Bringing Scelto Universe Together

©2018JefferyOdysseyPhotography

I think at this point I can definitely say Scelto Universe is my child and I have been watching this project grow over the years. It started off in the Fall of 2013 as a full day photo shoot which included me as Odyssey, Toni Fields as Lonewolf, and Jeff Cumming as the photographer. The photo shoot took place in Atlanta, Ga and it was a cold and sunny day but that's when the acting kicked in because along with using our imagination, we had to pretend it was a warm day outside. So yes, I can admit that when it comes to this project I'm tough on myself and the people that I work with.  I would say it is definitely worth it when the final photos are seen.

Jeffery J. Johnson as Odyssey in Scelto Universe
©2018JefferyOdysseyPhotography

Before I came up with the idea of doing this as an on going project my personality as Odyssey originated a few years prior, back to when I was living in Shreveport, La. The nightlife and gay clubs inspired me to create a look that was different from what everyone else was wearing and that persona took on a life of its' own and continued to evolve into what I consider to be the most interesting part of who I am. Originally my persona went by name of Dorian Phoenix. For obvious reasons, I was a fan of Dorian Grey and noticed I wasn't aging as quickly as other people around me. I chose Phoenix because of my interest in the legend of the phoenix and idea of death and rebirth from the ashes. Xmen also played a major part in my decision on the name because of Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix. Interesting coincidence is that Dorian and Jean both have the same last name. 

Later after moving to Atlanta I chose the name Odyssey, that name name was chosen because of  traveling and moving around. The name does also relates to Greek mythology and the story of Odysseus. The element of Anti-aging and fire was still present in my personality. This is also when I realized that no matter where I go my creative talent is always going to be with me through photography, writing, and random costume designs. But back to beginning of Scelto Universe.

When I met Jeff Cumming in Atlanta, Ga for my first shoot, I had a few revealing costumes on hand and brought those with me. So over time we starting working together on more shoots, and working with him is what taught me how to come up with creative concepts and a story for the photo shoots. I am so thankful for that one question he would ask me anytime we started to plan a shoot. " What is the concept going to be?" That is how the photo shoots began to evolve into more than just a photo shoot in underwear and costumes. With his permission I was also able to edit some of the photos with visual effects.

Later down the line I met Toni Fields when we attended a film audition together and she saw some of my work and she told me when ever I had a creative shoot coming up let her know. That takes us back to Fall of 2013 I got in touch with Jeff about the idea I had in mind about doing a shoot with Toni Fields and the three of us were able to get together and make the shoot happen. 

Jeff Cumming and Jeffery Odyssey  2013
behind the scenes of Scelto Universe first shoot

Toni Fields and Jeffery Odyssey  2013
behind the scenes of Scelto Universe first shoot

On the day of the shoot I know I wanted to do something different from anything that I have ever done before, but also I wanted to make sure I included the costumes, weapons, and visual effects. It wasn't until after the shoot when I was in the post production process that I realized that you can see a story being told and there were so many great images done by Jeff Cumming that I just decided to use all of the great photos instead of just selected a few. We didn't have a story to this shoot but I made up a story to go along with the images as I was editing based on body language and facial expressions. To sum it up that was the birth of the our first photo comic. I say ours because without Jeff Cumming and Toni Fields, that idea would have never hit me.

Although the shoot was now a photo comic, it didn't have a name. There was also another last minute idea I wanted to try before I left Atlanta to move to Seattle. I went to visit Toni before I left to give her a few gifts that were also props in the photo shoot. We also did our first video that included visual effects. I didn't know anything about cinematography at the time and didn't know much about visual effects for video. These were all ideas I wanted to try while I had the chance. 

I moved back to Atlanta during the fall of 2014 and Toni Fields and I agreed that if we get the chance let's do this again. So yes when I got back to Atlanta, Toni was one of the first people I contacted. The timing was perfect because it was exactly one year since we did our first shoot. In a way this shoot was also an anniversary and reunion.

