The Power of Film Anonymous

I grabbed my first camera in sixth grade. I would grasp the handle of the silver Sony camcorder like slipping on a comfortable glove, and glide my thumb over the intricate aluminum buttons, finally putting it to rest on top of the big red dot labelled “REC". My father had been especially reluctant to give it to me, since it was fragile, but my incessant begging to make my own stop-motion LEGO movies made him happy to help.

I would sit in my room for hours on end, painstakingly taking picture after picture of two tiny Star Wars figures dueling with lightsabers. Anakin’s jab was parried swiftly, but he followed up with a lunge that burned a scathing hole in Darth Vader’s cape. The whole fiasco ended with a spectacular explosion, with Darth Vader emerging victorious since I was in control of the ending. The credits would roll up from the bottom, with my name in big bold letters, a crowning glory of the little skit I had created.

Since then, I saved up to buy my own camera, began watching tutorials on YouTube, and learned essential cinematic skills like framing, directing, and editing. A couple friends and I even decided to launch our own YouTube channel, inspired by the online comedians and singers that made up the majority of...