which no he’s not dead, but in honor of him and how he once told me that you don’t need a degree in film to work in the industry but it helps with so many connections to actually land a job with a big studio. That’s what I’ll do. It’s been a long time, things have changed and so have I. As I go back to school in the fall, I’m gonna make sure he realizes just how much I appreciated everything he taught me and for loving something so much that it’s all my mind thinks about aside from my child. I’ve had dreams, long term goals of being my own film director and that’s what I’ll achieve. To my hero and the one who’s opened my eyes to see a bigger and better world even if it can be scary at times I say thanks and this is for you. You’re legacy will remain in that school and will continue to be a place where so many good people have gone to some very big places all because of you. Now it’s my turn to make you proud and I promise to have you in my mind reminding me of that optimism you once had in me.