Sophomore Abigail Lynch has chosen to complete an independent study on filmmaking this semester. Lynch has a background in theatre, creative writing, and even assistant directing, so filmmaking seemed a natural step.
“We’re mainly going into in depth on directing, cinematography, and video editing, because I’ve done acting before quite a few times, and I’ve done assistant directing and stuff like that,” said Lynch. “I really wanted to focus on the technical side of filmmaking, since we don’t really get a chance to do that during school.”
Lynch’s study included writing an original script, finding actors, and directing, filming, producing, and editing the final product. She says that she was partially inspired to complete this study by a script idea she had stuck in her head.
“I’ve had this idea for a little while, and I said ‘I wanna try this as a film format,’ because it doesn’t really work as a book,” said Lynch. “I don’t want to write it as a book, it doesn’t work how I’m imagining it.”
Lynch wanted her script to explore hidden themes, such as guilt, fear, and acceptance. The story follows a depressed teen, wracked with guilt over his mother’s death, as a friendly spirit comes to visit him and soothe his worries.
“I wanted to convey that message because it’s something that almost everybody knows and everybody feels but we don’t talk about it,” said Lynch. “It’s here in our society and we just kind of ignore it, and whenever people do talk about it, it’s considered weak or over-emotional or something like that. I thought it would be a relatively safe and a really interesting way to talk about things that, especially for me, are really relevant in my life.”
Such a major project as filming always comes with a host of unique challenges. Lynch said the most difficult part was technical difficulties.
“I have had quite a few problems with mainly communication, as in the things we’ve been using to communicate weren’t working,” said Lynch. “It’s just a lot of trying to get into contact with people who were hard to get into contact with.”
When it came time to finally begin filming, Lynch gathered a small team of actors: her, sophomore Caroline Lauck, and sixth grader Liam Courtney Collins. For Lauck, who played the main character, the gig had its pros and cons.
“My least favorite part was probably the schedule, because it took place after school a lot,” said Lauck. “My favorite part was probably just being weird with Abby.”
Lauck also says that the project gave her an opportunity to expand her horizons when it came to acting.
“I like to act and I thought this would be a cool thing to do,” said Lauck. “I liked expanding my acting knowledge. Being Eli kind of made me more aware of my strengths as an actor, and my weaknesses as well.”
Though Lynch enjoyed this study, she is unsure whether she will continue it in later semesters. In addition, she does not know if this will spark a future career or simply introduce a new hobby.
“Two years ago if you had asked me what I want to do with my life, I would have said design, or I would have said acting, and that’s what I would have done,” said Lynch. “I would have known what college I was going to go to, where I would have moved, how much the salary would have paid. I did all that research. And know as I’ve entered high school, and I’ve come across all these different opportunities, it’s not that I’ve lost my passion, it’s just with stress of school and busy schedules and some mental health stuff, I don’t know what I want to do with my life anymore.”
Lynch’s independent study presentation will take place Wednesday, May 15 at 3:30 in the media center.