of | thebackroadfilms

I. “Convicted”

II. FIGHTER – Official Selection at World of Women Film Festival 2016

III. UTC’s Boulder Competition

IV. Wax Masterminds

V. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

| “Convicted” |

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way you would expect it. When time is numbered, how can you attempt to piece it all together?

This was our team’s submission for the 54 Film Festival 2016- Middle Tennessee.

Genre: Medical/Political Drama // Action: Hiding // Prop: Clock // Line: “Make it stop.”

Our location was set at the Escape Experience: Chattanooga. Our friends there were kind enough to let us set up shop all night filming. Our story focuses on a man who is experiencing his final hours before his execution. We see glimpses of his sister’s interrogation. Whether or not our man committed any real crime, we wanted our audience to grasp the story through the details. We wanted to take the audience on this man’s journey as he clings on to life’s most precious moments. Now questioning the innocence of our character, we introduce the morality of the death penalty. Our film doesn’t attempt to lean one way or another. It’s merely there to ask the question and to provide a different perspective.

Winner: Best Direction | Best Score

Runner Up: Best Actor (Cory Holland) | Best Make Up (Laura Natalie Homer) | Best Cinematography (Jordan Powell) | Judge’s Choice

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

| “FIGHTER” |

That’s right. Official Selection for the World of Women’s Cinema Film Festival in Sydney Australia!!!!!! The festival experienced some delays. However, the festival is happening at the end of this month! Samantha, Kelsey and myself are incredibly excited to have our film played in yet another country! It feels surreal to have something you created playing in a country half way across the globe.

Many may be wondering when FIGHTER will be officially released for you to view. VERY SOON. We are still awaiting festival acceptance letters. So we shall know very soon! Thank you all for your continued support. I can’t believe it’s almost been 2 years!

| “UTC’s Boulder Competition” |

In the works is a little promo video to show off the awesome things UTC’s Merrell Ambassador is doing for the outdoor program. Coming soon…

| “Wax Masterminds” |

I love getting able to reconnect with clients back in the ‘boro! Here is one such company-

| “Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary Documentary” |

Probably one of the coolest projects to date would be- Brushy. It’s a prison located in Petros, TN that closed its doors in 2009. It’s the same prison the hold the infamous James Early Ray. For those that don’t know, he assassinated MLK, Jr. Most know Brushy from the chaos that ensued when Ray escaped the walls with 6 other convicts.

The project has been underway for about a month now and will be my main project until June. The documentary will be approx. 15-20 minutes on the history of this maximum security prison. I have captured around 6 hours of interview footage filled with recollections and stories you can’t even imagine.

I have the enormous honor to put together such a rich piece of history. In the next couple of years, Brushy will be transformed into a whiskey and moonshine distillery, RV park, concert venue, restaurants, etc. The main prison itself will be conserved into a museum for travelers and tourists to walk through the halls and to get a glimpse into the life of Brushy’s inmates.

For now, here’s a little teaser into the playground I get to play in…

Exciting things are coming……..

-Kelly

This video was particularly fun to work on. Thanks to my partner-in-crime, Jacob, we set out one night to make a “cool video”. I had been feeling down about not having the opportunity to make videos that were rich and impactful- the kind of videos that attempt to reveal something deeper than “buy this”, “look how cool this is”, or “you should like this”. Generally, that’s the motive behind most videos. No, the kind I like to make are the ones that no one will pay me for. In essence, they are the ones about human nature. Even more, they are the ones that reveal our connection to our Father and how that guides our every move and desires.

So one night, Jake comes to me and says “I have a date planned for us”. I was curious to see what he had in mind. It ended up being the absolute, most wonderful, perfect date. He said, “We’re going to get up before the sun comes up and film a video in the woods”. Did I say perfect? Yes, I did. It was exactly what I wanted, and also what I needed. It’s curious how God works sometimes. Because no more than an hour later, a HUGE thunderstorm came. Production value. We grabbed my gear and started prepping to catch this amazing storm. The next morning, we got up at around 5:00 am to get some early dawn shots over at Possum Creek near Chattanooga, TN. We were familiar with the area and knew it would make for a great place for our shoot.

So the idea of the video was to create something centered around the theme of Romans 8, particularly verses 18-25. We had been focused on this passage at our local church and felt like it would make a great framework for a story. We played around with a “lost & found” theme, too. I tend to think that I’m closest to God when I’m with loved ones and nature. Therefore, we have Jacob, Shadow (his German Shepherd-wolf hybrid), and the woods. So, Shadow has run away in our story, and Jake is on the mission to find her despite the unforgiving weather and terrain. Much like when we seek God in unrelenting times, we also tend to believe more in what our eyes can see and our hands can do. To have faith, hope and belief in something that is unseen is something entirely different. It’s scary, it’s unpredictable and out of our control.

Just like Jake searches for Shadow in the darkness, we too are called to seek God in the darkness. And we are told that if we seek God with all of our heart, we will find Him.

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?”

-Romans 8:24

This video was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50mm Sigma lens. A lot of the moving shots are just me and the camera with no support. The coloring is practically untouched. Every lens flare is 100% natural. Music licensed through The Music Bed.

I find it interesting that such an organic process on such an organic story could turn out so good with such little effort.

thebackroadfilms

filmmaker | photographer

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Lately.

The Making of “Found”

thebackroadfilms

filmmaker | photographer

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