Song by Taylor Swift - all rights reserved
Director/DP/Writer: Sophia Chew
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Starring
Madison Chew
Sidh Shroff
Reilly Pearson
Thanks to
Jonathan Aggar
Elizabeth Baker
Graycie Viscon
Samyutha Chandar
Catherine Craig
Mariela Niederkorn
Charlotte Friedman
August was shot over 4 days in Seattle, Washington.
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August is the product of my sophomore year ambitions. Sophomore in high school, sophomore in college, and sophomore to betty. Through the making of these two films, I have learned the importance of intention with my projects.
Whether you've been following along online for the last five years, or just stumbled upon my chaos recently, you may notice my work has been public since my freshman year of high school. This openness brought me so much joy, opportunity, and connection, but it also created an odd feedback cycle of expectation and execution. In many ways, betty subverted my expectations with the response, and It put pressure on my next film to elicit the same reaction. Halfway through crafting the script, I asked myself, why am I making this? Who is going to see this? Who is going to be inclined to comment and share and stick around for the next thing? But these questions lost their power as I recalled why I made Betty in the first place: to express the thing I had been holding onto for years. To craft a time capsule of my thoughts and skill set at that moment in time.
I became sound with the thought that my films don't have to be the best things Ive made to be successful, they simply have to reflect myself and the time I made it. And I believe this is why so many people resonated with Betty, and why I believe August will resonate with people again.
You don’t have to experience a summer love triangle to resonate with August. You don’t even have to experience romance to be reminded of the feeling August displays so vividly. August surfaces in times of reflection, when years later, you ask yourself why you were willing to give parts of yourself to people who didn’t deserve it. You would rather have them laughing at you even though they used to laugh with you. You feel ridiculous in hindsight, and its not because you don’t know better, its because you think it will be different this time, if you just see it through. Like the end card says, August is for anyone who has the courage to continue seeing the best in people.
I also want to take this opportunity to mention how grateful I am that Betty and August have found their audiences. After my first year of college, I have been introduced to amazing people. I love helping others realize that film and storytelling is more accessible than they previously thought. Both films were shot, written, and edited by one person, shot on one camera, and compiled within a couple days. You don’t need a million dollar production to tell a story. I lurk online in the Taylor Swift fan film space and have seen excellent stories told with a variety of tools. I will link some of my favs below!
Also, I became a Sigma (camera and lens brand) ambassador because of Betty, which is still a wild sentence to me. Someone who works for the company had a daughter who saw the film and showed her dad. You rock! I would’ve used Sigma glass for August, even if I weren’t an ambassador, so I’m glad to be in their loop now :) Below I have also listed my gear used.
Did you know, according to a study, just 7% of cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films of 2022 were women? That's up only three percent from 1998. Your support helps people like me break this statistic. Extra thanks to Madison, Sidh, and Reilly, who jumped into this project last minute with full effort and attention. Live it up at college. I am so proud of you all and grateful to have you in my life!
Thank you thank you thank you!
Did I mention THANK YOU?
Soph
Some fan films I’ve loved!
YOYOK by Liam Moule (ofc Liam is here, my icon, lets make something please!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UOFr9oeriI
Champagne Problems by 3CW productions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXv2sSS0Tq0
But Daddy, I Love Him! By Kiera Morgan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ZXeDjHUHc
Happiness by Kelsey Pribilski Ray
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rEsxfGm9F8
No Body No Crime animatic by Haiyinchan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spCsH7zpVSA
No Body No Crime by Austin Busbin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRRsZl3ml0c
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Gear
Camera: SONY FX3
Lenses:
Sigma 28-70mm f 2.8 DG DN Contemporary
Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 DG DN OS
Sigma 28-105mm F2.8 DG DN | Art
Follow the August Film instagram
instagram.com/inezisonline
Follow the Directors instagram
instagram.com/shots_by_sophia
Watch betty (a fan film) here
Taylor Swift - Betty (A Fan Film) | SHOTS BY SOPHIA