Issa Rae's Blog, page 7
October 3, 2014
amprgroup:
HOW ISSA RAE WENT FROM AWKWARD BLACK GIRL TO INDIE...
HOW ISSA RAE WENT FROM AWKWARD BLACK GIRL TO INDIE TV PRODUCERHER COLORCREATIVE.TV IS USING THE INTERNET TO HELP DIVERSE WRITERS CIRCUMVENT THE TRADITIONAL PILOT PROCESS.
BY KENRYA RANKIN NAASEL (fastcompany.com)Writer, producer, director and actress Issa Rae may identify with the titular character in her wildly successful webseries The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl, but she’s not letting a little awkwardness stop her from using her considerable talents and massive following—her YouTube content has a combined 25 million+ views—to bring new voices to the public. Her latest venture, ColorCreative.tv, develops and produces video projects by writers who are historically underrepresented in this space, providing a built-in platform and audience to propel them to television success by circumventing the traditional pilot process.
“I started Color Creative to give opportunities to talented women and writers of color,” says the 29-year-old Los Angeles native. “I get tired of hearing that we don’t appeal to a ‘broad audience,’ whatever that means. We’re providing opportunities and showcasing stories that aren’t being told anywhere else.” Rae dreamed up the initiative in August 2013 while reading a script from a new writer that struck her as a better fit for television than the web. “We’re an independent television network disrupting traditional models to make them more inclusive.” Though she started out on the web, producing her first digital series, Dorm Diaries in 2007, Rae eventually set her sights on network TV. In 2013, she developed a show with Shonda Rhimes (creator of Scandaland Grey’s Anatomy), which was ultimately not picked up.
WATCH: Issa Rae talks about how - and why - she started ColorCreative.TV
“Having gone through the pilot process with networks, I realize how formulaic and long it can be; and through that process, a new writer’s voice can get buried in notes. Not only that, but the pilot process can be super inefficient, millions of dollars spent on concepts that may never see the light of day,” Rae says. “So, with some networks deciding to do away with the ancient process in general, I’ve created a content startupthat produces low-budget pilots written by writers who are either women or minorities, showcases them to an audience, and hand delivers them to broadcast, cable and Internet networks. The hope is to get audiences excited about the great content that they’re not seeing on television.”
So far, so good. Rae has already brought four full series to her online network under the Color Creative banner: Roomieloverfriends, which examines the lives of roommates with benefits; How Men Become Dogs, about men who decide they don’t want to be nice guys anymore; First, which chronicles a new couple’s milestones; andHard Times, the story of a personal trainer who moonlights as a stripper. And fans are watching them—Rae racks up 3,000 new subscribers and more than 3 million minutes of viewing time each month. And she premiered three new well-received comedy pilots—Bleach, Words With Girls and So Jaded—at last week’s Urbanworld Film Festival.
September 15, 2014
BLEACH - @ColorCreativeTV Trailer
BLEACH - @ColorCreativeTV Trailer
SO JADED - @ColorCreativeTV trailer
SO JADED - @ColorCreativeTV trailer
WORDS WITH GIRLS - @ColorCreativeTV Trailer
WORDS WITH GIRLS - @ColorCreativeTV Trailer
September 10, 2014
youtubenation:
Before joining the team at YouTube Nation, I...
Before joining the team at YouTube Nation, I spent a year working for a relatively small magazine dedicated to covering the digital media space. It was your typical underpaid, understaffed, right-out-of-college job, and the only thing that made up for the lack of resources and health insurance was the opportunity it gave me to interview many incredible people changing the YouTube landscape.
Chief among them, and to this day one of my favorite interviews of all time, Issa Rae.
issarae is a writer, director, actress, and producer best known for her web series The Misadventures of Awkward Blackgirl. Since starting her YouTube channel in 2007, Rae has moved through her career with the goal of creating relatable content that realistically represents and entertains women and communities of color. Since wrapping up The Misadventures of Awkward Blackgirl, which won a Shorty Award for best web series in 2012, Rae has found herself more comfortable behind the camera, producing popular series such as First, RoomieLoverFriend, The F Word, Ratchet Theatre, and The Choir. For a look at all these series and more, check out the playlist below.
Since starting her own production company, Rae has given upcoming creators the space and built in audience to produce their own web series that she later airs on her channel. Her work on YouTube gained her a coveted spot on Forbes 30 Most Influential People Under 30 list and the opportunity to work alongside Pharrell Williams, Shonda Rhimes, and Larry Wilmore. Now, alongside fellow award winning producer Deniese Davis, Rae is launching Color Creative TV, an initiative working to create more opportunities for women and minority TV writers to showcase their pilots in the oversaturated, cookie cutter Hollywood industry. Rae and Davis have partnered with Urban World Film Fest for the premiere of Color Creative TV which will include the unveiling of three new comedy pilots written by three different writers.
As a long time fan of Rae, what I find so astounding about her is her ability not only to create entertaining content that breaks Hollywood stereotypes surrounding race and gender, but also her passion for supporting and nurturing creators following in her footsteps. The YouTube ecosystem would not be what it is today without the groundbreaking work of Issa Rae and, yet, I believe this is only the beginning.
So Issa Rae, thank you for inspiring us all to dream a little bigger and achieve all those things people said were impossible. You’re a class act my friend.
Carly Lanning is a YouTube Nation curator and, yesterday, got to dress up as a dinosaur at work. It was the best day ever.
September 8, 2014
August 13, 2014
August 9, 2014
"Other people will adapt to the opinion of you that you have of...
"Other people will adapt to the opinion of you that you have of yourself; and if you believe that you belong there and have something to say, they will believe that, too." - Lisa NIcole Bell; The BIZZ Plan
