WriteFilmEdit seeks to bring exposure to local filmmaking community in DeKalb

DeKALB – A local filmmaking group, WriteFilmEdit, is looking to help foster a new community within the DeKalb area for filmmakers.

The group, which got its start about a year ago, has six active members and is open to working with other filmmakers from around the community.

“Essentially, what we want to do is make filmmaking fun again,” DeKalb resident Seth Deming said. “We also end up doing this for our jobs. I have a company called Anomaly Video, and we do a lot of corporate work. We do brand work.”

Deming said the idea behind establishing this community filmmaking group is simple: Sometimes, making the thing you’re passionate about your job, really does work.

“It’s like sometimes at the end of the day, you’re like, ‘Ugh, I just don’t want to do anything else,’ but we all really want to tell stories,” Deming said. We were just like, ‘Man, if we could just make a space that invites creatives to come together to help each other make each other’s passion projects ... but also take it seriously.’ We have hopes and plans to make our own films. We thought, ‘Why not make these smaller films as practice, so that way when it comes for us to make a bigger film, we will have the means to do so.’ ”

“Filmmaking is a broad discipline. There are people that write music, that score films. There’s writers. There’s cinema-photographers, sound-ees. There’s a lot of people that can be a part of it, if they’d like.”

—  Seth Deming

The group typically films one smaller comedy or drama once every two months. With that, virtual meetings are convened weekly. The group also plans to work on one larger project once a year.

Josiah Sjostrom said he’s glad to be part of the filmmaking group.

“The longer I’ve been in this, the longer, to me, it’s more about the people I’m working with specifically than what we’re working on,” Sjostrom said. “Seth’s a great guy. We’ve been friends a long time. I’m just excited to be part of this.”

Recently, WriteFilmEdit was on location from OC Creative in DeKalb to shoot a scene for a comedic film with the working title, “Cam Cop,” which was written written and directed by Deming.

The film makes for one of several passion projects the group has pursued this year.

Deming said the film is all about how a filmmaker decides to become a police officer, but unfortunately they cannot stop themselves from making scenarios cinematic, even robberies.

Sjostrom was working hand-in-hand with the director of photography to tweak the lighting on set. Sjostrom said there’s a lot that goes into ensuring that a film scene has the proper lighting.

“It’s an art and a science I would say,” Sjostrom said. “They call it motion picture arts and sciences for a reason because you need to be technical and you need to have artistic taste at the same time. I am passionate about lighting. It is one of the biggest factors that affects someone’s perception of a film. Obviously, I’m biased by saying that because I’m in the lighting department.”

Sjostrom said he hopes people will enjoy “Cam Cop” as much as he did working behind the scenes with the lighting.

“I hope they’ll laugh,” Sjostrom said. “It’s a comedy.”

Deming said he is open to recruiting more area filmmakers to join the group.

Any filmmakers from the area interested in joining the group are advised to visit the WriteFilmEdit YouTube page and send a message.

“Filmmaking is a broad discipline,” Deming said. “There are people that write music, that score films. There’s writers. There’s cinematographers, sound-ees. There’s a lot of people that can be a part of it, if they’d like.”

This story was updated at 11:57 p.m. July 11, 2024, to correct an earlier version which misstated the name of the filmmaking group.