With filming at a standstill in Hollywood, CA, one up and coming actor, Hamada El Hilali decided to pick up a new skill. He had already been working on his directing and producing methods, and had just wrapped up filming in his new comedy series, Ghost Car Rental. Then the pandemic and the shut down hit, and filming stopped.
Before the pandemic, Hamada, a Moroccan immigrant moved to America and to Hollywood, CA to pursue his dream to become an actor. Most recently, he wrote, produced, directed and acted in the ensemble comedy Ghost Car Rental, which wrapped up filming in February. But then everything stopped, all the filming and production stopped, the magic of making movies vanished in a heartbeat. He went from working everyday to having no work instantly like millions of others.
He read some books, watched some video tutorials and decided to utilize this time to develop a new skill. He taught himself to video edit. He took the raw footage of his recently filmed production, Ghost Car Rental and developed a craft for editing.
While learning this new skill he learned a lot of important lessons that he will use when filming starts again. While editing he gained insight into when to cut scenes for directing and the value of good lightening. He learned about the importance of angles and getting a variety of shots in a scene to add texture to the characters and heighten the story.
More than just learning important lessons about film making, he learned about the importance of patience. So often he rushed and tried to do as much as possible in his career and life. Born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, he grew up in the poor neighborhood of Akkari and he hustled to make money. He sold fruit in the market to help put food on his family’s table. He immigrated to America and was finally living his dream, acting in Hollywood.
The pandemic was the first time in his life he had time to reflect and create without the distractions and the hustle of the world. He held firm onto the hope that things will get better. Video editing demands patience, extreme attention to detail and focus. It allows to create a scene and weave together a tapestry of shots that put the finishing touches on every film.
By focusing on learning a new skill, Hamada El Hilali was able to overcome the sadness of the new pandemic reality and weave a new tapestry for his life, resolved in his determination and his dream. He has been honing his craft and finding new ways to pursue his passion so that when the pandemic is over he can come back stronger, better, and ready to make magic in his movies again.
