And…Scene! (Part 2/3)

From left to right: Jared Murray, Anaya Murray, Kimel Fryer, Shaun Murray

In 2021, I had the kids apply for the Indie Memphis Crew Up program for the second time. The first year they were not approved, but this time, they were accepted into the 2022 cohort of young filmmakers! What's really cool about this program is that the teens are paired with a local filmmaker who mentors them in all things filmmaking. 

Anaya, Shaun, and Jared were paired with Kimel Fryer, a local independent filmmaker and producer. Kimel operated as a producer of the feature film "Life Ain't Like the Movies" (currently on the Amazon and Tubi networks). In addition to a mentor, Indie Memphis committed to giving the team $500 for the film budget. ​

Kimel mentored the kids for six months and literally spent two-three hours every other Saturday helping them plan their film. They spent over 100 hours educating themselves on filmmaking and writing short film scripts. Initially, they brainstormed plot ideas and then created the storyline.

​Next, they wrote and edited the script. 

​After the script was complete, the team researched and scouted out film locations. 

Location Scouting for "Amorphous"

Once the team settled on the sites, they had to find actors. They organized and implemented the casting calls and selected cast and crew members. The kids were surprised to have so many local actors sign up for the auditions. 

​Most of the adults had no idea Shaun, Jared, and Anaya were teenagers because they handled the process so professionally. 
 
The hands-on learning was incredible.

Behind the scenes video on the casting call process for "Amorphous"

Watching Anaya, Shaun, and Jared work together was a beautiful thing to observe. They created an award-winning suspense thriller short film, "Amorphous."

The plot is about five teenagers who are chosen to beta-test a new VR game from a mysterious tech company. Tasked to play what they believe is a simple game of "Hide and Seek," the seemingly easy game becomes more than what they bargained for.

Read the final blog post of this series, And...Scene! (Part 3/3) to get the link to the film "Amorphous." Make sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment on Anaya's YouTube channel.