Watching colorful pixels representing confetti fall from the top of her screen, Aaliyah Roberson sheds tears of joy, realizing all her hard work has finally paid off. Roberson is a filmmaker and an opinion editor for the High Tide, attending the University of Southern California (USC) in the fall for Film and TV Production.
Roberson has always been interested in movies, with the film adaptation of “The Maze Runner” being a particular childhood inspiration. However, she started actually trying out making films when she would wait for her dad at his job.
“I used to have to spend a lot of time at my dad’s job, and I realized I could use my iPad to record and film and make different stories up [to entertain myself]. I would edit them together in iMovie, so that’s how I got into making my own little videos,” Roberson said.
Whether it be through film or journalism, Roberson has always enjoyed learning about and sharing different people’s stories.
“I liked talking to people at our school, and getting their stories out there, it was very important to me,” Roberson said. “I wanted to be involved in the student body, to be a part of the community and connect with other people at this school, so I thought [High Tide] was a good way to do that.”
While Roberson always enjoyed writing articles, she realized film was her chosen medium when she attended the USC cinematic arts program the summer before her junior year.
“When we got there, we got to work on a bunch of different short films and make our own personal shorts. I did a directing a short film class, where I was able to write my own screenplay and put it into production. That was the first time I got to be the director of my own story and work with professional actors,” Roberson said.
At the summer program Roberson learned a lot about film-making, the most important skill being how to network with others in the industry.
“I learned to branch out and talk to people, because film is such a collaborative industry [and not as competitive] because you always need someone to help you do something while you’re in production or an actor in post-production.I would say meeting and introducing myself to people definitely builds that community and that network that’s really important to getting stuff done,” Roberson said.
After attending this summer program, USC became Roberson’s dream school. She was already planning on applying since her sister went there, but after spending the summer,she found her own reasons for wanting to attend.
“I definitely felt like I had connections and I could see myself doing pretty good at USC,” Roberson said, “I just knew that I wanted to do something creative. It definitely hit after the first summer that what I should pursue was making written things come to life on the screen.”
Along with Roberson’s sister attending USC, so did her film inspiration, American film director, producer, and screenwriter Ryan Coogler.
“I’ve been really interested in Coogler. He’s done ‘Sinners,’ ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Fruitvale Station,’ and he went to USC. I immediately connect with people who have been where I want to be and are successful now, so he’s definitely been a big inspiration today, especially since he does a lot of films with African-American leads and tells personal, important stories, which is what I aspire to do,” Roberson said.
While Roberson is glad to have found a place outside of her sister’s shadow on campus, she is also equally glad to spend more time with her in school. Her sister, Asjia Roberson, is also excited to see how Roberson will further her passion.
“I hope that she gets to do whatever she wants to do. Either creating movies or just directing and filming them, and [I hope she] has fun with whatever she’s doing. Our parents always tell us to do things that we love, soI hope that she continues to have fun and keeps doing what she loves in the future,” Asjia Roberson said.
Despite spending two summers doing the film program, Roberson still had difficulties with the USC application and was particularly nervous on the prompts.
“We got a prompt and it was just ‘a secret’ which could be anything, so I was stressing out for weeks about it. I remember thinking, ‘This is my make or break, I’m not getting in, I can’t think of anything.’ But then I talked to my dad and my friends and sat with myself and was able to produce a script that, although [not] perfect, still represented me as someone open to learning [who is] trying to put myself out there and do creative stories. Being able to write that, get it shot, and put it together was pretty nice,” Roberson said.
While the application was difficult for Roberson, her sister had full faith in her.
“[I’m inspired by] her determination and her hard work. She’s very smart, and I’ve always said that she’s smarter than me. I think she’s an academic genius, and I’m super proud of how hard she works,” Asjia Roberson said, “She’s very good at asking questions, and when she has a question, [she does] all that she can to figure out the answer. She’s helped me be more determined, and stay wanting to learn different things.”
Eventually all of Roberson’s determination paid off when she learned she finally got into her dream school.
“I cried. It was a moment where the buildup was just so much. You’re thinking ‘Did I do enough?’ Being able to see the confetti on the screen was definitely surreal. That’s when you realize you’re set for the next four years. You know you didn’t let down all the people that you told it was your dream school,” Roberson said.
After getting into her dream school, Roberson is determined to take full advantage of the opportunity and continue to work hard.
“I definitely need to start organizing myself. I want to make my own website, that’s what I strive to do to get my work out there. I also want to get a digital business card so I’m able to connect with people faster,” Roberson said, “Honestly getting everything I can out of the USC education and making sure I’m not taking it for granted [is important]. I’m spending all this money, so I don’t want to come out with just a film degree. I’m making sure I’m making the most of [this opportunity]: talking to people, and setting myself up to be successful.”
