I Made My First Film (in secret)

A few months ago, I had the idea to make a short film for Helen to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. It became a secret obsession.

Diving into a new creative medium has been invigorating. I’ve been forced to learn so much technical stuff - cameras, sound, editing, coloring, all of it.

But this is only the beginning. At least, I hope it is.

clues to your calling

Close your eyes (after you finish reading this paragraph haha) and think back to when you were around 8-12 years old. What was the thing you absolutely loved doing? The thing you thought about every night before drifting off to sleep, and that got you up first thing in the morning?

There’s something magical about being old enough to have a few skills and plenty of imagination, but young enough not to care about status, money, or what anyone thinks.

If you dig back through your memory, you’ll often find clues to how you’re wired, to what you were made to do.

For me, it was shaping trails and building forts in the woods behind our house, painting and drawing, and making little videos with Windows Movie Maker on our old HP computer (running windows XP).

Fast forward to today, and after stints making cheese, brewing soda, doing accounting, tax, and commercial construction, I find myself making art in nature (thanks Kassidy for coming up with my favorite job description), painting and drawing, and now, finally, 20 years later, dipping my toes in film.

Later, I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersection of placemaking and filmmaking. They reinforce each other. We’ll see where it all leads…

I have to warn you - this particular project is deeply personal. Feel free to skip it. But for those of you who’ve asked about our story, this film is a small glimpse of it. Helen gave her blessing for me to share it.

That’s all for this week. Have a great one, and keep dreaming about whatever it is you’re truly passionate about. Your 10-year-old self would approve.

—Isaac