Oz Magazine November / December 2021 by Oz Publishing, Inc

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November / December 2021

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Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021

CONTENTS

OZCETERA

FEATURE STORY

A compilation of recent news and hot projects from and about the Georgia entertainment industry

Cultivating A Musical Comedy

FEATURE STORY Mama Knows Best

COVER STORY Dallas Austin

32 48

FEATURE STORY Joel A. Katz Music & Entertainment Business Program

FEATURE STORY Love is the Foundation

FEATURE STORY

For the Love of Sound

FEATURE STORY

Raising the Sound Bar

Protect Your Assets

FEATURE STORY Fanbase

66 74

FEATURE STORY Composing in the Gaming world

November / December 2021

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021

CONTRIBUTORS OZ MAGAZINE STAFF

Noah Washington Cover Story: Dallas Austin, From Dreamer to Dream Maker, p.32 Feature Story: Fanbase, An App For the Greater Good, p.48 Feature Story: Cultivating Musical Comedy, p.50

Publisher

Tia Powell (Group Publisher)

Sales

Kris Thimmesch

Creative Director Michael R. Eilers

Noah Washington was born in Richmond, VA. He is a Media Entrepreneur major at Georgia State University. He has written for multiple publications exploring culture in the entertainment industry and is currently a writer for the “National Newspaper Publishing Association” under the ”Blerd Binder” label and has been published in multiple states such as the “L.A Watts’’ times and the “Charleston Chronicle”.

Production and Design Christopher Winley Michael R. Eilers

LISA FERRELL

Contributing Editors Adrena Walton Winston Andrews

Cover:

Image Courtesy Dallas Austin

Feature Story: Love Is the Foundation, p.38 Lisa Ferrell has worked in series and tele-film development for such companies as CBS, Lifetime Television/Hearst Entertainment, NBC and TBS. She has served as Executive Producer for several of Atlanta’s foremost post production, motion capture and VFX facilities. After starting Lisa Ferrell Productions in 2016, Lisa worked on numerous projects for such clients as J Walter Thompson Inside New York, Hartsfield Jackson Airport and music videos. Currently, Lisa works as a Producer / PM in emerging technology, i.e., Motion Capture, Volumetric Capture, AR / VR for GSU’s Creative Media Industries Institute.

Emily Foley Feature Story: Mama Knows Best, p.56

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Emily L. Foley is a freelance journalist whose articles appear in publications such as Allure, O, The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, US Weekly and Instyle. com. She's interviewed Oscar, Grammy and reality show participants, the designers who've dressed them, and the hairstylists and makeup artists who make them look their best. A multiplatform journalist, Foley can also be seen as a television expert talking all things beauty, fashion, and lifestyle on television shows across the country, and on Instagram @emilylfoley. Emily resides in Atlanta with her husband and their spectacular young children.

ozmagazine.com /ozmagazine /ozpublishing /ozmagazine Oz Magazine is published bi-monthly by Oz Publishing, Inc. 2566 Shallowford Road Suite 104, #302 Atlanta, GA 30345 Copyright © 2021 Oz Publishing Incorporated, all rights reserved. Reproductions in whole or in part without express written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. This magazine is printed on recyclable paper.

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Kevon Pryce Feature Story: Raising The Sound Bar, p.42 Jordan Moore is a filmmaker with a strong drive for telling compassionate, meaningful stories. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, Jordan moved to Atlanta to join the film and entertainment industry where he began writing and directing films. Moore is the President and Founder of IAF Media, a company that creates unique, visual content for artists in the Southeast.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021

CONTRIBUTORS Patrick Harbin Feature Story: Joel A Katz Music & Business Program , p. 60 Patrick Harbin is a former newspaper and trade publication writer who is now committed to sharing stories of student and faculty success as Director of Creative Communications for Kennesaw State University’s Michael J. Coles College of Business.

Alexa Rachelle Jennings Feature Story: For The Love of Sound, p.66 Alexa Rachelle Jennings was born and raised in Atlanta. She received her Bachelor’s of English, concentrating in Creative Writing from Georgia State University. She is an actor and can be seen in such shows as “Bigger” (BET +) , “Dynasty” (CW), and “Greenleaf” (OWN). She has also appeared in national commercials for brands such as Sherwin Williams, AT&T, and Walmart, to name a few. She enjoys the arts and wants to be creative whenever she gets the chance.

