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amount of time it takes for anyone to edit even a very short piece. While in the editing room, the Director of Santa 3 said, “Boy, if people only knew what goes into the movies............” But now I know that everything I did was a learning experience for me. Every volunteer video I ever made helped me learn more. In addition, during middle school and into high school, I came down with an illness that presented me with a challenging situation. I was diagnosed with a rare low blood pressure condition called "Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome" that I've since recovered from. At the time, it left me feeling sick and dizzy whenever I would stand or sit upright for several minutes at a time. I was in bed for a year and no longer could do my other activities like piano, tennis, and karate, in which I had just earned a black belt. I went to numerous doctors and had surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. While I recovered for several years after that, I taught myself how to make and edit movies that I filmed with my brother and sister. So I'm hoping to encourage other people who are presented with an obstacle to turn that obstacle into their biggest strength in the end. The FYI Film Your Issue contest was a great way for me to express myself since I'm passionate about both the plight of orphans in Africa and also filmmaking in general. It helped me see the power of media and it reinforced my desire to have a positive effect on the world doing something I love, filmmaking. And there's still an infinite amount that I'm hoping to learn in the coming years…
Although this summer may have opened up some doors for me, I know I'll need to continue working hard. I was told by a Disney editor that once you break in, the way to move up the ladder is to be the guy who turns on the light in the morning and turns off the light at night. It's all about hard work. But in the end, it will be worth it. I'd love to be a director at some point, but I'm not expecting that to happen anytime too soon. It will probably take many years. Obviously, nobody's going to ask me to direct a big-budget feature right now, but I've been hearing that many directors start off by directing music videos and then some make the transition to features. So I'm thinking that my current plan will be to get experience on some mainstream music videos. Then from there, I might decide that I want to continue with music videos or I might even decide to pursue directing in a different arena. By the way, I'm planning on doing a question and answer session on my experiences this summer at some point here at Virginia Tech. Anyone is welcome (and encouraged) to come. I'll put the exact date and location of that on the “news” page of my website soon. Additionally, I'll be going to Sundance in Park City in a few weeks. There will be a Film Your Issue reception there covered by cameras for broadcast on the pay-cable channel STARZ. I was also asked to return to "Film Your Issue" next year as a judge, so I'll be looking forward to that.
Enough about me. The most important result of the contest is that the orphanage may get more of the help they desperately need, as well as the many other worthy organizations working in Africa. None of this would have happened if I hadn't had that opportunity to go to Africa last summer, and I want to thank the leaders of the trip. I was blessed to be able to film the Canaan children and their touching stories, and I'll always value my friendships with everyone over there. It's been amazing getting emails from people I don't even know asking how they can donate to Canaan or be a part of a mission trip there, so God is really doing some amazing things in Uganda. Such a small amount of money has given 100 children at the Canaan Orphanage a future, and a promising one at that. As you can see in the longer version of my movie, kids outside the orphanage look in with envy because of the better conditions there. So I'm hoping we can open that door to more children in the future. I won't be surprised to see that some of those kids become the future leaders of Uganda.
I want to thank HeathCliff Rothman and everyone else involved with the “Film Your Issue” competition: the sponsors, think tank, VIP judges, my family, friends, everybody who voted, and everyone I met this summer in LA. Click here for some pictures from the contest!
~ Tim Leaton
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