Still a Mystery - Investigation Discovery

Before it ended in 2023, I filmed several episodes of the true crime show Still a Mystery, which aired on Investigation Discovery. I was brought on because the team needed a Director of Photography based in Atlanta who was willing to travel for shoots. I ended up filming across Georgia and throughout the surrounding states, capturing both interviews and B-roll for the series. By the time the show wrapped, I had worked on five or six episodes.

This was a great opportunity and one I really enjoyed. Filming for TV shows is always fulfilling for me. Everything went smoothly with this show. I got some great footage and the production crew loved working with me.

I have added some of the interview samples to the end of this post, and I believe the episodes are still available to stream online. Now time for one of the creepy stories I have from working on this show. I actually have two, but I’ll just tell one for now. I don’t know why, but I swear strange and unsettling things always seem to happen when I’m working on true crime projects.

One thing that made this show particularly eerie was the fact that the crimes featured were all unsolved. In a few episodes, I had to travel to very small towns where the crimes took place. One town I visited had a population of only about 1,500 people. It definitely crossed my mind that the person responsible for the murder could still be living there. On one shoot in South Georgia, I was filming around the downtown area, thinking about how fast news travels in small towns. I imagined people talking, the story spreading, and the killer hearing why I was there filming.

That night, I had to stay in town for interviews scheduled the next day. The only hotel available was a run-down Motel 8 that looked like it hadn’t been updated since the '70s. I was nervous just bringing my gear into the room. I tucked my camera under a jacket as I walked in, hoping not to draw attention. It was the kind of place that felt like you could get robbed pretty easily.

Despite that, I managed to get some sleep. But the next morning, as I was loading my gear into my car, I noticed something strange. Someone had put a cigarette out on the hood of my car. Realistically, it was probably just a drunk person passing by. But I’m a creative person, and my imagination couldn’t help but run with it.

In my mind, I pictured the killer following me from downtown. That night, under the glow of a streetlight, he stood watching my motel window. After seeing the light in my room turn off, he took one last draw off the cigarette and snuffed it out on the hood of my car with an angry look on his face.

Do I really think that happened? No. But it would make for a great movie scene. I think I need to write that into a script someday. Who knows though, maybe someone was trying to send me a warning.

Still a Mystery is currently streaming on HBO MAX. Here are links to two episodes I worked on. I filmed more than this but Im not sure what the other episodes are. Still a Mystery Season 6 Episode 1 Still a Mystery Season 6 Episode 3

This was a detective I filmed in South Georgia. This is the only still I can find right now, Ill add more when I come across them.