Lights. Camera. Action. Cut. The process is endless. In the final product, it seems as if everything went smoothly, but hours of filming, busy schedules, and loads of editing went into his film.

Junior Cullen Puffer hopes to become an expert at making films. He knows the workload can be heavy, but he continues pushing, hoping to better himself.

” Writing and putting together the film takes a couple days, but as far as shooting, it can take anywhere from a couple days to weeks,” Cullen said. “If one thing goes wrong, you have to start over to make it perfect.”

Cullen persisted with his passion, eventually moving onto more serious projects. “Trickle Down,” the title of one of Cullen’s major projects, required large amounts of work and planning. Nick Skinner, an actor for the film, says although the process can be tiring, the overall experience makes it worth it.

“The filming process itself takes a long time, and there’s a lot to it,” Nick said. “Just one shot might take one day. It’s a very tedious process. My favorite part is the thrill I get from it. It’s pretty amazing. I’m doing something out of my norm and getting to be somebody that I’m not for a while is interesting.”

To Cullen, the biggest thrill comes from the reaction of the audience. While writing his films, he carefully plans out his plot, hoping to leave the audience in thought.

“I start off with the general theme and work outwards from that,” Cullen said. “I want my audience to think about what the movie was about, and leave with something they didn’t have before.”

As for his future, he hopes to specialize in special effects and make-up, making a few films on the side.

“When I first started out, I wasn’t serious about film-making,” Cullen said. “Now, making films helps me reflect my views. It’s a way for me to show my creativity. I want to continue making films my whole life, even if it’s not my career.”