JTWO's [INC]ubator Project Brings you "Dibs: Solving the Problem of Waste in Colleges"

Over the next couple days at JTWO, I spent a lot of time working on my pitch. I read over Dibs’ project development documents as well as Haverford College’s blog posts that spotlighted my friend Ken. I slowly began writing up the vision I had for telling Dibs story. For inspiration, I watched a lot of videos from Great Big Story, Vice, and Vox. With everything put together, I pitched my idea to Justin and got it approved. Justin gave me some suggestions regarding a good way to pose the initial question of waste within colleges.

The next couple days were focused on the logistics. I rented out equipment, planned out shooting days, confirmed actors, and all that good stuff. Now here was the hardest part. Finding shooting times with my friend Ken and Ahmed, the co-founders of Dibs. As full time students, there was almost never a time where our schedules overlapped. When I was free, they weren’t. When they were, I wasn’t. It was the most difficult part of this whole project, since our availability was so limited. In the end, we made it work.  I also have to give a big shout out to Omar for helping me with audio throughout the interviews.

Editing was probably the most rewarding part of this project. Through a lot of trial and error, and mixing and matching, I created a flow I felt told the story well. Once it was finished, I showed Justin and received good feedback. He told me the story was good and gave me minor suggestions on how to make the video more professional. For example, since I used white for my fonts, it was hard to read when it overlapped onto Ken’s shirt in one of the interviews. Justin suggested I use a drop shadow, something I had never heard in my life. He also told me that a good rule of thumb for words on screen is around four seconds. I incorporated his feedback and finalized my intern project.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the final result, especially given the time limitations with school, midterms, the lack of my friend’s availability, and more. With this project, I’ve improved so much in regards to production, storytelling, and editing. I’ve looked back at this final cut, and said to myself, “Wow, I actually made this”. Not only was this a rewarding experience, but it was one that tested my limits and ability as a filmmaker/storyteller. In a sense, Ken was my first client. The best part was seeing Ken’s reaction when I showed it to him. He couldn’t stop watching it, and thanked me a million times for my help. Thanks JTWO, for giving me this opportunity to tell his story.