Feature Length Films

This is the big one. Without a doubt, the largest project I've ever worked on. What started off as a 15-minute short film for my capstone project for school transformed into a feature-length behemoth of a film. And I loved every second of it.

My good friend Tyler Ray Hawkins first approached me about adapting the Kenneth Lonergan script in late July. I accepted, just being excited to work with him and my other long-time friend Tanner Thiessen. When I started taking note of the requirements for my final capstone class at Missouri State University, I had a crazy idea. I asked my professor if I could use this film as my final capstone, and submit a 15-minute excerpt of the film as my project. He quickly approved, which allowed my crew the use of MSU equipment. We upgraded from shotgun mics and mini-DSLR cameras to Sony FS5s and Sennheiser lav mics. 

We finally got filming under way in late September, and wrapped late October. After taking a month off from the project, Tyler and I got in the editing room and got to work. Post Production took about 3 months to complete. After watching the final product on the big screen in May of 2021, something happened to me that had never happened before. I wasn't taking notes on myself, and writing down what I did wrong and what I could've fixed or done better. Instead, I found myself actually enjoying my work. I laughed and cried with the crowd. I had never been able to detach myself like that before. That's how I knew that we had something great here.

To see for yourself, here's the Vimeo link. On behalf of everyone involved in the making of This Is Our Youth, please enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/549700654/7242d6ba7a

This film had the pleasure of being the first feature-length film I ever worked on. And as you can tell by the release year on the poster, it was sometimes a nightmare to work on. But it's a nightmare I'd gladly take part in again, if given the chance.

I had not been involved in the pre-production or production of the film at all. I was brought in exclusively as a lead editor for the project by my friend and director of the film, Mackenzie Huffman. Originally, this was going to be a 10 minutes insight into the homeless population in the Springfield, Missouri area. But as the director and producers began getting more and more footage, the more ambitious the project got. In mid-March, Mackenzie approached me about the film being a 70-minute feature. After I almost had a mini-heart attack, she told me I'd be given two additional assistant editors to help with the process. I relaxed a bit, and agreed to the new terms. This would be something new. I had never edited anything longer than 25 minutes. But the length of the film would be the least of my worries.

Right when we began post-production for the film, COVID-19 struck the nation in full force. My team of editors were forced to work remote, which made the editing process much more difficult. From communication errors to lackluster internet connections, my team persisted. August came around, and the film was finally finished. 

After finishing the film, my perception of our homeless population had changed completely. When you're driving around town, it's hard to remember that the people holding signs asking for money are people. There was a quote in the film that didn't quite make the cut that really hit me hard, and I wish that I could've kept in the film. Katie Krig, one of the heads of the Springfield Street Choir that we focus on in the film says, "We are all one bad hospital bill away from being homeless." Wow. That really put things in perspective for me. 

As I worked on this project, I got to know the people we featured in this documentary. I'd see them out and about in public after that, and I would go say hi, but they have no idea who I am. That's the funny thing about editing someone else's footage. The relationship you build from the editing chair is absolutely one sided, and it's easy to forget. However, I will always remember the stories of James, JR, Michael, and Paul from Songs From The Street.

While I can't post the link to the full film at this time, I can share the trailer for the film. Please enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/421678736