Adrena Walton Feature Story: Protect Your Assets, p.70 Adrena Walton was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Adrena is currently a sophomore at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, double majoring in International Studies and German. She is an inducted member of the honors society, the Order of the Gown, and a local sorority, Alpha Delta Theta.

Krupa Kanaiya Feature Story: Composing In the Gaming World, p.74 Krupa Kanaiya began her career with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Media Arts & Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur in 2015. As a creative, she has worked to develop personalized animated content for television and social media. Krupa now works as the Communications Lead for the Atlanta Film Society and continues to work with other Atlanta-based companies, such as IAF Media, to produce content for social media.

November / December 2021

OzCetera MBS Equipment Company

MBS Equipment Company Opening East Coast Headquarters in Georgia

BS Equipment Company plans to build East Coast headquarters in Georgia. MBSE maintains it is the premier studiobased equipment company with the largest inventory of TV and rental equipment in the world. The new headquarters will be located at Trilith Studios in Fayette County and span over 100,000 square feet. To announce the addition of MBSE, Governor Brian Kemp said, “ We are proud Georgia’s business environment continues to attract quality companies like MBSE and gives them the tools necessary to invest, create jobs, and produce world-

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

class entertainment. From a steady work force pipeline to a diverse array of industry assets, MBSE has everything productions need to make great television shows and films right here in Georgia, and we look forward to their continued growth in the Peach State.” M B S E ve n tu re d i n to G e o rg ia i n 2014 and had its first big break with the production of Ant-Man. They rose quickly from there while operating out of a 45,000 square foot property. The new headquarters will be even larger to accommodate greater demand and

include support for productions at 75+ stages in Georgia, a satellite facility in Savannah, and extra location work throughout the state. "Our history with Trilith combined with Georgia’s smart tax incentive and impressive work force makes Trilith Studios the natural place to locate our East Coast headquarters." said Michael Newport, Executive Vice President of The MBS Group, the parent company of MBSE.

November / December 2021

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Esports Arena Coming to Macon

rtisan Interests of Atlanta recently purchased a 1920’s Egyptian-themed Shrine Temple in Macon, Georgia for the purpose of turning it into an esports arena and hotel with 400-space parking deck. Artisan Interests was founded by two brothers and focuses on commercial construction and land investment advisory services. The Al Sihah Shrine cost them $1.5 million and is located next to Macon City Hall in downtown Macon. The property has about an acre of land, and the blueprint for the project was drawn up by renowned architectural firm, Nelson Worldwide. Currently, the shrine is 34,791 square-feet of stone and brick. The developers plan on turning that into an arena type seating tournament room, a café, and individual gaming rooms. The hotel will have to be built from the ground up and be connected to the existing

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

building. They envision four to five floors and 125 to 145 rooms. The plan for the parking deck is a bit murkier with ideas floating around to put it underneath the hotel or across the street. Looking ahead, Ar tisan Interests believes there can be substantial success in the massive global market of gaming. It is a billion dollar industry that only has

room to go up. Proximity to Atlanta is a big reason why they think an esports arena will work so well. As of right now, the plan is shooting for the stars, but it remains f luid because the developers know adjustments will have to be made. The hope is to begin construction sometime in 2022.

November / December 2021

OzCetera Fear The Walking Dead

"Fear the Walking Dead" has a new home in Savannah

roduction for "Fear the Walking Dead" is moving from Austin, Texas to Savannah, Georgia. This is one of many changes in scenery for the show as it started filming in California, went to Baja California in Mexico, then to Austin where it has been for the past four seasons. For Savannah and other small towns around it, this is fantastic news. “Fear the Walking Dead" is a high budget show that can range up to $50,000 per hour for production. It is also a traveling show that likes to film in different locations around its home base. The presence of the film and production crew will encourage positive economic activity throughout the area. Unfortunately for Austin, the departure of the show will have negative economic

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

implications. “To say this is a significant loss is an understatement,” said Austin Film Commission Director Brian Gannon, who explained that the show “created consistent, well-paying jobs for close to five years.” When asked about the move, Texas Motion Picture Association Executive Director Paul Jensen suggested that it is related to the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) which is lacking in funding. Only $50 million has been approved for 2020-2021, and that amount is expected to shrink to $45 million in 2021-2022. Th e re a re a l so r u m o r s t h a t t h e distribution of money by TMIIIP has been unethical. The program is supposed to

operate on a first come first serve policy, but the Texas Film Commission, who runs the program, may be picking favorites when it comes to where the money goes. The general lack of funds contributes to this problem. Overall, producers are concerned that the film industry in Texas is not incentivized enough and see Georgia as a much more appealing state for production. So far, "Fear the Walking Dead" has released seven seasons and since filming will move to Georgia for the beginning of 2022, it is reasonable to hope for a couple more.

