ChomPics Guest Post - Tara Hempstead, "Pressed" Episode 2 Co-Head Writer

I will never forget sitting at the table read, holding the script of 20-something toiled-over pages, and hearing the cast say the lines for the first time.

But we’ll get there in a second.

I’m a junior Production major, and have the honor of saying I co-wrote Episode 2! At this point last year, I was questioning my purpose in a darkroom. Literally. I was a Photography major. The two-year journey to finding my current major and this group was a lot like writing the script. Both involved listening to a lot of impulses, followed by editing and soul-searching until you reach a point of inexplicable happiness. The elusive “Industry” is all alien territory, but being on ChomPics’ Writing Team showed me that writing scripts is what I want to do for a living. (To ChomPics: IOU)

Kaitlin was the other head writer. She may call everyone “the worst,” but she is the best. Before teaming up with her, I related hardcore to the old Internet proverb, “When I die, I want former group project members to lower me into my grave so they can let me down one more time.” But ChomPics taught me to believe again. Between working with Kaitlin and the rest of the writing team, (shout out to the dreaded Google Doc of edits, where your screenplay drafts get beaten into submission! Just kidding; no hard feelings.) I feel like we created something really special.

Which brings us back to the table read. It marked the end of the writing process, but the beginning of watching a crew of wickedly talented people bring it to life.

And I don’t mean you’re like P.L. Travers watching Disney murder your precious Mary Poppins from the sidelines. You’re constantly being asked if something jives with “your vision.” But you’re mainly just standing there googly-eyed, because hearing people say words you’ve written is one of the coolest things that can happen to you. I’m still not over it.

Every part of the process brought a new form of excitement. At first I told people, “I get to write for a web series!” Then it turned into, “People are actually reading a script I wrote!” And finally, “Actors are memorizing words I’ve written.”

So many people worked tirelessly to create Amy’s majestic world of grilled cheese, and all of them also happen to be awesome human beings. It was so much fun being on set with everyone and getting pulled into the editing lab to watch early versions of the episode. Being surrounded by that level of creative energy was inspiring.

Now that the episode is finished, it feels rewarding to tell people, “You can watch something that I was a part of!” Like I said, this is all foreign to me. Maybe this excitement goes away after a few projects, but I doubt it.

#chompics #cjc #gatornbs #pressed #tarahempstead