top of page
Creative Process
Filmmaking is a complex process with many moving parts, each one interwoven to create a final whole. Below is a breakdown of my creative approach to filmmaking — a look into how I move from the conception of an idea to its final manifestation.
To illustrate the process, I'll be using my short film, Truths from a Corporate Sellout, as an example.
Pre-Production
Logline
Ophelia, a Disastrous Dates columnist, has aspirations to be an author and wants her oppressive boss, Janice, to publish an excerpt from her book. When Ophelia meets Lewis, who encourages her to break the rules and stand up for herself, she loses her grip on reality and embraces chaos to break free.
Initial Idea Development
The inspiration for Truths from a Corporate Sellout came from my fascination with the quiet way people learn to silence their true desires in order to survive within rigid systems. I wanted to explore what happens when someone who has spent years playing by the rules finally allows herself to listen to her heart again.
Ophelia’s story is about messy, imperfect liberation — not about destruction, but about reclaiming the parts of herself she was taught to suppress. I was interested in using surreal, heightened moments to externalize her emotional unraveling, creating a world where the lines between reality and inner experience blur. Lewis emerged as a mirror: the uninhibited voice inside her, coaxing her toward freedom.
From the beginning, I knew this would not be a story about success in traditional terms. It's about finding personal freedom — about realizing that you don’t have to live by the rules you've been handed, and that sometimes, embracing a little chaos is the first step toward becoming whole.
Creative Visual References (Shotdeck)
Using Shotdeck, I began building the visual language, mood, and tone of the film. There's an overall grittiness and internal tension that emerges through the visual references I selected.
Creating this reference image collage helped me start thinking about how to take the story off the page and translate it into cinematic language. As I continued developing the screenplay, I realized I wanted to explore visual motifs of containment and entrapment — whether through the rigid framing of office cubicles, a goldfish's POV of our lead actress trapped behind water/glass, or contrasting "framed" versus "free" shots throughout the film.
I created a shared document and folder with my DP where we collected visual references and film clips — a running archive of ideas, tones, and techniques we wanted to explore or try replicating in our own way.
Social Media Promotion
I created an Instagram account to build awareness and promote the film, which also supported our Seed&Spark fundraising campaign. Through the account, we connected with friends, family, and new audiences — building a community of support around the project.
Key Creative Team
My producers and I began reaching out to people we felt could be a strong fit to lead specific creative roles in each department. After sharing the script and pitch deck, we had an initial conversation to see if they resonated with the concept and had ideas for how to lead their department creatively.
Delegating and trusting each person to take ownership of their role was essential to building a strong team — especially in film, where it is a highly collaborative medium
Seed & Spark (Film Fundraising)
Check out our Seed & Spark campaign here.
My producers and I launched a fundraising campaign for this project. In the past, most of my short films were produced on ultra-low budgets that didn’t require fundraising, or they were client-based projects where the brand provided the budget.
For this film, we chose to fundraise in order to fully realize the vision — allowing us to cover essential costs like food, transportation, and high-quality locations without compromise.
In total, we raised $7,200. Outlined below is a breakdown of the proposed budget, along with the fundraising video I created for the campaign.
We were able to budget efficiently by securing many free shooting locations through negotiated deals and returning many of the props after filming.
Shotlisting
Below is a screenshot from the shot list my DP and I created together. It’s organized by scene, with a reference image for each — either taken during our location scout or sourced from ShotDeck. This helped us align on the visual tone and composition throughout the film.
Rest of Pre-Prod
I worked with a casting director to secure talent for the film, we continued outreach for locations, negotiated restaurant deals for crew meals, and finalized our transportation schedule. From there, the rest of pre-production came together smoothly.
Production
Scheduling
Our AD reviewed the shot list we created and developed a shooting schedule for our five and a half shoot days. This helped keep us on track.
Shooting / BTS
1/17
Above is BTS photos showcasing some of the process as we shot the film.
Post-Production
Click here to view stills and explore: Truths from a Corporate Sellout's full film project page.
Post-production is currently in progress. We have an editor, composer, sound designer, and colorist, each leading their respective departments.
For some of my past projects, I’ve handled the editing — and sometimes even the VFX — myself, but for this film, I wanted to work with a team to get their creative input for a more collaborative process.
💌 🐠
bottom of page