What Happened When I Let Go While Filming Wake Up

Filming Wake Up was the first time I witnessed my orginal childhood idea fully come to life.

Wake Up is my first film, and with each step I took into it, I was led to an answer I was just getting ready to ask. Originally, I was going to film everything and dub myself into it. I was hell bent on getting it done, so asking for help meant I’d have to wait. Which, I wasn’t wrong about that.

I remember filming on the porch, and in the midst of the scene, I saw my best friend Yero in the film—with this specific hat he owns. I immediately went back to the storyboard and wrote him in and I was ecstatic that I had filmed the first part and curated an film that actually made it to the editing phase. I made the ask, and it took us a while to find the time.

He had an interview planned to share his healing journey with his doctor, Dr. Marrisa from Kaname Chiropractic, and he asked me to film it. Somewhere in there, the plan was to go to Diamond Park. I just inserted, since we’re going to a woodsy setting, let’s shoot the second part of the film there.

Not only did that decision lead us to completing production that day, but Dr. Marrisa ended up helping us film—and even appeared in a scene that got cut. More than just film, we structured a trade that allowed me to receive bodywork at her office as well.

Behind the scenes, I was excited—and a bit nervous—to process that my dreams were happening in real time, and that I didn’t have to do everything on my own.

One of my favorite moments: I had a vision of how the girl would walk into the house, how the shots would line up with a tree. Before I could fully explain it, before I could even hesitate, Yero said, “I got you.”

I was like, uhh… okay.

How could he understand if he didn’t see the previous clip?

But I didn’t hesitate. I just trusted him.

He got the shot in one take.

To this day, I’m in awe. That shot became the thumbnail.

Turns out, he’s been studying film and shots. Working with this team felt like heaven.

I had another idea on the spot—the girl turns around and sees three people with swords. The lighting made parts of it too dark, but the willingness from both Yero and Dr. Marrisa to bring it to life exceeded anything I imagined.

For that scene, Yero had to step into a running creek—three quick steps, honestly very unsafe—and Dr. Marrisa put her hair in her face to add to the creepiness. It was glorious. We laughed so much. You can see a ton of laughing moments in the behind the scenes video on my youtube.

There were moments of frustration too.

Spoiler: the scene where the bad guy is behind the actress is very dark. I noticed it while we were there and said I’d fix it in post.

I couldn't.

But what we ended up with made sense. The darkness hides him—so if you do see him, it becomes part of the surprise.

I also forgot to film a part where she turns back around. By the end, I was nervous. We had been out there for 4–5 hours between the interview and filming.

Post-production had its own surprises.

I originally thought the film would be called Trip. While going through Yero’s music catalog, I found the song Wake Up from his new album. The song of course matched perfectly with the film. Therefore the song became the title.

I slowed parts of it down to match the intensity of certain scenes and layered it throughout. Yero tried to slow the original version using his equipment, but we couldn’t get it the way we wanted.

So I handled all the sound. I handled most of the production but it wouldnt have been as spectacular if I didn't have the flexibility to invite in others and make the ask and follow through.

Finding the right sound for the gate opening was the hardest part. I spent hours looking for the right gate sound. What I learned from that is: film as much original sound as possible.

Learning to roll with the punches was the biggest takeaway. Sometimes, letting go of control leads to something better than what you planned.

Trusting the process gave me something better than what I imagined.