Brave New Souls is a documentary I wrote, produced, and directed that explores the thoughts, goals, and inspirations of a new generation of Black creators in graphic novels, television, cinema, literature, and digital media. It was a very tough shoot as I did the camera work, sound recording, lighting, and directing ALL BY MYSELF! While the movie will be released on DVD in two weeks — on July 15 — for those that want to watch it via their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and home PCs, you can stream or download it as a high-quality, digital video right now at Gumroad for $7.99!
I wanted to take a moment to thank all the creators I worked with during the production of the documentary and share a few things I learned:
- People that volunteer to assist on the production will disappear when you actually begin to shoot the thing.
- Those same people will have every excuse in the book when they realize that you’re going to continue shooting with or without their assistance.
- When you do everything yourself, it makes folks assume you’re a complete amateur so having a crew adds considerable legitimacy to the production.
- No one will believe you until the final, edited version is made available to the public.
- It’s hard work, but there’s nothing in the world like getting your project done and sharing your vision with the rest of the community.
There were a few creators who I asked to participate that ignored me, and then there were those creators I wanted desperately to get recorded but the circumstances prevented the interview.
However, I will do a Volume 2 in 2015 with all the folks I missed the first time around as well as extended interviews with some of the original cast.
