Wong posted his first sports film on Instagram during his freshman year after attending a Gunn varsity football game. Although he received positive community feedback, he found that he struggled with adjusting to filming at night.

“During the game, I had to quickly search on YouTube how to fix the lighting problem, turn up the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and turn up the aperture,” he said. “(I had to figure out) how to increase the lens so more light came through to brighten the shot.”

Wong’s personal journey as a basketball player played a large role in his decision to continue making films.

“I wanted to capture how it felt being there (on the court),” he said. “That’s why I wanted to film sports, because I think (it) is a really great way to show other people’s passions.”

Core lessons Wong had learned from playing sports contributed to his filming mindset.

“Many sports require a lot of patience and dedication, and that really transferred over to my filmmaking,” he said. “(I had to) dedicate a lot of time in post-production, filming (and) planning.”

Wong’s journey, however, wasn’t all smooth sailing. Most of his major filmmaking challenges occurred when he pushed himself out of his comfort zone and tried filming sports he wasn’t as familiar with. In a water polo video, for example, lighting posed a problem.

“It was light out, and it was hard to adjust my camera to the glare from the water,” he said. “Since it was my first time filming water polo, I needed to get used to the sport and know what to look for.”

Usually, Wong creates multiple iterations of a video, and the full film-creation process for a 90-second video typically takes around six hours from start to finish. Much of this time is dedicated to fine-tuning pacing.

“(Making a film) is like telling a story,” he said. “There’s a rising action, climax and falling action. I take that format and use it to (create) the
video.”

Moving forward, Wong hopes to continue filming college sports to bolster his portfolio on Instagram. He has already filmed some Stanford basketball games this past season, and he and his twin brother, Liam Wong, are working to acquire media passes from the video director of Stanford’s football program, Mike Gleeson.

Despite the heavy workload, Wong finds the time commitment to be manageable, especially since he enjoys working on the videos. The feedback he receives further motivates him to continue to create films and seek new opportunities.

“Just seeing the athletes’ reactions make it worth it,” he said. “It makes me happy that they liked the video and that it wasn’t all for nothing.”

From an early age, Schettino González enjoyed creating skits and helping his sister — now a film student at Chapman University — make movies. For him, pursuing filmmaking was a natural instinct.

“I was never as attracted to something as I was to film,” he said. “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I was like, ‘Okay, this is what I want to do.’ It was always just something that I had to do. I had to make these films. I had to see my passion through.”

Schettino González has explored a variety of filmmaking genres — sports documentaries, PSAs and narrative shorts, just to name a few — but recently homed in on storytelling through fictional short films. He has a meticulous process: brainstorming ideas, writing a shot list, creating a detailed script, filming with actors and editing. He focuses on finding ideas and stories that resonate with his own experiences.

Like all amateur filmmakers, Schettino González started out shooting with default camera settings. With experience and upgraded equipment over time, he acquired an eye for detail, learning to enhance every element to make his films come alive. One technique Schettino González has honed is sound design, which he believes adds another dimension to films.

“A lot of people … don’t realize how (sound design) can enhance the performance, how we can create depth to the story, how we can make the characters feel lived in and make the story feel lived in,” he said. “Just creating a world with sound is very important and something that I pay more attention to.”

Schettino González’s film “Querido Mexico,” which explores his gratitude towards Mexico while comparing it to the stressful environment of Palo Alto, won first place statewide at the Directing Change Film Contest and the regional award for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Student Emmys. It was also nominated for a National Student Emmy. “Skateboarding with Lara Botto,” a film Schettino González created with senior Josh Scheinman, also received the regional award for the National Academy’s Student Emmys.

Schettino González has found it extremely rewarding to be able to network with actors and directors and spotlight important topics through films like “Querido Mexico,” which touches on student mental health and pressure.

In the future, Schettino González will continue improving his abilities and using film to bring meaningful issues to light.

“I see myself creating more impactful work, pieces that matter, pieces that touch on subjects that most people are scared to touch on, and collaborating with talented filmmakers to create things that stand out,” he said.