By: Gracie Giffune
I didn’t know that you could make movies for a job until I was about 15. I realized it while watching The Lord of the Rings with commentary, like a sad nerd. When I started telling people I was going to try and make movies after graduating high school, everyone always gave me the same pitying “sure you are” look. WELL, LOOK AT ME NOW, SUCKERS!
I won’t lie: part of what keeps me coming back for more from this slightly toxic industry is wanting to be as successful as possible purely out of spite. I’ve had my fair share of condescension and mistreatment, as if I’m some kind of idiot for wanting to learn more all because I wasn’t born into a film family. And don’t get me started on all the “do you need help carrying that?”.
Truthfully though, I love the shit out of this dysfunctional industry and the various jobs I’ve had in it. I love telling stories, I love meeting weirdo artists, I love painting with light and seeing a shot come together through the camera. There are so many good things I’ve discovered because of filmmaking and so many good people and I can’t imagine my life without it.
And on top of all of that, I also carry the burden of being one of the very very few people to have gotten a scholarship to NYU Tisch - if I don’t thrive in this industry, I think they might be contractually obligated to kill me.
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