This is the first blog post I ever wrote. It was published last year, but I am now sharing it with The Outbound Life family.
hope you all enjoy :)
- Kyler
Hi, my name is Kyler McCormick. I'm currently 17 years old and I love to tell stories more than anything else. As far back as I can remember, I was the kid who thought a fun time with friends looked like picking up a camera and making movies. That love for storytelling has since grown from a weekend hobby to now my lifestyle. I've been blown away by the opportunities that have come my way in the short time of seriously pursuing my passion. But before I get into that, lets rewind a bit.
Two years ago, I made a decision so that I could spend more time learning about what I love most, filmmaking. I decided to homeschool. That choice has opened up my schedule in incredible ways. Where I used to be stuck in a classroom, now at any time I can be on a shoot, be traveling, taking workshops, or meeting up with other filmmakers to learn from. The way I see it, I've chosen to combine my education, passion, and job into one thing. Education is still extremely important to me, its just some days my classroom is in a set located in the city, or on a laptop in an airport.
For most of my life if you were to ask me what I wanted to do for a living one day, I would have said that I wanted to be a filmmaker. Beyond that blanket statement, I'm not sure I could have told you what that meant. Or why. So around a year ago, I wanted to explore that question more. I began by researching some of the almost "god like creatures" in the world of filmmaking. From directors like Scorsese and Tarantino to Spielberg or Kubrick, I was determined to get an understanding of the art of filmmaking. If nothing else, I took away an appreciation for what those storytellers said through their pictures, or what their movies represented in the times they were released. But I was surprised by what I ultimately found. I discovered time after time that I was more impacted by some 5 minute Youtube videos than I was by most 2 hour movies. It was then that I found a reoccurring theme in those videos, and that theme was hope.
At that moment, I realized something profound in my own life. I started with what, and not why. I decided on a career path, but had little to no reasoning on why other than it completely fascinated me. By reevaluating the meaning behind everything I do, I've found much more clarity. In return, I've discovered that at the root of it, I simply want to bring hope to others. I look at filmmaking as a beautiful medium to do just that. That change in perspective has been a great daily challenge to myself. "Am I bringing hope to others through my actions?" - and that goes for both filmmaking and not. I've been learning that the way I make people feel about themselves through my projects is just as important if not more important than the final outcome of that specific video.
Below this article, I will share a video my brother Kody and I put together titled, "Season of Love". This video is all about looking at my favorite holiday through a lens I am typically so blind to. That is the lens of those who feel nothing more than pain when Christmas comes to mind. This project is the result of countless incredible people coming together, and sacrificing their time and efforts to bring our vision to life. Although many videos I have worked on in the past and continue to work on are promotional videos for companies, its stories like "Season of Love" that are most meaningful to me. I look forward to putting out more stories like this in the months and years to come.
To close this first writing out, I want to end on one last thought. Mark Twain once said
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” This quote stirs something in me every time I read it. So I want to leave you with a question. Are you willing to leave the safe harbor in your own life to make a difference in this world? I try to ask myself this question every day. What are you saying through your story?
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