The Short Version: We met in Chicago where we went to college! The Full Version: It was June 2016—finals week at DePaul—and Emma was in a mild academic crisis (read: full meltdown) over her upcoming biology exam. Her roommate Noor had a favor to ask: “Can I film my final project in our dorm room?” Emma hesitated—but Noor was persuasive: “I’ll buy you breakfast.” And with that generous bribe, the dorm room became a film set. A few days into production, Noor returned with another request. Their lead actress had dropped out, but Noor had a backup plan: “Didn’t you do theater in high school? You could totally play the part.” Emma, desperate for distraction at that point, agreed. Enter: James. The cinematographer. Calm, focused, and determined to maintain some level of professionalism— despite filming in a dorm with a very amateur lead actress who couldn’t stop laughing long enough to finish a scene. Within hours, James had to pause filming and ask Emma, kindly but firmly: “Are you going to be able to take this seriously?” (She was not.) But that moment was just the beginning. That back-and-forth—the laughter vs. the focus, the chaos vs. the calm—turned out to be the perfect preview of everything that would come next. The final film? Let’s just say it won’t be screening at the wedding.