FILM
The focus of this page are films Hailey has made within the last four years. They include class projects and what she have produced as the videographer for CU Boulder Hillel. Before each film, there is a description of what it's about and where her head was when she made it. With everything she makes, she always tries to make sure that there is some sort of intention behind it. She also thinks giving some form of backstory is helpful when watching a film so the context is understandable.
LAS VEGAS:
This is the most recent thing I've made. In June of 2022, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and do something that terrified me. I bought tickets to go to a concert in another state. When I got the tickets, I wasn't doing well mentally and I wanted to give myself something that I could look forward to. I went to go see the Jonas Brothers in Las Vegas and it brought me happiness that I can't describe. Because of them, I have my best friend and a place that makes me feel safe. After this trip, I came home with COVID but I didn't regret anything about my decision. So much so that I decided to go back for the same reason in November. This time, I went to two shows by myself and I attended two shows. I stood in a lot of lines that trip, including waiting outside of a liquor store for a couple hours so I could meet Nick Jonas. After that, I decided to go back in February of this year. Decisions were made during that trip because it was the first time I had ever camped out for a show. It was also my first barricade experience and I got to go to a private event where I heard five new songs off the new upcoming Jonas Brothers album. If any of these trips have taught me anything, it's to always take a risk because it will bring things that you never would've dreamed of. I never thought I would be in the same room as the Jonas Brothers, let alone meet one of them. This video is a compilation of the three trips because my main source of happiness from the last year has been because of them and the memories that I now associate with the city of Las Vegas.
PANDEMIC:
I made this in December of 2020 for my photography class; but was given the option to make a video. I interviewed my parents about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives. 2020 hasn't gone the way I thought it would, but I'm grateful that my friends and family are safe and healthy. I know not everyone can say the same, and I feel extremely lucky. This year has been hard on everyone. The death toll and the never ending rise in case numbers prove that. There are a lot of times where I forget that there were 2 and a half months of the year where things were still "normal". When CU shut down, I never had the opportunity to really process it. It was such a quick turnaround within about 36 hours and I didn't give myself the time to breathe and think about what was going to happen. I was also so convinced that after Spring Break, things would go back to the way they were. Clearly, that was so inaccurate because it's March of 2021 and here we are. I didn't think about what that would do to me because some of my best friends graduated in the Spring and I haven't seen them since March 2020 and I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to them properly. I've seen most of my friends over Zoom, but that's not the same as being with them in-person, which is something that is touched on in this film. Our lives have changed for better or worse and all I want is for this pandemic to go away so we can go back to the special things in life like concerts, graduation ceremonies, and vacations; but that's not going to happen unless every single person in this country decides to take it seriously and not be selfish. The actions that are made by every single American during this time affects when we will go back to "normal" and that's something I strongly believe everyone needs to realize.
BIRTHRIGHT:
In January of 2020, I went on Birthright Israel through CU Boulder Hillel. Birthright is a 10-day trip to Israel that is aimed towards people the ages of 18 - 32. I made the decision to go in college at the age of 20 because I wanted people I could still see and be friends with once the trip was over. Before I left, I was asked to make a promotional video that would be posted on CU Boulder Hillel's social media upon return. This film is the product. We went all over Israel, which is a place I had traveled to almost four years prior on a month-long trip. I am forever grateful I had the opportunity to go on Birthright when I did because two months later, the entire world shut down. This trip is extremely special to me because it's the last time I would be able to travel anywhere for who knows how long. In this video, there are no traces of what was about to come because I had finished it three weeks prior to COVID-19 being a problem. It was uploaded by me to CU Boulder Hillel's Facebook page on April 3, 2020.
YEAR IN REVIEW:
My second CU Boulder Hillel video project was to make a Year in Review. It highlights the different events that were held during the 2019 - 2020 school year, student spotlights, who was new to the staff, and the student leaders that held board positions. My music choice has to do with how the second half of the semester ended in a way no one ever expected and was a roller coaster. I haven't physically been in the Hillel building in over a year, and that's strange to me because I used to be there almost everyday. I made the slideshow in Microsoft PowerPoint and then finished it up in Premiere Pro. This video was uploaded to CU Boulder Hillel's Facebook page on May 27, 2020.
MINUTE A DAY:
In my digital editing production class, I had to do a project where I had to take one video every day. It was very open-ended and it allowed me to understand what I do on a daily basis and what I prioritize. As I looked through almost six months worth of footage, I learned what was important to me: my family, my friends, my dog, school, watching TV, and listening to music. I think this is the film out of everything I've ever made that encompasses my personality the most. It's the most personal and at about the halfway point of doing this assignment, the pandemic hit. There are a few allusions to it, but it's not the main focus. With the song, I heard it on a ACM special on ABC in April of 2020. I had been struggling with the music for the assignment and once I listened to it for the first time, I decided it was a song the entire world needed to hear. In this case, the "entire world" was a class of about 20 people; but that's how I felt in that moment. It's one of my favorite films I've made in college, which is why I felt it was necessary to include.
IT'S A LOVE STORY:
These films go together. The video on the left is the original, and the one next to it is a sequel. For a production class, I had to make a documentary. I decided to do one on my parents and their childhood, how they met, their wedding, and what their relationship is like. I conducted interviews with them, collected footage from various sources, and edited it all together using Premiere Pro. I had also somehow decided to recreate how they met using Barbie dolls. When I came up with this idea, I was half expecting my class to absolutely hate it and tell me they thought it wasn't the wisest thing to do. It was unconventional and I didn't know what it was going to end up being. But, their response to it was positive and because they reacted so well, I decided to do use this tactic again; except this time to recreate their wedding. A girl in the class had helped me write a script for it and my dad did the narration; as he did the first time. I decided to make a sequel because I felt I could do more with it. In the second one, my parents interview me and I do one of them together. It shows the relationship we have as a family and the dynamic they have as a married couple.
IF ONE THING HAD BEEN DIFFERENT:
This video is from a class I took about performance art, which brought me out of my comfort zone because I had never done something like it before. Taking it remotely was also a whole new experience because this type of class is meant to be in-person. The premise of this project was to recreate a dream. Mine was about traveling & what would've happened if every trip I had been on since 2015 happened consecutively. I went to Hawaii twice, Israel twice, and Los Angles. The music choice is also significant because in the context of the theme, it's not about a relationship. The way I interpret it instead is if we had controlled the pandemic and everyone had cared about it from the start, would we back to normal? Could we be able to meet in person like we did over a year ago (or seven months like it was at the time I made it)? The line in the song that stands out that most represents this is "If one thing had been different, would everything be different today?", which is the main theme. No one knows the answers to those questions, but it's something I thought about a lot while making this.