College students find many ways to express themselves and communicate with others. For some, it’s music. For others, it’s creating stories. 

For Talyn Sherman, it’s both.

Sherman, a sophomore majoring in media arts with a concentration in film, is originally a musician. 

“I have sang since I was kid. I started playing guitar at age 10, and learned piano around the same age,” Sherman said. “I was in a band all throughout high school, that’s where that all started.”

In highschool Sherman took an audio production class through a community college. That’s where her passion for filmmaking began. 

“I completely fell in love with actually making the film and everything that went into it,” Sherman said. “How to portray certain characters and emotions through lighting and camera and all of that sort of stuff.”

Born in Oklahoma, Sherman came to Kansas to join Wichita State University for the film program.

Sherman loves the creative process in filmmaking.

“I personally love directing but I’m torn between that and scriptwriting,” she said.

Her process normally starts with scriptwriting, then a rough shot list of things she knows she wants, then storyboarding, filming and editing.

In the works, Sherman has a possible feature film called Molly.

“I am currently working on a film called Molly, which should be in production in the next couple of months,” Sherman said. She is also about to start working on a criminal documentary piece that she’s excited for.

“Molly is about a drug addict, a twist on words, who gets kidnapped and is taken into this ring, it’s like a serial kidnaping.” 

The story follows Molly and another character in their struggles to find freedom again.

Writing and creating an idea into reality can be a lot more tough, especially when a pandemic changes everything.

“It honestly kinda felt like a reset button to me. I felt like I was phase one again,” Sherman said.

“It got to be a tough time there for a minute, but I think it really helped this semester because it’s getting me out of my comfort zone and I’ve started talking to people.”

Before COVID-19, Sherman felt classes were more special. 

“[Class] was a lot more personal,” Sherman said. “We’re kind of getting back to the hands-on, but . . . it was a struggle for students. I didn’t feel like I was getting anything out of it. And now it’s kind of slowly getting back to where it was.”

However, Sherman used her passions to help her during these crazy times. 

“I have been writing quite a bit. Both scripts and songs,” she said. “I think both of those are really good outlets for me. Not only can I put my own emotions in there but also things I see my friends and family struggle with.”

Future goals Sherman has are in plentiful amounts. Being a musician, she wants to one day compose her own music for her films. It would connect her to the project in ways she couldn’t describe.

Sherman also wants to change up the production process. 

“Most of the time you write the script before, but I want to challenge that and try to scriptwrite as we film.” 

The biggest takeaway that Sherman wanted audiences to understand is to appreciate the content you are watching. As a filmmaker herself, she knows how much work goes into the process.

“Just pay attention to the things you watch and see how much goes into what you’re watching,” she said. “There’s so many little things thrown into it. Look at what you’re watching and appreciate it.”