Beach Happy Legacy: Storyteller Shane Reynolds discusses his new documentary — a project that's 10 years in the making.
Gulf Coast native Shane Reynolds has traveled to more than 65 countries as part of his job as a multiplatform video producer and shooter, running his production company, Color Earth. His client list has included such well-known media names as National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel and the BBC, just to name a few.
Still, for this born-in-Pensacola, raised-in-Fort-Walton-Beach, residing-in-Destin native of Northwest Florida, of all the places he's journeyed and experienced, when it came to choosing where to make his home the answer was simple: where he'd been all along.
"Growing up here, you don't know how good you have it," Reynolds told Beach Happy. "Obviously the beach and the water and the options we have here are great, but I think over time you realize that the standard of living here is cozy, the people are real, and I feel like it shaped me to be a reasonable person because it's just a balanced place of culture and outdoor activity."
I've always thought I was lucky growing up here, but I feel even more lucky living here now because I get it.
Ten years in the making
Over the course of his career Reynolds has worked on a number of notable projects, including Shane Untamed by NatGeo Wild, an international wildlife adventure series he produced, hosted, directed and edited. However, his biggest project to date is all about his hometown. Sand In My Soul: Stories of the Emerald Coast by Those Who Tell Them Best is a full-length historical documentary about the Emerald Coast (now known as Destin-Fort Walton Beach) that's almost 10 years in the making.
It all began in 2011, when Lee Glaser, who Reynolds describes as "an ingrained local and all-around good person," came to him with the idea. After securing an initial round of funding, Reynolds and his team hit the ground running with production, accomplishing a great deal in 2012. "We did a lot of interviews and laid the groundwork for the edit and then funding got pulled from under us."
At this crucial crossroads, Reynolds chose to turn the documentary into a personal project.
"I decided that since we were already so far into this that I would go ahead and make it a passion project and just work on it when I had free time; there just wasn't a lot of free time," he said. "I was doing a couple of different series for Travel Channel, I was working on stuff for National Geographic, so this was my hometown project that I buried myself into when things got slow."
In addition to not wanting to let go of the footage that had already been shot, Reynolds felt a personal connection to the project. "I was born in Pensacola, raised in Fort Walton and I'm living in Destin; the only time I've been gone was to go to Gainesville for school and then Nashville professionally for about four years," Reynolds said. "I've always thought I was lucky growing up here and so when this project stalled out it just got personal for me."
No narrator required
Through his documentary, Reynolds seeks to educate visitors and locals alike about the history of the Emerald Coast and show them that it's more than just a tourist town. Rather than tell the story himself, Reynolds tapped some local legends to share their accounts and expertise.
"We tried to find names in each community," Reynolds said. "This documentary is about the Emerald Coast, which has spread from Pensacola to Panama City but more accurately, I think it's Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Mary Esther, that kind of stretch, so we focused on that area and people that were prominent in Fort Walton, Destin and Okaloosa Island."
Interviewees include Tom Rice, a local historian and the owner of Magnolia Grill in Fort Walton Beach; Dewey Destin, the great-great-grandson of Destin founder Leonard Destin; and Charles Morgan, the owner of Harbor Docks restaurant in Destin. Reynolds also had the older fishermen of Destin sit down together at a table at Harbor Docks to chat.
The personalities featured in the documentary were all asked the same questions in the hopes that they could talk about the history of the area without any need for a narrator. "The intent was that they would tell these stories in a way that they could all finish each other's sentences," said Reynolds, who ultimately decided to provide a minimal amount of narration to bridge the gaps between stories and help make transitions into different topics.
Four broken projectors
Writing, directing and editing a full-length historical documentary for the first time was a continuous learning process which, in addition to having limited time to work on it, contributed to the amount of time it took to complete.
The good thing about it taking so long is that if we had finished it in a year like we hoped to, I don't think it'd be anywhere near as good as it is now.
Technological advances allowed him to include aerial shots taken on a drone, and over the last five years people following the documentary's progress have shared historical 8 mm footage from their personal collections.
"I've spent many, many, many hours sitting in my office playing 8 mm reels on these little projectors," Reynolds said. "I've gone through probably four projectors now that have broken on me, transferring everything to 4K, and getting them to where they're usable."
In the years he spent working on this documentary, more than anything Reynolds just wanted to finish it and have it presented. "It was such a weight on my shoulders, and since it was a passion project I wanted it to be perfect."
As for where his documentary would premiere, he had his sights set on Suds N Cinema, a historic movie theater in Fort Walton Beach. The sold-out weekend premiere for April 4 and 5 was ultimately postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, however those who didn't make it to the drive-in premiere in Fort Walton Beach can rent or buy Sand In My Soul via Reynolds's Vimeo page.
Sand In My Soul, in Reynolds's eyes, is coming out at the end of an era. "We're dropping the Emerald Coast as a moniker and going to be known as Destin-Fort Walton Beach now instead — at least from a branding perspective — so this is being released right as the Emerald Coast is going away," he said. "I think the documentary is a memento of that era, which I think a lot of us are going to carry on with us."
By Abigail Abesamis · Photos by Romona Robbins and Color Earth · To learn more about Shane Reynolds, visit colorearth.tv or follow him on Instagram (@colorearthpro) · Originally published in Beach Happy Magazine, Issue 1
