IRIS

IRIS is the latest, of many of my short montages, that I filmed last summer during a road

trip across the United States. Joined by some friends and family, I was able to visit and capture

footage from multiple major cities in states from California all the way to Florida within a week.

On top of that, I thought I’d mix in footage of colors and historical images using light painting,

which is something new I tried for the first time in any of my work. For this video, I used a Sony

a6300 camera along with a Sigma 30mm F1.4 lens; for the light painting, I used a Pixelstick

along with multiple editing softwares. Overall, this was one of the toughest, yet most

exciting videos I’ve ever made so far. In fact, to me it became more of a learning experience than

anything else, from getting used to a new lens, to learning how to light paint, and even visiting

popular landmarks that I’ve never gotten to see in person. Aside from the beautiful trip, it wasn’t

until the editing where the real work began. I wanted to demonstrate the variety of sides that

make up the United States through images of American pop culture and a multitude of color

combinations. However, most importantly, I hope this montage can inspire others to get out

there and go through new experiences of their own. Not just for the sake of learning something

new, but to create memories of a lifetime. Just as I learned through this experience, I hope to

learn more and become a greater filmmaker than I was yesterday.