1st Place, Personality Profile
2021-22, Division 1, Yearbook Verbal
By Abril Albuerne-Rodriguez & Sabrina Seldon
Gladiator
Troy HS
Independent filmmaking is a long and tedious process that most wouldn’t take on, but senior Haohan Wong is thriving off his love of capturing special moments and creating films.
“One of my inspirations is Sam Kolder, he’s like a travel filmmaker. Since my sophomore year, I have been trying to take inspiration from bigger YouTube filmmakers. I tried learning on my own as well from YouTube videos and other free sources. It’s been a blast soaking up everything and applying it into my own work. I started around middle to late sophomore year, like in the spring,” Wong said.
Wong decided to form a film club at Troy High to help and guide fellow
aspiring filmmakers.
“I also started up the film club at Troy High this year. I have a nice group of friends that are my board members and we all have different likes in filmmaking. One of my friends is more into the sound and music of films so he tries to produce music for them. My other friend is more in line with my interests, he likes to create visuals and edit. Our community is pretty good right now. We have about 20 to 30 regular people on Zoom every other week. We started (the club) in 2020 during October. I had the original idea and
(presented) it to them, then we worked together to start it all up. We meet every other Friday right otter school,” Wang said.
Wang shared his words of advice to anyone who is interested in the field and is willing to try creating films of their own.
“If I were to give advice or any tips to someone who’s just starting out in filmmaking, I would say the biggest thing is to stay true to yourself and be authentic. The motivation you use to create shouldn’t be based on how many views or likes you get. Coming from someone who’s been trying to create (content) for almost two years now, it’s definitely a grind. Most people don’t start off with a viral video. It’s a rare occurrence. Everyone starts off cringing at themselves like “aw man this is garbage”, but that’s a new lesson you learn. No matter what, you have to keep trying. Learn from your favorite filmmakers or YouTubers. Don’t let the numbers get to you, it doesn’t measure your growth,” Wang said.
Wang has completed multiple documentary type film projects as well as brainstorming new ideas.
“Currently, I’ve been creating more documentary based films capturing real life and telling the story through it. My biggest project so far was this short film called ‘Distance’ which was dedicated to my family during times of quarantine. Another project was my football one where I captured small moments (that came with) the season. This type of work feels right to me because I believe it’s important to document these memories so we can look back and cherish them in the future. I have been wonting to explore more narrative filmmaking and creating a whole new world. Now, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do for the class of 2021 senior video. I’m in charge of putting all of that together. I think the biggest struggle right now is getting footage throughout the year because we don’t have many events to go to. I know some of my board members are going to help me out with going to events as well hopefully it works out,” Wong said.
‘Distance’ has been Wong’s longest project so for. He states that he has grown
(artistically) since creating it, leading him to critique his own work and improve.
“(My film) ‘Distance’ is around six minutes. It took about two months to do everything. The annoying part about independent filmmaking is having to do everything throughout the process, for example, shooting, planning, editing among other things. I think it’s also a cool perspective to be able to work on everything so you have a little bit of knowledge of the whole process. It’s good that I’ve grown since I created that film because looking bock I do notice quite a few mistakes and other weird things I used to do before. It’s a sign of
growth and I’m proud (that) I’m judgmental towards it,” Wang said.
Wang submitted his piece ‘Distance’ to multiple film festivals. He talks about his future with filmmaking.
“I submitted (‘Distance’) to a couple of film festivals and it got selected for three or four. I did apply to some film focused schools such as New York University Tisch School of Arts, one of the most renowned schools, so I took my shot on that one. I also applied to the University of Southern California cinematic studies program. Hopefully they give me a shot,” Wang said.
Y-05. Personality Profile
A single story that focuses on one teacher, coach, staff member, student or student-athlete that makes the character three dimensional.
Judging Criteria
- Clear, relevant, engaging angle that makes story worthy of inclusion
- Solid lead that draws reader into story
- The conclusion ties back to the central point of the story and leaves an impression on the reader by using a powerful quote, vivid anecdote or important point that acts as a “kicker.”
- Meaningful student quotes that enrich story and reflect effective interviewing
- Evidence of adequate research
- Story goes beyond superficial coverage to give a total perspective and feel for the subject
- Adheres to rules of good journalism including: short paragraphs, effective transitions and use of active voice, freedom from editorial comment, careful editing and proofreading to eliminate mechanical errors, correct use of grammar