November / December 2021

OzCetera

XR stage at Savannah Film Studios

SCAD Unveils New Sound Stage

he Savannah College of Art and Design is showing off some impressive new technology with the completion of its extended reality sound stage. This is the first step of a three-year plan to build a full film studio complete with costume labs, carpentry studios, sound stages, and backlots for exterior sets. The extended reality soundstage is made up of an LED floor and wall that immerses the actor and the film crew in the virtual world of the movie. The background also moves with the camera which allows for seamless transitions. Even though extended reality has been used many times in video games, it did not become a possibility in the film industry until a few years ago, and the first television show to use this technology was The Mandalorian in 2019. John Marshall, the Chair of Visual Effects at SCAD, had this to say, “This

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

technology came after COVID and is a much better quality. I think the technology, really, for us is much better quality than what they started pre-pandemic," he further stated, "So, we actually have a better-quality space than almost anything in Holly wood right now. They're just catching up to us." SCAD expects to complete building Savannah Film Studios in 2024. Once it is finished, the roughly 1800 students in the film school will be able to use it for their own productions, and Andra Reeve-Rabb, Dean of the School of Film and Television, has said that students will spend most of their class time at this location. Teachers will utilize these high-level facilities to give students hands-on experience to develop necessary skills in their desired field. "Because our experience on the XR stage is revolutionary,” said Sean Hussey, a junior film student at SCAD, “Everyone

we talked to professionally is like, 'Okay, you're working on this. That will be a job out of college.’” Phase two of the 3-year plan will be a backlot with the outside of a bank, bits of New York City, and downtown Savannah. SCAD will also allow other TV and film productions to use the studio when students are not occupying it. Once ever y thing is complete, the new film studio will fit in perfectly with the strong film industry in Savannah. "We have thousands of students who are making Georgia their home. They're not going to L.A. or New York like they used to, they are staying here because there's so much work," Reeve-Rabb said. "So that crew base is here, it's growing exponentially every week."

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OzCetera

Kennesaw State Teaches Cybersecurity to Kids

w o Ke n n e s a w S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y professors, Joy Li and Yan Huang, have teamed up to create vir tual reality games to help elementary school students learn the basics of cybersecurity. They believe that the combination of video games and learning will lead to highly engaged students because video games are so popular with children. The virtual reality games will require players to demons trate their knowledge in cybersecurity to progress in the game. “Our aim is to take concepts that are otherwise very complex for students and put them in a format that is much simpler for them to understand,” said Huang, who is a professor in the College of Computing and Software Engineering at

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

Kennesaw State, “This delivery method also allows us to continue refining our lesson plans to ensure they are accessible to students regardless of background and are effective in teaching them about cybersecurity.” When the player put s on the VR headset , they are taken to the “Cybersecurity Park” where they can explore six different areas that cover cybersecurity topics including ransomware, hacking, and phishing. Each area has a unique game that is based on one of the topics. For example, the phishing topic has a fishing game, and the ransomware topic has a medieval castle that the player must defend from enemies disguised as knights.

“Cybersecurity is not yet an official part of school curriculums, yet we are living in an increasingly digital world,” Li said. “This presented us a wonderful opportunity to make an impact on education by using games, which has become one of the most efficient ways to grab their attention. On a secondary level, we hope that this kind of exposure will encourage kids to pursue careers in cybersecurity.” Only four of the six modules are currently available to play, but Kennesaw State students will have the last two modules completed soon. Once they are done, the game will be released free of charge for any elementary school student or teacher who want to develop valuable cybersecurity skills.

