I watched it again. 

That should’ve been shorter. I hate this voiceover. You can’t tell what’s happening here. That broke continuity. Why is that even here?

Those were only a few of the thoughts I had while watching. But I also thought: This is my proudest accomplishment. My greatest achievement. 

The movie ends and the credits roll. Extra Credit: Written, Directed, Produced and Edited by Lennon Riedie. Oh, and I also made the credits page. 

***

We had already delayed the shoot for months. I was sitting on a script that was practically building dust. I think a part of me had waited and stalled for so long because I was so worried I’d ruin it. This wonderful idea I had meticulously created in my head before even writing the script down. 

The script was not perfect, but to me it might as well have been. To me, it gracefully explored ideas of masculinity, the role of authority and the desire to fit in. I didn’t think I, or my high school film class, was ready. 

Still, I methodically tweaked the script and devised a shot-list with my friends. I found real, adult actors, who weren’t anybody’s parents. I was determined to make this film stand out from what I or my peers had done. We sat on it for months before filming, and even though everything seemed ready, nothing is ever ready. 

We scrambled to find extras, of which I needed 5-10 of them to create a believable set. We struggled last minute to find someone who could do audio. We didn’t know where to shoot it all until the day of. 

The biggest mistake though, was who I had cast as Tyler, the main character: my friend. He fit the part, and he was a splitting image of the character I had formed in my mind over all this time. The problem? English wasn’t his first language. 

***

Overstressed. Manic. Desperate. I had the uniquely impossible task of managing the set. This involved directing actors I had never met, and who didn’t know what the movie was even about. But this was also the balancing act of being incredibly stressed, and trying my best not to have it rub off on my crew. 

We made sacrifices and shortcuts on a whim because of my impatience and the fact that we were running on limited time. Lines of dialogue changed, specific moments were scrapped altogether, and by the end of the shoot, we ditched the shot list and filmed the central fight scene almost without a plan. 

When it was all over though, things stopped looking so grim. I successfully translated my script into a student film that was great rather than just serviceable. All the things that spelled out impending doom at the start, like my unfamiliarity with some of the actors, or casting my French-speaking friend as the main character, added charm and depth to the film that I never envisioned before. 

Extra Credit felt like the goal of the skills I had built from shooting films in the past, whether it was through summer camps or other projects in class. The synthesis of everything I learned from the greats: Scorsese, Fellini. Kubrick, Mrs. McIntyre. 

So yes. This imperfect, stitched together, amateurly directed student short film might be my greatest achievement.