嘿！我是来自十二年级的楼汇慧。去年12月，我获得了期盼已久的大学录取通知 —— 纽约大学 Tisch 艺术学院影视节目专业。
纽约大学 Tisch 艺术学院是全美最佳三大电影学院。Tisch 艺术学院是纽约大学各大院校中录取竞争最为激烈的院校之一，录取率不到5%，每年只从中国招收寥寥数名学生。很感谢学校给予我各种平台，让我激发潜能，在几万名申请者中脱颖而出！
Hey there, I’m Francesca Lou from Grade 12. This past December, I was very lucky to be offered a place at Tisch School of The Arts, and I will be studying under film & TV program. It is one of the best film schools in the United States. The Tisch College of the Arts is one of the most competitive universities in New York University and has an admission rate of less than 5%. It recruits only a few students each year from China. I am very grateful to our school for giving me all kinds of platforms to stimulate my potential and stand out among the tens of thousands of applicants!
其实，我对电影世界的探索并不早。第一部 “电影创作” 是九年级的时候。当时，我还在杭州念书。一天突发奇想，我叫上了一群好友拍电影，甚至连一部剧本都没有准备。电影的结果自然不尽如人意，最后也没有编辑完，但是我很享受拍摄过程。
My exploration of filmmaking didn’t start early at all. My first film was “made” when I was in Grade 9. At the time, I was still studying in Hangzhou, so I simply called a few friends out to help and started filming without any form of structured planning. And it was a total failure, the film was left unedited, but I had fun.
后来，当我来到协和万源美式高中之后，一切变得专业起来了。我参加 “上海，我爱你” 学生电影项目，有机会和专业电影人一起工作，获得许许多多的实践经验。电影节期间，我导演了《翻译者》，更有幸获得评审特别奖。当时，我还很缺乏实践经验、不太自信，导演一部电影对我是极大的挑战。时至今日，我还清晰记得 Wesley 老师对我说的话：“缺乏经验和自信是很正常的，这也是电影人的常态。试着让自己每天都比昨天进步一点。” 渐渐地，我在电影领域兴趣越来越浓厚，不断深入钻研。
After I came to SUIS, I soon got involved in SWAN, a highly organized students film program in which students got to work with professional filmmakers. I was selected to be the director for a film called “The Translator”, and our film won the Special Jury Award a year later. However, to me, it was quite a challenge being a first time director, and I wasn’t confident of my directing skill for the lack of experience. But as my mentor Mr. Wes said: “That’s how we roll. Always try to be a little better than we were yesterday…” I took the things I learned and went deeper into this path.
原创电影拍摄画面 Film editing
我认为自己并非极具天赋之人，甚至有些笨拙，就现在而言，也无法预知自己能走多远。在我进入十二年级的时候，我创作了《红色的眼睛》。从导演、制片、编辑到拍摄，全程参与，并作为申请大学过程中非常重要的一部分。从某种角度而言，《红色的眼睛》可能并不是我最 “厉害” 的一部作品，但我相信，适合我的大学，一定会发现这部作品内在价值。幸运的是，纽约大学 Tisch 艺术学院欣赏我的才华，我就这样被录取了！
I am certainly an ungifted filmmaker, but I am stubborn and willing to devote myself in a career that probably won’t take me anywhere. Later in my senior year, I made my first film The Red Eyes. I produced, directed, shot and edited the film. Although its quality might not exceed “The Translator” or my other works, I still trusted this work, and believed if the school suited for me would definitely discover the value in it! And I am glad Tisch did.
耶鲁大学世界学者杯之行
During the World Scholar’s Cup at Yale
除了电影，我还有很多别的爱好，诗歌、音乐、运动、戏剧（虽然我还不是很擅长戏剧）。在 Sullivan 老师的诗歌社，我学习到很多。诗歌对我而言，是电影的另一种映射。记得，诗歌社曾举办过一次名为 “电影庇护所” 的活动，从电影人物中寻找视角进行创作。当我在协和万源美式高中第一年的时候，我也曾参与音乐社，与后藤淳学长一起作原创音乐，特别有意思！
Aside from that, I have so many other passions. I love poetry, music, sports and theater. Poetry is the way I reflected on the movies I watch. I developed this habit from Ms. Sullivan’s poetry club. Once we did a Poetry Slam called “Asylum Goes to The Movies”, in which we wrote poetry from the perspective of characters in our selected films. And in my freshman year here, I took part in a student-organized club Music Production. I worked with a very talented senior Jun on some of my original music, and I really had fun in it.
说起运动，之前，我并不经常参加。但当我进入十二年级的时候，好友 Grace、Jolin、Annie 热情邀请我加入篮球队。犹豫了一天之后，我终于交了报名表。由于我是一名新选手，所以起先的几个月，我要花比别的队员更多的时间磨练球技。慢慢地，我逐渐适应篮球竞技，上场比赛，享受在球场挥洒汗水、与队友默契配合的瞬间。
In the first two years in USHS, I wasn’t quite a sporty person. And by the start of my last school year, my friends Grace, Jolin and Annie advised me and passionately encouraged me to join the Girl’s Basketball Team. I hesitated for a day and then gladly signed up with my coach Mr. Edgar. I was a new member, so in the first few months, I really needed to spend extra time on practicing B-ball and catch up with the others. Then I gradually fit in. I played in quite a few games, and I found myself really enjoying sweating and giving it all on the court with the girls.
说起我最喜欢的课外活动，当属戏剧了！去年，我有幸出演 Teresa Kim 和 Justin Jia 同学导演的《麦克白》，在毫无经验的前提下，担任第一女主角。非常感谢在排练过程中 Manno 老师的耐心指导，使我学会享受舞台的灯光，将情感融入角色。当演出谢幕时，更是留下依依不舍的眼泪。
Drama is my favorite extra-curriculum activity! Although I was a first time actress, I was luckily selected by our accomplished student directors Teresa Kim and Justin Jia to be one of the lead roles as Lady Macbeth. I excavated my acting potentials with patient guidance of Mr. Manno, enjoyed the spotlight and cried my eyes dry when the show ended.
这学期，我和 Billy Kim 同学合作导演新剧《爱呀，差不多》。最近，我们正日日夜夜地排练呢！在此，打个小广告：花30元钱，可以连续观看四晚演出，每天都有惊喜！绝对值回票价！
This semester, I am co-directing Almost, Maine with my fellow classmate Billy Kim. We are still working day and night on the show and we sincerely look forward for the support from all of you! We decided to make the ticket price 30RMB for the four nights, and I can assure you it will be totally worth it!
很快，我也将从协和万源毕业，赴纽约深造。我对一切充满期待！
Since I am soon leaving for the “beautiful disease” (New York City), I hope I will love it and enjoy my amazing new school!