The origin of "Gotcha" came like the film itself - quickly and without much thought. In a rather boring class one day, I found myself fooling around with my bud across from me, trying to make each other laugh. They did a pair of finger-guns, and I feigned death. Which made me think, "what if I really died?" And thus, 2018's "Gotcha" was born!

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I'll be frank - I personally don't think "Gotcha" is all that great, even by film student standards. It falls under the trap of a "one-joke film," and if that joke isn't good, you're shit out of luck. The film peaks in the middle, and while it has some fun staging, and color, the joke lays a flat. Where "Gotcha" served as a turning point for me was in its streamlined process and for its Berklee collaboration.

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The film came around quite quickly, going through a few different rounds of storyboards before heading into animation. This was my first film with a dedicated production schedule, and I met each milestone when I needed to. Maybe having a mediocre story helped with that, but who knows.

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"Gotcha" was produced with MassArt animation's annual collaboration with Berklee College of Music. I was paired with the amazing Shao Chia Lee, whose score elevated my dinky, little film with its orchestral flair and use of leitmotif. Shao worked diligently with me on the project, submitting quality work rapidly.

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"Gotcha," isn't the best or worst film in my catalog. It sadly represented, at least to me, the ability to create something mediocre, but on schedule and with a collaborator. It's at least proved to be a crowd-pleaser, and achieved some minor notoriety on Newgrounds, earning front-page status on its first day. But you learn from every film you make, and "Gotcha's" lessons proved well when making my thesis.