A Wayward Update

Hi, Wayward Supporters! I know it's been a very long time since I checked in with a progress update! (Make sure you are following along on my Facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/ChloeSheltonFilms for more frequent updates or on my main web

site ... https://www.chloesheltonfilms.com/ ).

I have been working hard on several different projects over the past 6 months as well as editing Wayward! (For more information on Almost Home, Libby, and Dreaming About You, visit my main website or Facebook page.) One day I hope to be able to hire an editor to complete post production for me! But, for now it's just me! I have been so thankful to have many consultants to watch my different edits and give feedback. I'm very much a collaborator, so this is a necessary step for me! I'm particularly thankful for the guidance of Kayla Saunders, who acted as Director of Photography for Wayward and Caileigh Bravo, an accomplished film editor who graciously watches and re-watches my cuts and gives me detailed feedback as my consulting editor.

We are getting very close to a final cut and what we call "Picture Lock!" At that time we will complete color and sound and it will be finished!

A super fun development is that I have been in talks with some musical artists to lend their very authentic colonial sound to the score. One group that I can announce today and I'm very excited about is the colonial American musical trio called Sons of Liberty! They will be adding their authentic touch to the film! If you would like to hear more about them you can visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sonsoflibertytrio/ or Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/sonsoflibertytrio/?fbclid=IwAR1LZlPKX6c-_LbIw9Q8Dg6JOxxu6nNB9doDBKWx5SdbL0nkZy7oVrhChw8 . Or visit https://www.townsends.us/products/thesonsofliberty?utm_campaign=YoutubeSonsOfLibertyCD&utm_medium=YouTubeSonsOfLibertyVideo&utm_source=Youtube to purchase their music!

Why Does Post-Production Take So, Darn Long?! An Explanation!

I often have people asking me “So, how’s Wayward coming along? Surely it’s almost done! It’s been months!” And, while I love talking about Wayward and my journey to its completion, I thought it might be helpful for my non-filmmaker friends and supporters to give them a peek into this long stage of filmmaking known as Post-Production!

Step One: Organization

After Wayward wrapped in late August of 2019, I began the process of sorting through the hours and hours of footage and audio files that we collected and continued with the file organization that was started on set. The film was shot completely out of order. And, every shot had multiple takes. This amounted to hours and hours of information. We even had one scene that we shot on day 1 and then reshot on the last day!

Step Two: Assembly Cut

Next, I took the footage and assembled all of the best takes of each shot into an Assembly Cut, going directly by the script. This can end up being quite a bit longer than the final cut. This stage is the most disjointed as there are no transitions between scenes...just scene to scene, shot to shot.

Step Three: Rough Cut

At this stage, the footage is chopped, reassembled and rechopped. There are hours spent looking at a single minute or less of film, attempting to cut it in just the right way to elicit the emotion that is desired. This stage is trial and error. Many people say that the story is made in the edit, and that is absolutely the case. A slight tweak can completely change an element of the story! I am currently in the Rough Cut stage with Wayward. I am working on Rough Cut Number 2! I have had a few trusted advisors take a look and give me notes. I am continuing to edit and send the edits out for notes as I progress. This is also the stage that I will be shooting a few “pick up shots” to help the story advance.

Step Four: Fine Cut

After we have worked out the kinks and the elements of story and picture are set, will be the Fine Cut where I will tighten transitions and work to polish the cut so that it shines! They will be added and then... At this point we will call it “Picture Lock!” Yay! The story portion is done!

Step Five: Music

Scoring the film is very important! Wayward has a recurring song that is heard throughout being sung, played on musical instruments and even whistled. But, other music will be used throughout to make up the final score.

Step Six: Final Sound Editing and Mixing

During this step, Foley (sound effects) will be gathered or generated and put in the film. Any ADR (dubbing) will be gathered and inserted. All of these sounds (music, dialogue, sound effects, ambiance) will be on separate tracks in the editing software. At the final mix, the editor goes through and adjust all of the levels and combines the tracks!

Then, the film is FINISHED!

Each film is unique in its time spent in Post-Production. Some films make it through this stage very quickly. Others spend lots of time in this stage.

I am hopeful for a Springtime announcement! Until then, if you need me you will most likely find me sitting at my computer editing away!

Film Festivals, Some Editing and A Trip to the 70s: A Thankful Update

Another month has passed since I posted an update here! It's been a very busy Fall...the busiest one I can remember in the recent past! Thanksgiving is coming this week and I am thankful for the busyness because I've been given the gift of working on things that I love! What's better than that?

In the past 9 weeks I've been to 4 different Film Festivals for 2 different films! Between making a film with my friend and mentor, Dave Perry, producing the Historic Smithfield Plantation Ghost Tour and lots of promotional film shoots and photo shoots, I've also been editing Wayward! And, last week we were able to drop the trailer! That's a huge step forward! (Check it out on the Home Page of this website!)

Cotton Clouds, my film that premiered last March, took Best Docudrama at Peak City Film Festival in Apex, NC. We also attended PUSH Film Festival and the Alexandria Film Festival with Cotton Clouds, where it was screened as an Official Selection! These are my first festivals that I've attended as Writer/Director in a regular filmmaker category and not a Student category! That's a big milestone for me as a filmmaker!

Last week I got to attend the Super Gr8 Film Festival in Harrisonburg. Dave Perry is an amazing cinematographer who enjoys using many different types of cameras. He knew about the Super Gr8 Festival (one of just a few of its kind) and had decided to enter with his own Super 8 camera! He asked me to write a script and we got started! They send a piece of film that you shoot on and edit in camera. No 2nd takes! Everything has to be planned out to the second, because the film will only end up being between 2 and 3 minutes long depending on your frame rate. We meticulously planned every shot, even filming it on Dave's phone the day before with stand ins and a stop watch! The day of the shoot arrived and our two actors (dressed in 70s clothes...because...why not?!) did an amazing job with this high pressure task! In about 7 hours we captured about 2 1/2 minutes worth of film to produce

a micro-short called Interference! Dave did sound after the fact and sent the track in separately to be synched at the lab in California where the film was being processed. No one would see the finished product until the festival! It was nerve-wracking, but the film turned out beautifully! I can't wait to be able to share it with you! It's been digitized and we will get our copy soon!

I love collaborating with other filmmakers! There's been even more of that going on behind the scenes, as well! More on that later!

That's my quick update! Now, back to editing Wayward!