On 11 Nov 2017, I submitted my entry for the myTreevolution video contest that I found out thru my university's e-Learning portal - ULearn.


That leads to the announcement that came out on 15 Jan 2018, which stated that I won 3rd place!!! Ok, so I had won just like that. Ha ha ha no.

Even if my video seems tacky and what poor judgement they must've had or that they "must've not receive any better entries", I still won't say it didn't worth me winning this. What makes people judge so recklessly when they themselves never tried to create anything better? I pretty sure at least the whole uni knew about this, since they've had the poster up for so long during the contest period. Plus they even had a 2-week extension...

The judges weren't nobodies, they are people who deal with content videos as part of their living. Whether it being in the business or the creative industry, I think their judging dah cukup adil dah.

It's obvious that I am not a pro. I don't put much thought when it comes to shooting videos. I don't really open my editing software unless I needed to make something... something like this je. But WHAT made me try so hard?

I still remember there's a class in my first semester of uni where I wanted to use the fancy university's DSLR camera to shoot our video project. I asked our lecturer but he said they're being used for a workshop. I kept insisting to know when can I get it and he said, "Just use whatever you have. Your phone camera nowadays can shoot 1080p some more, that is more than enough".

Never have I thought those few words can mean so much to me today. Because I never realised that. I had an old compact camera that took me so long to revive, only to find that the highest resolution it can shoot is in 720p. To my surprise, even an ancient budget phone like my ASUS Zenfone 5 (2014) can already record in 1080p. This actually did instil a spark of hope.

It means that the chances have always been here, I was just too oblivious to realise. Well I at least needed to borrow an iPhone or a DSLR or a mirrorless camera to produce nice videos kann? Apparently, no.

And that's when I realise, I don't need anyone or anything more.

I went on this experience alone. With the mindset of not letting anyone control it, cos I don't wanna give away the credit. From learning all about the theme, to making a spoken word poem that usually takes 3 days, to visualizing the script, to watching short films, to randomly shooting things in the streets, to editing... It sounds like a long journey for a noob like me. So frankly speaking it breaks my heart to hear (and forcefully had to agree to keep the conversation going) when people look down on the end product that I had proudly created. I was sooo proud of it that I wrote on my journal the day I submitted, 

"So far the best video I've ever done." 

Tbh, I am still proud of it looking back. Now I kinda resent myself for not appreciating myself enough. Screw that girl who said the judge was too dumb to judge! Screw that guy who told me my voice was the only reason I won! Your spoken word was great and your video was good enough. Amelynn, you deserve every bit of attention you gained! Everything wasn't wrong in the first place. Remember if He wanted it happen, He already made it happen. People should be mindful of their hatred. Seriously.

Dropping by,
Melynn.