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Free Sample Personal Statement in Film
East of Omaha I left a secure job and a lifestyle that would have
catapulted me into the upper middle class by age 30. I disappointed my
family and shocked my friends, but the applause from the packed
auditorium vindicated my decision to pursue my passion. At great
expense, I decided to follow my dreams, to refuse to be disappointed or
discouraged by life. As I reflected on all the difficulties I persevered
through in reaching that point in my life, I felt a hand patting me on
my shoulder praising my work.
I was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 28, 1972 because my mother
slipped on an onion peel while shopping at the local Hinky Dinky
Supermarket; the fall induced her labor and out I popped. In this rather
unsophisticated environment, where on Saturday the second largest city
is a packed college football stadium, I somehow developed artistic
aspirations, but did not have the opportunity to make cultural pursuits
a major part of my life. At the age of twelve, my fathers accepted a job
with Levi Strauss and moved the family to Kansas city. At this crucial
stage in my development, I found the arts fascinating, especially while
studying literature in junior high. Unlike the other students who
flocked to the hundreds of early eighties Spring Break movies, I
developed a discriminating taste and longed for the quality I would find
in a Stanley Kubrick film. At night, tackling Crime and Punishment or
watching Dr. Strangelove took precedence over arcades and football. I
carried my love for literature with me when I attended the University of
Kansas. I also studied economics, which combined my interests in
philosophy, history and mathematics. However, while I studied economics
for somewhat practical reasons and never thought of the discipline as
compelling enough to devote my entire life to, my interests in film and
music began to mature. Exposed to the unconventional films of Hal
Hartley, Mike Leigh, and John Sayles and to the poetic music of Tom
Waits and Leonard Cohen, I prized their works' Brilliant storytelling,
and this feature inspired my own work and my eventual pursuit of
filmmaking.
Facing high college loans and a desire to be economically secure, I
chose not to pursue my dreams immediately out of college. I fooled
myself into thinking my passion for filmmaking was just a hobby and that
I would be better off pursuing a more "serious" career, one with respect
and a high salary. As a result, I took a secure, comfortable job as a
financial analyst just two weeks out of college. My family was proud of
me, but I was not proud of myself. I quickly became restless and began
to think seriously about film. After much deliberation, I knew what I
had to do; I may have known it all along, but I needed time to work up
the courage, to make myself determined to succeed. I informed my mother
and father of my decision to move to New York and pursue film, and I saw
disappointment in their eyes. Despite my mother's crying and pleading
and my father's clear dissatisfaction, I quit my job, rented a U-Haul,
and headed east.
In New York, I took out a loan and signed up for the New York Film
Academy's two-month intensive program. Not applying any of the risk
management skills I learned as a financial analyst, I was going for
broke, either I would make it, or I would go down in flames. The first
day I had my hands on a camera and by the end of the program, I had
written, directed, edited and produced four films. Both thrilled and
humbled by my experience, I got a glimpse of exactly how difficult the
craft of filmmaking is. After two months of dedicated hard work, I had
not even scratched the surface of what encompasses becoming a filmmaker,
but I had reinforced my love for filmmaking. At this point, I knew I
needed additional education to accomplish my goals; I needed to truly
push my creative and intellectual limits if I were to master the craft
of filmmaking.
After seeing the quality, diversity, and professionalism of NYU graduate
student films at a screening last spring, I knew NYU could provide me
with exactly the skills I need. I find the idea of packing 100 strangers
in a dark room to watch a piece of film pass through a projector to be
an incredibly peculiar idea. But in this peculiarity of the art lies the
miracle, for humans are willing to suspend disbelief and be moved by a
character on a screen. The audience can somehow feel what that character
feels and learn from that character's experience. More than just this,
fiction also gives the audience the ability to examine different facets
of the human condition. Trust, resentment, affection, flirtation, love,
disappointment are issues that every human must deal with every day of
their lives. They are issues that everyone deals with differently.
Fiction allows one to experiment with putting people in different
situations and seeing how they respond. Writing and directing my own
films is my ultimate ambition. I know, however, that I am much further
along in my development in the art of editing. Sitting in the editing
room watching every single frame is one of my passions. Every single
frame is important; each could change an entire film. Like a mad
scientist, with my hair sticking straight up, I work frantically with
dozens of sections of film lined up around me. I spent many hours in the
editing room piecing together my last film until I had created something
I could be proud of. As the lights turned on and the audience's applause
died down, I turned to see who had put his hand on my shoulder. It was
Jeanyves, my actor sitting next to his admiring and grinning father. He
said, "That was beautiful." At that moment, I felt like a filmmaker. I
want to feel that way again.
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