The familiar weight of a camera sits nestled between the palms of his hands before he gently twists off the lens cap and drapes the camera strap around his neck. He lifts the camera to his eye, feeling its cool surface against his face as his fingers naturally wrap around it. Having done this many times before, he recognizes the camera’s every groove, button, and edge yet still possesses the same eagerness to explore the world through the view of a lens.
For David Bernstein, a junior at Great Neck South High, cameras are second nature because of his passion for filmmaking. “I enjoy making all these films to be the director in charge who has the vision and gets everyone else to see it,” he says. In just two years, he has already created a music video, a documentary, and more than eleven short films. Not to mention, David is greatly involved in various aspects of film production as he spends time developing his own original ideas, filming with a small crew, and editing the footage.
From a young age, David was always curious about the process of producing films. “Whenever I watched a really good movie, I would wonder, ‘How do they make that?’ and ‘Could I make that too?’” While David occasionally crafted small skits in his free time, his love for videography took off when he decided to join the advanced filmmaking class as a freshman in high school. “I think I got a lot out of that class since it not only gave me the opportunity to work with professional equipment, but it also taught me how to express myself,” David added. Because he had always distanced himself from others and kept to himself during middle school, filmmaking was the driving force that pushed David to step out of his comfort zone,letting his voice be heard. “In the form of a film, I can express myself to other people better than I am able to with words.”
Since then, filmmaking has played an active role in David’s routine. “He works on films all the time,” said his younger brother, Samuel Bernstein. “Honestly, sometimes he should be studying, but I just see him working on his videos.”
In everyday life, filmmaking is always in the back of David’s mind. Whenever he comes across a new idea for a film, he makes sure to write it down in his designated Google document. “You’re always thinking and taking in new experiences from day to day. The things that I think of for films are a reflection of what I see in daily life,” David explained. From hearing his parents’ childhood stories to reflecting on past memories, David always draws inspiration from his personal experiences and incorporates them into his productions.
However, he admits that the process of filmmaking is not always smooth and tends to be stressful. “You love the process, but you also hate it,” he said. “First you have to come up with an idea, refine the idea, make a storyboard, refine the storyboard, make a script, refine the script, cast actors, figure out how you’re going to get all the equipment, and then you have to edit.” Even after hours spent polishing his films, David finds that he often struggles to find satisfaction with the product. “I just always have so many regrets and so many things I wish I could just redo, but I want to improve with each film.”
Even with the complications of filmmaking, David is primarily motivated by the lasting effects his films can have on others. “Knowing that something I did can inspire people, make them really think about something, or change their perspective makes me feel the best about my films.” Many of his works follow the common theme of loneliness because of the topic’s relevance to other teenagers. Remembering the disconnect he felt from his peers in middle school, David aims to support those experiencing the same thing. “If there are other people out there that are going through loneliness, it’s important that I make something that reaches them and teaches them how to better their situation,” he said. “Just as how filmmaking helped me, I needed to make something to help them.”
As a result, David created a short film called The Search that follows the main character’s journey to find his missing best friend while forming friendships along the way. “The film teaches you to put yourself out there because you never know what is going to happen,” David explained. “Something positive could always come out of doing so.”
While this message was initially meant for others, David soon found the film to be applicable to his own life when he decided to set his eyes towards another direction. By shifting the focus of the camera and keeping it steady, the blurred shapes gradually sharpened, revealing the stage of the auditorium.
“I think it was just curiosity,” said David. “As a filmmaker, acting always seemed fun.” While the idea of participating in the school plays had seemed appealing, performing in front of an audience, as opposed to working behind a camera, was a major shift for David. “Acting on stage was the first time that he [David] had to work with so many more people,” added Ugin Sun, David’s close friend. His fear of facing the audience’s reactions and judgement was also challenging for David to overcome. “However, soon enough,” David said, “when you play the character, you have to have that mentality to be so effortlessly confident, which is what I ended up doing.”
“My parents always tell me to fake being confident until you actually become confident,” he added. “I can’t say that I’m a confident person, but I’ve become better at acting confident, and I do it more.”
Overall, David greatly values his involvement in the school’s theater productions. “Theater creates a place where I can make more friends, clear up my thoughts, and have pride in myself and everyone in the production.” Like filmmaking, acting on stage is simply another creative outlet for David. “While you have more freedom to call the shots in filmmaking, you also get to choose and be creative in how you want to play your role when acting,” he explained. “No two people portray the character in the exact same way.”
As of now, David enjoys his experiences in filmmaking and acting and will never forget how these activities have changed him. He looks forward to gaining more knowledge, making connections with others, and working on his own big projects. In all his future endeavors, he will still hold onto the motto that drives him forward: “Putting yourself out there is the best way to go far in life.”
