camera that white is white?”
“Yeah. Look.” I hold the camera up, pointing it toward Autumn and Molly, putting the finishing touches on the date-night table set. “See how everything is kind of tinted yellow? It means the last time Autumn used it, she was probably shooting outside in natural light. Our eyes compensate for this light change automatically, but the camera needs help. So …” I point the camera back toward the white backdrop and scroll through the menu to the white balance setting. Accept the changes, and pivot back to get Molly and Autumn in the shot. “We white balance.”
Nash looks ridiculously impressed, like I’m speaking in quantum theory or something. “That looks so much better. Why don’t I know this?”
I shrug. “It only matters to professionals. Our phones do it for us.”
Nash jumps back in front of the camera. “How do I look? Now that I’m properly white balanced?”
“Your blue lips really pop now,” I say.
“I’m going to pretend you said the camera loves me,” Nash says.
It does.
“The cupcakes are for the film, you know.”
“Autumn said they’re for talent. As Hetero Boy Number Six, I’d argue I qualify as talent.”
I turn the camera off and pop the cover on the lens. “Nash is also a diva. Noted.”
This is what we’re like now. Behind a screen, we actively stress about NYU and gossip about the latest publishing drama. In real life, I’m still anxious and awkward, but also surprisingly good at bantering with Nash.
In both worlds, Nash is my friend.
It’s kind of a perfect situation as long as I don’t think about it too hard.
Nash looks like he’s about to retort, but he’s cut off by the sharp pitch of Autumn’s whistle. She’s standing on a chair, looking authoritative AF, and announces that we’re ready to go, filming is about to commence, quiet on the set.
“Thanks for the camera lesson, Upstate,” Nash whispers before moving to his assigned post.
The buzz of chatter settles into quiet as everyone disperses to their designated spots. Nash’s is by the counter with the rest of the Hetero Boys. Mine is by Autumn’s side. I hand her the camera and give her the rundown of the settings I’ve selected, all based on her instructions. She double-checks anyway. I’m not offended; it’s what any good director would do. It’s her film, after all.
She looks at me. “Am I ready?”
I nod. “You’re ready.”
Autumn smiles at me. “Let’s do this.”
The next few hours are a blur of cinematography and cupcakes. First, we shoot a montage of boys for the opening scene in which the camera is Lil’s eyes. With each new boy, each new date, the shot doesn’t change—only the face at the center. Tall boys and short boys and black boys and Asian boys and multiracial boys (Nash) and blonde boys (Sawyer). In editing, I imagine these shots will be cut like a flip book.
Cut into this montage will be shots of Lil’s phone under the table. First, we’re not sure what Lil is doing, but as the dates continue it becomes clear that she is swiping through girls on a dating app. She swipes right and matches with Monique, and after suffering through a string of boring hetero dates, we move into the final scene we’re shooting now, Lil and Monique’s first date.
“Think about how much of our life we spend looking down,” Autumn says.
She’s standing on the second to highest step of a ladder, her Nikon D800 pointed downward to capture an aerial shot of two heads looking at their phones—cupcakes uneaten and coffee cups full. Autumn captures cinematic angles of Lil and Monique holding their phones under the table. Lil and Monique laugh off the awkwardness as they realize okay, yeah—they’re both still swiping through Bumble. More laughter as they decide to place their phones on the table—facedown—and finally, talk.
It’s beautiful, I think.
The magic is going to be in how Autumn captures the moment. Whenever I have an idea for a different camera angle or a creative shot, I suggest it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t—but it’s so fun to be a voice behind the camera again.
But this is different from working on my parents’ docs. Those were so professional, so detailed as to be predictable after a while. Not in content but in process. Working on Autumn’s film with Le Crew is all about discovering the unknown. I learn Molly is an incredible designer—she handmade the dresses Lil and Monique are wearing. Sawyer has an unexpected eye for light design, and