Camera Speed... Action

Even though this work week was shorter, the usual dynamic was shaken up a bit. Wednesday was fairly normal at work where I organized my boss’ files and emails. I was able to help Jordan a little by reading some thriller/horror script synopses for him to do coverage on. We also were holding auditions for an upcoming script of ours in the building across from us. Though I did not sit in on auditions, I met a couple candidates who came through our office.

Friday was a whole new world! Shout out to Andres for giving me the opportunity to work on set with one of his friends and colleague. Sara Zandieh, a director, producer, and writer, gave me the chance to be assistant camera on her new project on Friday and Saturday. The class was given the opportunity on Thursday so watch one of Sara’s shorts and have a Q&A with her. Sara had no intentions going into the entertainment industry while studying broadcast journalism during college. While traveling the world for work, she was surrounded by production a tremendous amount, which influenced her switch to the entertainment industry. Coming off of her journalism career, she created works that followed a documentary style. Now with some experience under her belt, Sara has been able to find her niche. Having fallen in love with comedies, Sara uses her drive, wit, and humor to create original content.

As an Iranian American, Sara's work focuses mainly on her heritage and worldly views of the Middle East. I cannot think of a better time than to work on such a sensitive topic. This project focused on a Persian girl falling in love with a white American, which is a big no-no with her family. This was an awesome opportunity to learn about Persian culture and heritage. The actress portraying the grandmother, Vida Ghahremani, was once the most well known actress in Iran. It was so cool to see that even at 79 years old, she is still pursing her passion with the wit and heart of a 20 year old. We filmed seven different scenes to put together a sizzle trailer to send to potential investors to raise the money to transform this into a feature length film. To keep expenditures down, Sara tries to do as much work in-house such as editing the content herself.

As I had never been assistant camera before, I was very nervous. Luckily, since the production was small, my role as assistant camera followed similarly to my past roles as a production assistant. I truly enjoyed my time on set and learned a lot. Sara was kind enough to spend time with part of the crew after we wrapped on Saturday. I was able to talk to her one on one, which led to a very in depth and personal conversation. Working for Sara has given me new hope to break into the entertainment industry as a woman in a male dominated business. She is an amazing and hardworking woman to look up to. Before those two days, I had never received so much support and encouragement to work towards being a cinematographer. It is women like Sara and her co-writer, Stephanie, that I truly have to thank for blazing a new path for young women like me who are just getting started in entertainment.