Life & Work with Liam Chewning of Lawrence

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liam Chewning.

Hi Liam, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I have been drawing, writing, and making movies since I can remember: scribbling comic books in crayon and dictating the exact words I wanted on the page to my poor mother before I could write them down myself. Before making stop-motion videos on my flip phone, I used the family VHS recorder to document narratives my younger sister, and I would perform. My parents told me that I always had a flair for the dramatic, and in middle school, I became involved in Theatre, which I stuck with through high school. I spent my first year at Johnson County Community College before transferring to the University of Kansas, majoring in Film and Media Studies, with minors in business, English, and the Visual Arts. I am a recent graduate working for a local production company as an editor and videographer, moonlighting as a pizza delivery driver. I pick up jobs as freelance editors, or production assistants, as they are available, and I still find the time to work on my passion projects, writing several stories, novels, and screenplays, while creating corresponding concept art and storyboards.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life is anything but a smooth road–it’s more like a winding river. For so long, I had been fighting against the current– paddling upstream, so to speak–but recently, I have learned to accept the ebbs and flow of the universe as they come and go and to let the river take me where it will. I have recently experienced many great losses in my life, making it challenging to see the positive in things at times. Still, I have been incredibly privileged and fortunate to have a wonderful support system of loyal friends and loving family members. It can be challenging to see outside of our own experiences when we get trapped in our heads, so I seek to use my limited perspective to widen those of others through Art.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a jack of all trades and a master of none. I am primarily known for my work as an editor for the film. In that regard, I am most proud of my work on the short film, “Body Paragraphs,” written and directed by Erika Lobati, which will be showcased at a few Film Festivals in the coming months. I have written and directed many short films, including the “Evil for the People” music video, by Captain Murgatroyd and a Horror film titled: “OVEN,” which has yet to be completed or released. I am most passionate about my writing projects, which, as previously mentioned, include several screenplays and a handful of unfinished novels. I have a good eye for color, imagery, and composition in my painting, with a unique style that sets my work apart from others. Editing for the film is very much like painting: instead of a color pallet, there is a limited selection of clips to choose from; the imagery and composition of any given clip are established prior, but the positioning and duration of the said clip are subject to manipulation, which informs the style itself. My background as a painter has served to differentiate my work from other editors or filmmakers.

How do you define success?
Success is a personal endeavor. For instance, I have had much success in my writing because I have achieved what I set out to accomplish, though it has come at a personal cost, and I have not received much recognition. For me, success in art is not about recognition–though I would not complain if a little came my way–it is about expression. Art is about sharing emotion, and if I can share that with just one other person for them to interpret and feel in their way, then I have been successful.

Pricing:

• Editing services: $20/hour
• Videography Services: $20/hour
• Commissioned Artwork: Negotiable

Image Credits
Art by Liam Chewning “Madonna of the Rosary” originally painted by Caravaggio “Venus de Milo” sculpted by Alexandros of Antioch