...The last stand of our intrepid collegiate hero as filmmaker in training...

Our film project screening was tonight. It was the last official thing I had to do as a college student. I suppose now is a time for reflection.

My, what a way to go out...

This last week of project work was mad with intensity. As crunchtime began to creep in on us, we felt the need to shoot more and more. We had plenty of footage for what eventually became the finished film. However, our time spent in this city lead us to other interesting locals for particular shots.

And then, of course, there was the tagging.

One evening last week, Kelly and Sean headed one direction and I in the other. I wanted to come home and tweak my basic timeline (which was seriously revised for the final film), but they had a few specific shots that the needed to pick up. On their way back to the apartments, they began discussing the idea of tagging The Wall at Mauerpark as an intro to Kelly's section.

This idea was perfect.

This idea also inadvertently sealed the graffiti motif around which our film was built. It also gave me a natural transition from what became the final edit of my section and Kelly's section.

It's so refreshing when things like that happen.

The thing that I know that I most need to work on is sound editing. Our mics were crap, which is a shame because I spent a decent amount of money on mine. Maybe it's not a problem with the mic? Maybe it's the input in my camera? I'm not sure. I just know that our film would have been much better if we had better sound equipment.

But, hey...at least we finished the film.

I think it played well. I was really rather surprised by that. I had absolutely no problems with Kelly's part, Sean's part, or Dung's part. I was rather unsatisfied with my visuals, voice-over, etc. I did, however, like my soundtrack. I'm glad that I was able to include two of my current favorite songs in our little project (Arcade Fire's "Keep the Car Running" which opened things and DeVotchKa's "How It Ends" to close out the film). Those songs have continuously fit my moods over the past couple of months.

And "Keep the Car Running," in particular, stands out because I have a very personal reaction to it. It reminds me of so many things. I recall most vividly those long Oklahoma summer nights which I spent alone driving around in my little Dodge Neon with a Pepsi and a stack of good CDs...just driving and listening and watching the radio tower lights flash and storms rolling across the plains.

It's a song that constantly reminds me of all of the good parts about being alive.

Therefore, I had to include that song in a film about "memory."

And so now I sit here on my bed in my little former East Berlin apartment preparing for one last grand adventure before I depart from Deutschland. I am nervous. My stomach is a mess. But I feel good.

I feel hopeful.

I don't think that I'm finished with living in Germany. Who knows? But it's one of several possibilities to consider...

So for the time being, I will shift my thoughts from memories to possibilities and I will smile.

Wish me luck!