How To Live Life In A Year - Short Film
Hi r/Filmmakers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FYr90Snu24
My name is Justin Ying. I'm a student at Santa Clara University from Singapore. I recently made a short film for a college diversity club called the Asian Pacific Islander Student Union.
I'm doing Computer Science, a major I never wanted to pursue but felt forced into because it was the "safe choice". But thanks to AI and oversaturation, it's not even safe anymore. I could run away from my dreams, but they kept calling me. I just loved to entertain people; I was always really bad with my words when I grew up, as I had a speech impediment and got picked on a lot, so I used videos to express myself.
When I first moved to Santa Clara University, a student named Kephas Pope attended this school and was killed in a car accident while crossing the street here. Although it was talked about a lot, it seems horrible to believe people can move on from a devastating tragedy so easily. He was younger than me, yet I was given the chance to keep living, and that didn't feel right for someone so young to leave this earth. When I heard the news, I was depressed about breaking my ankle on a skateboard, but upon hearing what happened, I would consider myself grateful and lucky to even walk again.
Though in this film it is fiction, to some it is a sad reality that their friends and loved ones continue in a world without someone they lost. Riley is inspired by Kephas to give us the idea that life is precious and that we shouldn't waste time worrying about what other people think about what we do, when we never know what time we have left. I like to believe that if you care to shit-talk other people in life and put down others for what they like when they are just trying to be happy, you clearly are not happy with where you are. And to Kephas' friends and family, you have my deepest condolences, and even though I never knew him, he has taught me and everyone at Santa Clara University how we should not be wasting our time and life, as it is a gift that can be taken away at any moment.
We were given 4 weeks to make this film basically, and some people who were supposed to star in it had to pull out at the last second, so yes, a lot of us are reading lines while the scenes are happening cause some of us were never even supposed to be in the film. For example, I was in the film, even though 2 hours before shooting, I was sure I had someone else playing my character, but this is what happens when you plan around a bunch of college students' schedules. But I'm happy I not only finished it but got it pretty close to where I wanted it when the production crew at one point was just me and my camera + tripod. At the end of it, I'm just happy I got to tell a story that makes people laugh and learn the message about life and how grief is interpreted in different ways by different people. Making videos for a living is my dream, so if you do enjoy this film, please follow me on YouTube and Instagram so that maybe one day I can achieve that.
Thank you to everyone who was involved. I know this may be a silly or just an entertaining movie to some of you, but to me, this was an accumulation of ideas that make up who I am.
Insta: justinyingzhewei