M U L T I M E D I A S T O R Y T E L L E R
Recent Project
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Role:Production, editing, and videography
Finished Projects:
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Role: Produced, edited, script, and voiceover by me
(Thumbnail produced by me)
Role: Executive Producer, on-screen appearance, and co-script writer with We Make the Future
Free Hill: Renewal and Rememory
"Free Hill was a community of free Black residents established in the 1850s in Athens, Tennessee. For nearly a century, Free Hill sustained a mainly Black population until urban renewal drove out the families who called it home. The project, known as The Graham Street urban renewal project, displaced those families to allow for the expansion of Tennessee Wesleyan College, now known as Tennessee Wesleyan University..."
Visit the virtual exhibit here.
Role: Produced, edited, interviews, and entirety of the exhibit done by me
CONTEXT: This video is one part of an audiovisual exhibit that opened in Athens, Tennessee from Nov. 4, 2022, to December 12, 2022. It is a traveling exhibit and will be shown in various spaces across the country. All elements of the exhibit were created during a one-day visit to rural Athens on July 6, 2022. I enjoy community-engaged projects and am grateful to the Rural Assembly for allowing me to experiment and see what could happen.
Reclaiming Indigenous Narratives
Over the past few years, we have seen a burst of Indigenous representation in mainstream media. From the success of shows like “Reservation Dogs” and “Rutherford Falls” to the confirmation of the first Native American to serve as a U.S. cabinet secretary, Indigenous voices are reclaiming the narrative to tell their own stories. (Read full story here)
Role: Co-scripted, storyboarded
The Historical Disruption of MLK
A video essay reflecting on the misappropriated legacy of Martin Luther King Junior. (Read more here)
Role: Scripted, edited, graphic designed(thumbnail), and produced by me
CONTEXT: I was encouraged and obliged in penning some of my thoughts about Martin Luther King Jr. for his birthday month. I really enjoy video essays as a genre and saw it as an opportunity to produce one from top to bottom.
Beau of the Fifth Column Interview
Since starting his channel three years ago, Beau of the Fifth Column has grown his YouTube audience to more than half a million subscribers, connecting with folks from all walks of life and political identities. It isn't surprising given that he doesn't shy away from any topic, whether it's his almost hourly updates about the Ukraine and Russian conflict to more general sociopolitical topics like political polarization, the misappropriated words of George Orwell, or gun rights and law enforcement in the United States.
Role: Guest curation, backgrounding/research, interview questions, and editing by me
CONTEXT: This was originally produced for the Rural Assembly's virtual programming about Democracy.
This video alone has garnered over 50,000 views and is the most viewed video on the Rural Assembly YouTube channel. It helped fill out the Rural Assembly audience and build its subscriber base from 60 to 1, 840 and counting.
Gun Violence: First Encounters
A series of interviews held with various members of the Flint community where they recount chilling memories of witnessing or being on the receiving end of gun violence.
Role: Wrote (interview questions), shot, edited, and produced by me
CONTEXT: This was not shot in a studio. This was shot in an unused, neglected closet space at the Sylvester Broom Empowerment Youth Center. That was where Flint Beat was headquartered.
Despite how small the room was, it was heavily windowed. I was later reprimanded, but with the help of the janitor, stapled black-out curtains and black tablecloths over the windows and around the room. In post, I intensified the contrast so the wrinkles couldn't be seen. For lighting, I laid a bare vertical lamp on the floor and instructed participants not to move their hands too much. My Canon 60d wasn't much use to me at this time and I resorted to using Jiquanda's camcorder with a lav mic for audio. This was edited on Adobe CS6.
This piece was originally intended for this article but was never posted.
Flint's Food Deserts & the Search for Fresh Produce
A video component of an article package exploring Flint's transportation and food desert issue. Read more...
Role: Shot, edited, produced, and scored by me
CONTEXT: At this time, I had little experience or instruction in shooting video, on top of that the only camera I had access to was a used Canon 60 D that had a defective aperture wheel. I explored getting it fixed but was told getting it fixed would equal the cost of a new and better camera. I edited footage on Adobe CS6--software that my uncle downloaded onto my computer.
Ms. McKenney and the Monarchs
A video profile of Linnell Jones-McKenney, Flint's only female, international basketball star.
Role: Shot, edited, and produced by me
CONTEXT At this time, I had little experience or instruction in shooting video, on top of that the only camera I had access to was a used Canon 60 D that had a defective aperture wheel. I edited footage on Adobe CS6--software that my uncle downloaded onto my computer.
