Listen to the LOST // DISCOVERED Spotify playlist while reading 🙂

Man… it is absolutely insane the journey it has been to get here today.  I will spare all the nostalgic blah blah blah stuff and just say I am beyond grateful to even have opportunities to create something like this.

LOST // DISCOVERED: Arizona started as an idea of just me and a few friends going around Northern Arizona to see what all out state had to offer.  Holy cow we were blown away.  Jumping fences, hiking in the snow, not sleeping, and driving non stop.  It made for such an incredible trip.  Great memories and moments that will last a life time.

Going into filming this trip, I honestly had no idea what I was doing or what vision I had for a film.  I just went in, observed, and documented. I was nervous and even timid with my filming.  One of those things where I wish i could go back in time and poor a jug full of confidence down my throat so I could tell an epic story.  Regardless of my inexperience, I was excited to put myself out there.  That is truly the best way to learn.

I think we saw horses every where we went. But these ones were super friendly and super curious. Photo by @mikeolbinski

A photo posted by Jay {Everly Films} 🎥🎬 (@jmworsley) on Jan 17, 2015 at 9:19am PST

Here is a breakdown of the gear I used for this film:

Canon C100 Mark 1

Sigma Art 18mm-35mm 1.8

Rokinon 35mm 1.4

Canon 50mm 1.4

Manfrotto Monopod 56BHDV-1

DJI Phantom 2 with Hero 4 GoPro

Friday rant // One thing I’ve learned about my business is it takes perseverance. A lot of people just expect success. I’m still not even close to where I want to be. Rejection is part of the gig. You have to love this enough that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there. It’s kind of not even about “getting there” it’s about what you experience along the way. // Also drones are rad. 📷 by @mikeolbinski

A photo posted by Jay {Everly Films} 🎥🎬 (@jmworsley) on May 1, 2015 at 12:28pm PDT

At this moment, I almost lost the drone in a canyon. gotta get the shot though 🙂 almost done with the #lostdiscovered film! Can’t wait to share! Photo by @andrewjadephoto

A photo posted by Jay {Everly Films} 🎥🎬 (@jmworsley) on Jan 31, 2015 at 9:14am PST

What’s interesting about the DJI Phantom was at the time I didn’t set up any sort of live view.  When it was flying in the air, I just kinda hoped what I was getting was good.  I had gotten the drone only a week before leaving on the trip.  I had no idea how to even really use it.  I actually didn’t even know till half way through the trip that you could move the gimbal up and down to change the angle of the camera.  My mind was blown once I figured that out.

Photo by Andrew Fleming

Photo by Jason Williams

Photo by Mike Olbinski

As the trip went on, the story started to really tell itself.  All I had to do was document it.  This was a defining moment for me.  It made me truly realize how I love documenting “real” things.  Not just nature, but real emotion.  My other business I film weddings and I always love the real emotion you get from couples.  However this was different.  It was like emotion had to be forced out.  Weddings are such a vulnerable day so its easy to catch that.  However just out and about in real life, people are guarded.  They try to act cool.  Try to be something else.  Catching that REAL emotion is something I love doing.

Given that this was my first film, I wanted to submit it to film festivals.  I was hesitant at first but new if I wanted to be a filmmaker, I needed to get the film out there.  I submitted to maybe 20 festivals.  Out of the 20, LOST // DISCOVERED: Arizona was accepted into 5!  And one some awards!  I couldn’t believe it.  Even went to the Sedona Film Festival with my buddy Mike Olbinski who had a film in the festival as well.

To me this was something that proved more that I need to create authentic films that meant something to me.

Moral of the story, you’ll never know if you never do.  So go do.  You have no idea where the path will lead you.  What doors will close and what doors may open.

Enjoy my very first official independent film:

LOST // DISCOVERED : ARIZONA from Jay Worsley on Vimeo.