VIENNA - Local actors, producers, filmmakers and photographers met at the Wash N Go in Vienna on Sunday morning to film a scene for a new short film.
Actress Jenny Sherman said those involved in the making of the film, entitled "Clean Before Loading," are local actors from the surrounding communities.
The actors have filmed in other familiar places, including Point Park in Parkersburg, locations in Marietta and Jackson Memorial Park in Vienna.
Article Photos
Lead actor Chris Parsons and actress Jenny Sherman prepare for a scene at the Wash N Go in Vienna. (Photo by Mandi Cardosi)
Sherman explained the premise of "Clean Before Loading" as beginning when the lead actor's ex-wife meets him at a laundromat to drop off a mysterious package. Their encounter leads to an opportunity to examine the failed marriage, she said.
Parkersburg native Jeffrey Scott Richards, 34, is the producer and screenwriter for the film. He said his inspiration behind the movie came from the message labeled on the top of a dryer's lent drawer.
"I recently finished filming a romantic comedy called 'The Christ Complex,'" he said. "I wanted to do something different."
His inspiration behind the short was to take independent films in a new direction.
"(Indie films) are not usually comedies," he said.
Richards said he enjoys doing the unconventional and the Wash N Go, located at 2702 Grand Central Ave. in Vienna, was a perfect spot for him to begin the production of a film with a more serious tone.
Richards is also president of the West Virginia Filmmakers Guild, established in 1982. He has been interested in films and filmmaking since before he can remember and joked about coming out of the womb knowing he wanted to be a producer.
Assistant director Donna Linsell said the new film was her third experience working with Sherman. She directed another actor from behind the window of the laundromat explaining he should pull out his cellular phone and act casual as the scene was taking place. Action was called and everyone took to their roles.
Chris Parsons, 26, is the lead actor in the movie and said the film was his second time working with Richards. Parsons is a Parkersburg native and become interested in acting about three years ago in college at West Virginia University. He has worked with various people around the area, including with Ohio University film students and stage productions at the Actors Guild in Parkersburg.
In his short three years of acting, Parsons said he has been involved in about nine productions and films.
Todd Cooper was the director of photography for the film. He said he is a portrait and wedding photographer and got involved with film photography after his friend, Richards, convinced him to do so.
"My wife got me into photography," he added.
Cooper is part of the company Cooper Young Photography, located on Ninth Street in Vienna.
Photographer Brooke Ewing was also on set to photograph during Sunday's filming.
Ewing, part of Dirt Candy Photography, is from Parkersburg and attended WVU where she studied advertising.
The trend among the actors, photographers and filmmakers was their passion for capturing the right image to help convey the proper message. The team, made up of many from the Guild, spent the first few hours of their Sunday utilizing their talents and capturing works of art - both film and photographs.