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November / December 2021

OzCetera

Prysm Stage Launches at Trilith Studios, Atlanta

NEP Virtual Studios and Trilith Studios Introducing the Latest Technology

EP Virtual Studios and Trilith Studios are teaming up to build a new, cut ting - edge vir tual produc tion facility in Atlanta. The Prysm Stage will be one of the largest of its kind in the world and is led by top notch talent including enter tainment industr y veteran and Global President of NEP Virtual Studios, Cliff Plumer, virtual production pioneers Lux Machina Consulting (LuxMC), Trilith Studios President and CEO Frank Patterson, and Trilith Studios Director of Creative Technologies, Barry Williams. The stage will be in the Creative Technologies District at Trilith Studios 16

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

which is one of the largest purpose-built movie studios in North America. Popular productions like Loki and Black Adam are made there, and Trilith Studios continues to expand rapidly. The virtual production processes that this stage offers allow f ilmmakers to work faster, increase creativity and collaboration, and save big money on productions. “Ensuring the success of a virtual production shoot relies on having a rocksolid stage setup and an experienced production team in place,” said Mitch Bell, Vice President of Physical Production at Marvel Studios. “The Prysm Stage at Trilith

is just another example of how we rely on Trilith Studios to bring best-of-class solutions to our productions.” With a virtual production volume of 80’ x 90’ x 26’ in an 18,000 square foot purpose built sound stage, the Prysm Stage will be absolutely massive. There will be an LED ceiling and set pieces wrapped 360 degrees with LED panels designed to surround the filmmakers in the virtual world of the movie. In early 2022, the facility will also have a process stage for automobile shoots as well.

Tosca Musk Moves Passionflix to Georgia

he lure of Georgia’s film tax credits has reached the lives of many, including Tosca Musk, owner of the company and streaming ser vice Passionflix. Musk, originally from South Africa, initially moved to California from Canada when beginning her film career before making the decision to move herself and her business to Georgia. “Tosca Musk’s decision to relocate her company, Passionflix, to Georgia is a testimony not only to the success of the film tax credit, but also to the positive experiences she has had making films in numerous communities throughout Georgia including Madison, Augusta and Monroe,” as said by Lee Thomas, a head of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. “We look forward to an ongoing partnership with her and welcome her as an extraordinary addition to Georgia’s vibrant film industry.” Musk co-founded Passionflix as a streaming service for women interested in romance film and television. As said by Ali Straub Whitaker, director of marketing and PR, Passionflix specifically adapts romance novels for streaming. “Romance novels aren’t often turned

into films,” Whitaker said. “But romance novels are the No. 1 genre in fiction.” Having a streaming service dedicated to romance, especially novels, reaches a community only occasionally catered to in the streaming world. The name Passionflix itself is a crafty play on “Netflix” that highlights its market. That being said, Passionflix’s work does not only include streaming services, but projects for adapting these novels into films. Most recently, the television series “Driven” just premiered its second season on July 22 in Los Angeles before the company’s moving process to Palmetto, Georgia. Other projects of theirs include “ Wicked” (2021), “Gabriel’s Inferno” (2020), “Dirty Sexy Saint (2019), “The Protector” (2019), “The Matchmaker’s Playbook” (2018), and “Hollywood Dirt” (2017). “A b i g r e a s o n f o r t h e m o v e i s the wonder ful tax credits for filming in Georgia,” Whitaker adds. “ We all discussed it as a team. We wanted to be someplace where we could go with our families and have a better quality of life and where would it make sense for us to film.”

Tosca Musk

November / December 2021

OzCetera Tom Luse and Andrew Lincoln on set of "The Walking Dead"

Tom Luse to Direct a Film with a Georgia State Class

om Luse, longt ime producer and veteran of the film industry, is bringing a unique opportunity to students at Georgia State. They will be offered class credits and real-world experience by working on a production for Luse, who was once a film student at GSU himself. Since then, he has most importantly spent nine years as producer and executive producer of AMC’s hit show, "The Walking Dead". Georgia State first got Luse back on campus in 2019 when he agreed to be an artist-in-residence for the school’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). This program allows students to get mentorship from professionals like Dallas Austin and Ludacris in their desired field. Now, he prepares for spring 2023 when his production begins, and the script he

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

wrote with Georgia State screenwriting s tu d en t s , M alik J o nes an d Sydney Norman, will be brought to life with a full cast and crew of students. The project will only take one semester, and, upon completion, students will receive 15 credit hours in their field of study as well as professional credits. “We’ve created a curriculum that allows students who are involved in the feature film to have all their classes focused around the feature for that one semester,” said Brennen Dicker, Executive Director of CMII. “We’re trying to bring 25 to 30 students together and create a project that really immerses them and gives them the real-world experience of shooting a feature film.” Luse believes that with new

technology, it is possible to prepare, film, and complete post production all in one semester. Other film industr y professionals will be present during the production process to advise students, but students will be expected to complete workshops before the semester to have baseline knowledge of their field. “We train people who are behind the camera, and we train people who are in front of the camera,” said Greg Smith, Director of the School of Film, Media & Theatre. “So, we designed this with the ability for students to create their individual path, get the credits they need to stay on track to graduation and have this remarkable experience at the same time.”

