I've been putting this off for far too long, always come here every month and stopping short of hitting post.
I have a conundrum, I love people, love being around them, hearing their stories or whatnot. My only problem is I don't get people sometimes, I don't pick up social cues very well or read people, and I don't get jokes sometimes, so sometimes I become the but of jokes. I've always felt different, sometimes isolated, especially as a kid, it wasn't till recently that I was diagnosed as high functioning Autism, which would explain a lot about how I have trouble interacting with people. This for a while has kept me from posting on here, even in the digital world it can be difficult to read situations and figure out how to respond. But I've come to the realization that I'm now 41 and have far too many regrets in my life, and in the past few months I've had to watch my mother slowly fade away as she dies from liver disease. Watching a loved one slowly fade away is one of the worst helpless feelings and experiences one could experience, and I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy.
I apologize for the ultra long post and if this is coming off like an oh poor me, it's not. I just don't want any more regrets. So here I am, taking a leap of faith and putting myself out there, and maybe, just maybe I might have finally found my tribe, the one place I can feel normal lol and accepted.
I’m a bit of a novice filmmaker that has just started out in sports videography helping out a friend shooting his basketball camps. Ever since I was a kid I had a love of writing and story telling, and seeing a world and I characters I create unfold in the story that I'm writing. I love having a camera in my hand, I very much need to work on my lighting and lens selections, as well as the terms and lingo, but I love filming. When I write I see the story unfold, shot by shot, with that being said, I’m looking to expand to narrative filmmaking and shoot a couple short films in 2024 and 2025. Again I apologize for the long post, and hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday :)
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It's great to meet you, Matthew McMahon. Glad you decided to hit post. You won't be the butt of any jokes on here. I'm a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. If you have any trouble getting people, picking up social cues, reading people, or getting jokes, let me know and I'll do my best to help you.
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Hi Mathew,
Please don't be apologetic. You should remember that we are all unique. All of us have different strengths and abilities. People who don't understand that make jokes of others. My advice is to remember your strengths and act on those. People will hire you or collaborate with you based on your strengths. I believe in that and have observed this in many wildlife battles. In my documentary Discovering Rann there is a sub story of how a desert fox is able to survive against the attack of an Eastern Imperial Eagle. The world will be a better place if we realize our strengths so that we don't wallow in our insecurities of not having xyz capabilities.
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You're in the right place Mathew welcome!
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A pleasure to meet you Matthew McMahon
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Sounds like you've found a good place for you to be. You've identified your strengths and your weaknesses. Build on your strengths . and move forward.
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Matthew McMahon Welcome, Matthew to Stage32 and well done on your first post.
Firstly, I’m sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. Yes, those times are difficult to face. I wish you my deepest sympathies.
Your regrets. Yes, we all have those, but as someone in his 60s, I think now that regrets are just bad accounting and when we do keep accounts for our lives, we always end up second guessing ourselves. But…you are in the right place to be encouraged with your creative work. Like Maurice, I’m a Stage32 Moderator and if you need help, just reach out to me and I’ll help you with what I can.
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Hi Matthew McMahon - it’s so great that you’ve decided to post and it’s awesome to meet you. You are amongst friends here and with other creatives who support each other in this community.
I’m a huge basketball fan - I bet it’s cool filming basketball camps. One of the things I love the most about this work is that we are always learning and growing as artists and craftspeople.
I’m also the Director of Education here at Stage 32. If I can ever be of any help on your Stage 32 journey or recommend any of our courses for you - as a filmmaker or otherwise - please email me directly at edustage32.com.