 

 When we met up for the next shoot we also sat down for a video recorded couch discussion afterwards to talk about what we had done and what we could do as far as moving forward with this as a project.  We also needed a name as well and the word chosen came up. We felt it summarized everything. The idea of being chosen for something that no one else could do. The word chosen was too simple so I started looking at different language translations and it was a tie between Italian and Japanese. The Italian title is Scelto and the Japanese title is Eraba Remashita.

  

So we bounced around on many interesting ideas such as doing more photo comics, doing more videos with visual effects, new costumes, new weapons, and most importantly new characters.

To start things off for 2015, two of my room mates Oliver Woodson and David Daniels were perfect for two new characters. Genso and Thorne Evergreen. Toni Fields knew of someone named Nina Lauren who was also interested as well and Nina took on the role of  Monev. 

 

I was so excited about having new people to work with. We were all able to work together in my first attempt at doing a mini web series. By this time I knew more about cinematography and visual effects for video but this gave me a new challenge of learning how to work with audio and video together. This was also a crash course for me in learning how much goes into the post production process for video especially when you are working with visual effects on a slow computer. Luckily, I finally got the mini videos edited a year later. Before I even had the previous season completed I was also trying to continue on with bringing in new people to add to the story and also crew members behind the scenes. 

For the summer season and early fall I had the opportunity to work with Chris Gaines, Lashay Lanier, Sid on Film, Celia Hicks, Ian Buxton, and Brandon Firby. During this time in 2015 I wanted to push myself with the new challenges of making Scelto a full webseries with a bigger casting process, written scripts, and a fully planned production schedule along with trying to get old and new cast members together, along with me trying to work a full-time job outside of all of this. It became too much of a challenge for myself and things were going in the direction that I did not want or need it to go. With that being said I cancelled the whole idea of trying to do Scelto: The Webseries and just switched it to Scelto Universe.

The overall decision to cancel the web series idea is because it was becoming more about the potential popularity of  Scelto, crowd funding, conventions, and promotions. I had to take time to myself and remember why I started this project, it was because this is my creative outlet. So I took it back to the beginning and just continued on with doing photoshoots with who ever was available. I also wanted to continue with doing cinematography for Scelto Universe but not as a web series. I wanted the story to continue moving forward but I had to do it through photography and video clips that went along with the photo shoots.

This now brings us over to 2016 where I introduced a new character named Echo played by Marcus Givens

Along with having another opportunity to do another shoot with Toni Fields, Oliver Woodson, and Nina Lauren

By January of 2017, I was back in Seattle,Wa

Add Photo Here( Odyssey writing in notebook by window)

Not much has changed for Scelto Universe leading up to January 2018, that was my time to readjust to the Pacific Northwest  and also take the time to meet and work with new people but not for Scelto Universe. During my spare time over the past year it was just me doing test videos with new visual effects to better myself in the field of cinematography

I did have goals of casting new people for Scelto Universe and writing new scripts but new challenges also come along with that especially with scheduling conflicts. But after a recent shoot I realized, my best work came from shoots that didn't have a plan and didn't have a script. Scelto Universe does better when I don't plan things out and just do things on the spot and make up a story as I go along. That is exactly what I did during my shoot in early March 2018.

 There is a moment in every year when I have to remind myself of the original reason behind why this started. I never started this for popularity or the chance of being famous. I actually have no concern about making money off of this project and I don't care about being on television. But I will be honest I do want to see my work in magazines but that is something I think about after a shoot is complete. It's fine if my work leads to bigger opportunities but overall, I do it because I love what I do. I'm always happy to hear about people who are interested in my work and want to work with me.

I will always push forward and get stronger with Scelto Universe this is my world, my gift. Scelto Universe is where I take all of my creative talents and life experiences and put them into one world. It is a creative outlet for me to tell my story and handle it in a positive way. This is why I tell people that Scelto Universe is a combination of reality and fantasy. Everything in this project has a symbolic meaning.

This is also where I say thank you to everyone who has worked with me and has been watching my work grow over these years. I appreciate it so much.