By Liam Cassano

Swoosh. The car zoomed by me as it picked up speed going down the hill, hit the set ramp and flew off the bridge. The charges in the car exploded, and within seconds the car was engulfed in flames as it hit the water. “CUT!” I heard from behind me. “That was a wrap for Episode 8,” said the director. Before the pandemic, this was the best experience ever, and I made it my goal to be on set like that again but behind the camera. I started planning. As a high school student, I am by no means trying to tell people what to do, but I suggest that every kid should develop a hobby or skill to stay focused and help them through tough times. 

DING DANG DONG, chimed the doorbell. Seconds later, my neighbour greeted me at the door. Would you like me to do an aerial roof inspection? I asked. 15 minutes later, photos and video were in his inbox, and a drumstick was in my hand. 4 hours later, dripping from head to toe, I was finished. 16 houses, 16 ice creams, 16 happy neighbours, and the whole street completed. This was only the start. As days turned into weeks, I moved from street to street, capturing high quality images of people’s homes. Soon the whole neighborhood was mapped. As summer came to an end, I took a break to focus on school. That’s when things changed. 

In March of 2020, we were stuck in the Irish airport on a band trip. With less than an hour before the Canadian border closed, we were all anxious but ready to enjoy our extra-long March break… or so we thought. As we touched down into Pearson Airport, the pilot reminded us we had to stay in self isolation for two whole weeks. Things really started to set in at this point. 

I had nothing to do. I still had my drone lying around, so I took the opportunity to fly, take it up and see what was going on in the neighbourhood. Then it clicked. I could really help a lot of people with this flying machine. I could help deliver masks and hand sanitizer to neighbours in need. Over the next few days, I prototyped a dropper mechanism with my 3D printer and some basic electronics that fit on the bottom of the drone. 

It was time. The first care packages went out with small parachutes. The neighbours within a 1km radius received 5 masks, a carryon size hand sanitizer, along with a handwritten note.

Fast forward to summer 2021, when I was back in full swing – this time, accepting pizza, more ice cream, and cannoli as payment. It started with IHalo Crunch near High Park. Charcoal ice cream and iced boba fueled our creativity as we shot a short teaser video for their new location. 3 cameras were rolling for over 4 hours, and we lost track of time. As we emerged from the store, the sun was starting to set. 4 hours of fun for 30 seconds of video. “Cut…And that’s a wrap!” My voice, my set, my creation. I had done it. I was on set again but this time behind the camera. This is what I loved doing, and in the next few weeks I realized how badly small businesses were hit with the pandemic, so I had another plan. I teamed up with a few fellow videographers and created small Instagram ad videos for restaurants in our area. We wanted to get them back on track, and we helped them by building a social media presence with visuals that would stand out. 

Every kid should develop a hobby or skill–just something to keep them on track and grow the community. Not only has my hobby done something for my community; interacting with the community and combining hobbies have allowed me to learn valuable skills such as communication, perseverance, humility, and confidence.