Behind the Screen

Considering that I was the only member of our group to not participate in the dance itself, what I learned from this experience will likely sound a bit different than their impressions. When looking at media, it can be hard to think of all of the people behind the camera; behind the computer screen, but without them, we wouldn’t have the beloved art-forms that we do. Still, without those in the front, those behind wouldn’t have anything to develop and display, and often not a means to draw an audience either. A media project is only possible due to a collection of people putting in the labor for jobs which each have their own grueling frustrations. Our short video highlighted this for me, but K-Pop idols as well as all those in the media industry must face this ten-fold, or greater. In my case, the most frustrating aspect of this project was repeated issues with technology. I had to overcome framing issues on my camera, as well as resolution, conversion, and software issues across multiple computers. Due to my perfectionism, I also spent long nights focused on minute details that I’m not positive can even be noticed to a viewer at this point.

Overall, what was most enforced in my mind was that when faced with difficulties (whether they be technical, physical, mental, temporal or environmental), the only thing that you can do when you have people who have been working so hard relying on you to capture their work is to push forward, try different approaches, and always give it your best with clear vision. I am thankful to my members, as well as to Mary’s friends who did it all without the motive of a grade, for striving to do the utmost every take, despite pain, fatigue, and the cold, long hours we faced together. They did this mostly without the experience of choreographers or dancers, and it was important to me that the efforts they made be visible in the result. I hope that the time I spent behind the screen can truly showcase this.