FEATURES
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ONLY WORLD Senior Madelyn Paley gives us an in-depth look at the creation of her awardwinning short film, “Only World,” for an environmental awareness competition. KYLIE PATTERSON
STILLS FROM “ONLY WORLD”— (Above) A panning shot capturing an upwards view of tree branches against the sky. (Below) This scene at the middle of the film follows a bee as it crawls across a flower. Paley edited her video to switch between shots portraying the beauty of the Earth and the harmful actions caused by humans.
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The film industry caught senior Madelyn Paley’s eye from the second she could understand the concept of a movie. As a three-year-old, her fascination with moving pictures blossomed into something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. “When I was little I would never talk about the actual movie, I would go and look up behind the scenes footage so I could get to see how it was made,” Paley said. “Ever since, I’ve been more interested in the creation and the background of it.” Paley’s cinematic interest was piqued by an extra credit opportunity offered in her Environmental Science class. The assignment was to enter an environmental film contest called Green Shorts, offered by UCLA. Having only found out about the contest 10 days prior to the deadline, Paley rallied her talents and created and edited her submission in two days. “It’s more like a commercial honestly, than a film,” Paley said. “It’s like an ad for television. There’s no talking, it’s just music.” Paley’s two and a half minute video is presented without dialogue, yet it’s theme and purpose come across clearly to the audience. “It’s about how much we’ve affected the environment and how much we’re killing it and destroying it,” Paley said. “But at the very end it gives hope that we can still do something.” Making it into the final three of the entries in her category, Paley was invited to attend the awards ceremony on October 20th for the filmmakers at the Earth Now: Earth 2050 Conference at UCLA. “The three runners up all appeared on the screen in short little previews of their videos.” Paley said. “It
was so cool, it was like the Oscars. I felt so famous.” Unlike the other competitors, Paley had no outside help or production team. Despite this, she won first place in her category. When Paley received her award, her video played for the convention audience, filmmakers and UCLA students alike. She was asked on stage to answer questions about the creation and meaning of her film. “I’m good at public speaking,” Paley said. I don’t really get that nervous talking in front of large crowds.” After the ceremony, she was invited to attend an after party with the other filmmakers on the UCLA terrace, giving her the opportunity to meet renowned filmmakers and UCLA professors. She also connected with the other high school students who competed, most of whom came from environmental science charter schools and specialized cinema schools. “Some people were really nice and outgoing, there were a lot of really crazy people there. They were awesome,” Paley said. “I got to meet LA kids. There’s a really different vibe that they have at their schools.” She plans to take her passion for film with her to college and explore all the avenues’ that the industry has to offer. From set design to directing, her current plan is to major in Film Production and double minor in Environmental Studies and Political Science. She has come to understand the unfortunate reality of the limited number of careers offered behind the scenes in the entertainment industry for women, but doesn’t let that hold her back. “It’s really hard for women to be directors, but I’m not going to let that stop me,” Paley said. “Especially right now, there’s actually a want for women directors because people want new ideas and change. I want be the creator, I want it to be mine.”
A MESSAGE ABOUT ENVIRONMENT— (Above) Paley roamed around Southern California in order to capture scenery to show the variety of humanity’s effects on the environment. This scene was of power lines encroaching upon nature. (Below) In the final scene of the film, Paley filmed a dying bee struggling on the beach, capturing the fleetingness of life and sending a message for environmental action to the audience.
SCREENSHOTS FROM “ONLY WORLD” » MADELYN PALEY » WITH PERMISSION