As many of you know I used to study filmmaking. When I was in college I focused on writing and cinematography, receiving degrees in film, English, and a minor in creative writing. These things have long been my passion, but when I graduated from my university I quickly gave them up in favor of photography, which I have pursued since then. Last year I got the itch. A little voice in my mind told me I should start making films again. I was increasingly having ideas that were much better put to music, or seen in a sequence of moving pictures. I decided that the best way to begin would be to direct a music video – something small with people I know and trust to help me create art. And so I did!

Last October I got together with my friend Devin, whom I trust in any video-related scenario, utterly, and I told him my idea. Weeks later I was in Los Angeles with my little cast and crew as we began creating a video for one of my favorite songs. It was a little labor of love, and marked a step back into my passion, or at least what it used to be and still can be.

Isn’t it funny how we somehow decide what we are or what we should be, and any other dreams feel so far away – indeed, too far to pursue, surely. But deep down, if we set out with the intention of never defining ourselves, we find a great capacity for growing with our ambitions. Our greatest dreams can come true at any point in our lives, whether it fits a predisposed timeline or not. I thought I was going to be a filmmaker. I was fiercely determined. When I graduated and didn’t pursue that career, everyone that knew me was dumbfounded. “But what is that degree for, then!?” they would exclaim. I would look away, never making eye-contact, feeling ashamed, and mutter that I didn’t know. And we don’t have to.

Here I am, seven years later, diving back in to something I fell in love with when I was a teenager. It is never too late. It is never too early. Time should never factor in to our dreams, hopes, desires, wishes, or any other whimsical thought. Time is steadfast; let’s ride on the winds of our greatest whims and see where it takes us. You just might find yourself embodying the person you used to be, or falling into the person you want to be. I find myself as a 17-year-old girl again, fresh with the excitement of what filmmaking could be. No limitations, no fear of risk, no expectations weighing me down. No need to make money with every project, no need to prove myself, no need to be something that I know I am not nor want to be.

The lyrics to this song say “Don’t be scared, it’s alright.” What an amazing way to begin again in a medium that I have such history with. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared. Everything turns out alright in the end. It is a calming, beautiful message and I am so glad to have the artist’s blessing to share that message with you. Jerome, of Message to Bears, has written with his joyful approval to share this video, and so I present to you my music video for “At a Glance”.

Writer/Director: Brooke Shaden
Director of Photography & Editor: Devin Schiro
Producers: Kelly McGrady, KD Stapleton
Stylist: Laura Behary
Cast: Lola Clark, Danielle Clark
Steadicam Operator: Brandon Toy
Music by: Message to Bears, “At a Glance”