Monday, July 8, 2013

SILAS ROWLAND: I am a filmmaker.

If I were to walk into a war zone, I wouldn't see the battlefield through a scope. I would see it through a viewfinder as I frame the shot, and capture the story. I've never been good a cooking, or anything else of that matter. You can put me in front of a broom, and I would ask if it was a boom.

I am a filmmaker.

   My age is irrelevant to what I am, but it is somewhat of the reason I consider what I am becoming everyday. See, my flesh is mortal, and while my soul is housed in it, I will grow, work and eventually die to meet my God. But somewhere in between that, the importance of living and becoming a man of importance lies, and it's up to me and only me to decide how that will come to be.



















SILAS ROWLAND, 17, Junior. Greenville, SC.   
   I usually say I picked up filmmaking a few years back when I got a camera, but it goes back way further than actually obtaining some technology. Aidan, my older brother use to pick at me and say bad things when I would lay in the floor ripping off Star Wars action figure arms (yes, awful and I regret it Obi-wan). He thought I was playing with some toys like a little baby, and so did I, but in reality I was expressing the stories in my mind in front of me visually. That's really where it started for me. I would position my head with the toys in front of me in angles you might see in films, and I would always have a "know it all" antagonist who in the end turned out good and helped save the corrupt world which he so happened to make. Aw, the good old days.
   You may see me as an ignorant kid who only has dreams, but I see myself as a dreamer who wants to stop dreaming. I have nothing against dreaming, but people usually make a dream a hobby or keep it at only a dream. I dream of creating films happily for the rest of my life. I dream of never having to work in an office where people hound me and bark orders only because they are higher ranking and ready for a check. Even if working film means I have to be flat broke, I would do it. Not saying I want to be flat broke.
   That's actually something that scares me. What if I am not cut for the film industry? I am graduating high school in a few years, and currently dedicating all my time to film. What if when I get out, there is nothing for me to lean on or go to? People my age right now are getting jobs, and cars, and here I am writing a blog and rendering a video.
   I've considered dropping the camera, but every time I do that I remember I have a thousand worlds in my mind just wanting to escape. I remember the times I have on set, and the process of creating those worlds. The reason I love filmmaking is because it gives me freedom, and a chance to share, be different, and explore. Nothing else can do that.
   The camera has let me see life in a different perspective.  Just like with every movement you make of the camera, it affects your story. Everyone move I make in life, and every path I choose, makes my story and my legacy.
    I use to ride a skateboard, but up until now I can truly say that isn't for me. See, I've always been one to explore my inner thoughts and emotions, but I never released them. The things in my head  I thought were for me, but in reality they were other worlds for you, you, and you. They were meant to leave my mind to be presented to your eyes, ears, and heart. I have stories building, and that's what makes me. That's who I will always be, and that is my legacy. I am a filmmaker.