ChomPics Guest Post- Jared Ruddell, "Pressed" Episode 3 Director
“We’ll fix it in post!” became my catch phrase while directing this episode of “Pressed” this semester. I was blessed to have the opportunity to direct again for ChomPics after I directed episode 3 of “Off Universty”. The great thing about working on both series was that I was able to see how much ChomPics has grown in just a short year. We went from a webseries and a commercial team to producing our own entertainment show and podcasts just over the summer, which truly shows how talented and dedicated our Executive Producers Beth and Connor are (hold for applause). This semester our production value increased expotentially! We had wonderful actors, the leads Micaela, Sarah, Chase and Zak were a joy to work with as well as my lovely production crew Joe, Nicole and Jessi you have my heart.
The main reason why I love ChomPics is because you gain real production experience here on campus! Yeah, we’re just students and yes we make lots of mistakes, even though some of us have done this before, but that is the best way to learn. You learn from your mistakes and know not to make them again.
As a graduating senior who hopes to one day win an Oscar for Best Picture for a movie musical (of course) I have learned so much from this organization. Being a director is such a rewarding position I suggest everyone to try it out. You get to lead a fun crew, while bringing your vision to life. Not only do you also gain confidence in your leadership skills, but also you get to be involved in all aspects of production ranging from casting to helping in editing. It’s honestly the one stop shop of production.
Okay so I lied earlier when I said that learning all these neat production skills was my favorite part about ChomPics when actually, it’s the people. When you join ChomPics you’re not just getting more material for your reel, or just joining another club but you’re getting a family within the J-School. As someone who was a Chemistry major, then Business and finally Telecommunication Production as a junior I was so lucky to have ChomPics to turn to. While working on set and the long hours in the editing lab everyone around you becomes your best friend and all those hours of work melt to way into those unforgettable college memories your parents always talk about.
So all in all you can see I am a die hard fan of this club. If I could go back and change anything I did in my college career it would be to have done ChomPics sooner and study abroad, but that’s a different blog post. And if I could leave you with one piece of advice it is to not be afraid to pursue something you love just because you think you might fail.
