ABOUT ME

I come from a small ranch in west Texas where I had been living throughout my childhood. I love being at home because it is peaceful and quiet there and it is the place for me to take a break from everything. I love spending time with my family because they are the best people that I know. They have been helping me throughout my life and they helped me become who I am.

I went to a small school in the small town of Guthrie. It's a really good school because it has a small community and a friendly environment. This is the place where I became interested in film production. I started making videos when I was a sophomore in high school back in 2013. My first video is a cover of the Maroon 5 song, "Daylight". My teacher shot the video with a camcorder and asked me if I can edit it. I didn't know how to edit videos at the time, so he taught me to edit using iMovie. At that point, I thought it was so cool to make videos. Since then, I started making vlogs about myself such as "How I Became Interested in Music". I made other kinds of videos such as a promo, a PSA, a how-to, and a stop-motion video, "What Happens When People are Not Around in Classrooms". Throughout high school, I learned how to write a script using Microsoft Word; I learned how to organize everything; I learned how to shoot video; and I learned how to edit. The process is really exciting from start to finish. I decided that I want to keep making videos for the rest of my life. In 2015, I graduated high school as a valedictorian. I worked so hard to become a valedictorian, which was my goal since I was in 6th grade. I am still proud of this accomplishment.

After summer, I went to South Plains College where I made more videos. I made a few more vlogs such as "South Plains College with Tito Contreras". This is my favorite vlog because I got to shoot around campus and invited my friends to be in the video. I had an amazing time during the shoot. After I finished it, I showed it to my professors who were so impressed that they wanted me to show it to incoming students who are interested in attending South Plains College. Not long after, the employees of the Health and Wellness Center watched it and they liked it a lot. So, they decided to ask me if I can work there as a work-study. This led me to make a PSA for them called "SPC Consent", which was the most mature video that I've made at the time. Besides these videos, I made news packages for class. At the time, I felt that I've been improving a lot on making videos. I can tell that these videos are better than the others that I've made in high school. In 2017, I graduated with an Associate's degree in Radio, Television, and Film. I love South Plains College because the campus and the community are small like Guthrie. Also, I made a lot of friends there, including my best friend. My social life was finally on the rise. I miss this place a lot. I would love to come back to visit someday.

Finally, I transferred to the University of North Texas where I majored in Media Arts. This is the place where I developed a lot of my filmmaking skills. The first film that I made there is a one-minute experimental film called "Remembrance". This is also the first time that I worked with a crew instead of alone. I thought it was a really cool film because I have not made anything like that before. This is the first video which its cinematography looks professional, because I started using a more professional camera, a Panasonic EVA1. Next, I made a short documentary called "College Life" which is one of the most mature films that I've made. I'm proud of this documentary because it was officially selected to be in the Reel East Texas Film Festival. This is the first time that one of my films has made it to a festival. I'm really grateful that it happened. In summer 2019, I did the internship at Magic Production Group where I made promos and edited a couple of episodes of their show, "The Focus". After that, I made more short films such as "Happiness" and "Whoops", and I made my own production logo. After all this, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree. I didn't make as many friends as I did in SPC, but I know that I have people there who helped me and supported me throughout the years. I'm very grateful to have them in my life. I would love to see them again soon.

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Now, I am on my own pursuing my dream to become a successful filmmaker. First, I completed my recent short film and my first passion project, "Censored". Along the way, I have bought various equipment like my own Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Atomos Shinobi 7" camera monitor, and Moza Air 2 gimbal. After I completed my short, I have made a few practice videos such as "The Journey", "My Brother", "Diversity", and "R.I.P. (Redemption In Progress)" to familiarize myself with the equipment and to practice my cinematography and editing skills. Later on, I have been fortunate enough to volunteer in the Dallas International Film Festival where I shot footage of the red carpet and created the recap video that was shared on their social media. And finally, I have been accepted and currently participating in the pre-apprenticeship program for Pegasus Media Project, in which I would become knowledgeable about the film industry and become mentored by professionals to find the right path for me to work in the industry. In the near future, I'm going to start my business as a freelance videographer, so I can create different videos such as commercials and music videos while making income. Speaking of music, I am starting to pursue my other dream as a music producer and composer, so I can bring in my passion of music along with film. My ultimate goal is to have the freedom and the courage to express myself in any way possible, and filmmaking and music are the things that I love to do. I love making films because I want to tell stories about myself and a range of cultural issues around the world, and I want to express my personality in the form of screenwriting. And I love making music because I want to create sounds that I would personally enjoy in various situations. I love to entertain and inspire the audience because it makes me so happy to see them with a positive response. I want to help them forget about their struggles for a moment and enjoy life somehow. If I want to make all this happen, I would have to work really hard. I still have a long journey ahead of me to make a positive impact on my life and everyone else around the world. Let's see what happens next. Wish me luck.