Some beautiful relationships have begun in 140 characters or less.
One example is the artistic collaboration between Javier McIntosh of McIntosh Bros, an award-winning service production company based in Atlanta, and J. Carter, an Atlanta-based writer and co-founder/creative director of PurposeXDesign Media Group. Four years ago McIntosh (who has worked with such clients as the Atlanta Falcons, Ludacris, and The Rolling Stones) tweeted at Carter. Impressed by McIntosh’s strong Twitter presence, Carter, who had primarily been writing stage plays, reached out to tell him about “The Industry,” a Web series he was developing.
“ ‘The Industry’ was made on a micro, micro budget,” says Carter. “It was the low-budget version of ‘Empire’ before ‘Empire’ existed. The actors were up and coming. The story was great, the heart was great. It’s nothing we would be proud to show from a cinematography standpoint today! But the first episode had 170,000 views. The audio wasn’t great but we had put our hearts into it.”
Nowadays, the two are collaborating on the pilot “Make Time 4 Love” (pictured above) starring Africa Miranda (of Bravo’s “New Atlanta”), Brad James (OWN TV’s “For Better or Worse"), and Carl Payne (Fox’s “Martin”). The dramedy tells the story of a young female divorce attorney (Miranda) struggling to find Mr. Right. McIntosh admits he was surprised at the names Carter and his wife, PxD co-founder and CFO LaShon Carter, were able to attach to the project. Can it be difficult for a writer to wear a casting hat? Yes, admits Carter.
“I come from a talent acquisition background from the business and commercial side—human resources—so the commonalities of acquiring talent and hiring and negotiation is something I am used to.”
McIntosh, who initially impressed Carter with his own social media following, insists that a strong following is a great way to get your foot in the door of a production such as theirs. Ultimately, he says, it does come down to your abilities. “Talent matters first. Can they play the character and do they have the work ethic to become that character? Is this a person who has too much on his or her plate right now?”
The two prefer to cast actors who will make a network take notice but don’t want to compromise the legitimacy of what they are doing. Oftentimes, they will sneak a lesser known actor into a supporting role. (Looking to land one of those roles? Check out the Backstage casting notice here.)
As Georgia natives, the pair is committed to creating quality content from the Peach State that is not reliant upon Hollywood executives or NYC cast and crew. While the state continues to bring in major budget film and TV productions from the coasts, Carter and McIntosh are optimistic about Atlanta content creators holding their own.
Carter believes “there is strength in numbers. I don’t need to rely on a Hollywood guy staying in a hotel room who doesn’t understand the vibe of Atlanta to tell me how to shoot my projects. We have to basically integrate ourselves to make sure no one from NYC or L.A. has to be called. We need to infiltrate that feeling.
“A lot of indie content creators here don’t see the forest before the trees; they say, ‘I just want to get paid.’ We keep in mind the bigger picture that we are building something here. Instead of being a hired agent with no creative control or power, let’s become an entity all on our own so we can call the shots. We want to have a seat at the table. Industry people come in and get their tax breaks and head out. But we can do everything they are doing.”
McIntosh recommends that Georgia-based artists create a force to be reckoned with. “I feel the people who are working the most in film production are working for other people as opposed to creating competition. I don’t see it as competition; it’s collaboration and those are the people who get farther.”
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