November / December 2021

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Athena Studios CEO Joel Harber speaks at a groundbreaking in Athens, GA. The 45-acre film and television production facility expected to be running at full capacity by November 2023

Developers Break Ground on a New Film Studio in Athens

real estate developer in Athens, Joel Harber, has been paying attention to film trends in Georgia. He has realized that the industry is well incentivized and trending upwards. Now, he wants to get in on the action and build a film studio in his hometown of Athens. A few weeks ago, Harber’s company, Athena Studios, broke ground on the $60 million facility. There will be numerous sound stages, production offices, support buildings, and a couple educational facilities that will be utilized by University

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

of Georgia film students. All of this will be spread out over 45 acres that span 350,000 square feet of space on 900 Athena Drive. They expect the studio will be completed in two years. One of the sound stages will be specif ically designated to UGA and Georgia Film Academy students. This is a huge upgrade for them as the new space in Athena Studios will have 14,000 square feet, and there will be many opportunities for the students to refine their skills in filmmaking. As for the other

stages, Harber has stated that he wants consistent production all year through the employment of IATSE union members from companies like Netflix and Warner Brothers, but he is also willing to do business with independent productions. "There is a wealth of creative talent in Athens in all facets of what you need to make movies and television," said Harber. "I'm hoping that some of that gravitates towards us."

November / December 2021

OzCetera Meditation Using The ZenVR Experience

Health and Wellness Through Virtual Reality

hile virtual reality is generally grouped with gaming and entertainment, it has a wide array of uses that are just being discovered. One of which is the ability to positively impact mental health. Georgia Tech and SCAD are both working with this concept. There is a Georgia Tech graduate student developing a meditation space in VR, and a SCAD program dedicated to helping people in hospice using VR. Matthew Golito found that meditation became very important to his daily life during his time at Georgia Tech. He saw that it had a positive impact on his health and decided that he should try to do even more with it. What followed was his version of a VR experience merged with a meditation lesson called ZenVR. Golito then arranged for 15 students to begin using the technology as an experiment. “We had participants come in twice a week for 20 to 30 minute long meditation classes in VR. And by the end of the 6 week study, we were seeing these statistically signif icant increases in a number of mental health metrics,” said Golito. “A lot of master’s projects kind of end there… but given my personal interest, it was my belief that this could make an impact." 22

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

What was originally a school project, turned into a star tup with a team of engineers. For the past year, ZenVR has been transforming their protype into a complete VR app. They have released a beta version that had numerous users testing the app’s performance, and they were also accepted into the Oculus Start Program. Most importantly, the app is now available for anyone who needs some relaxation on the Oculus Quest Store! SCAD also sees an opportunity to improve health and wellness by using VR. Their focus lies on giving profound experiences in a virtual world to those who are too sick to go in the real world. For the Immersive Reality Professor at SCAD, Teri Yarbrew, it is a perfect union of academic and personal motivation.

“I am a VR evangelist,” Yarbrow said. “I have been working with Hospice Savannah and the Steward Center of Palliative Care for more than two years. It began with a woman with stage 4 pancreatic cancer who wanted to skydive as a bucket list request. She was too ill to skydive, so we brought her skydiving via VR. It was quite liberating for her as jumping out of a plane, and skydiving is a great metaphor for letting go and embracing the end-oflife experience.” Yarbrew and the SCAD student s helping her have been increasing and improving the virtual worlds that are available. They believe that it has significantly positive effects on mental health by reducing stressors on the mind, and that VR is just getting started in the medical world. Yarbow believes that this technology is ready to pop, “The FDA has now validated immersive VR therapy with a designation: Medical Extended Reality, MRX. This will create many career opportunities. Our goal is for SCAD to be a leader in the emerging field of immersive health.”

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Fairfield University unviels on-campus esports lab

Ghost Gaming Brings esports to Small Schools

tlanta based esports organization, Ghost Gaming, has par tnered with Generation Espor ts (GenE) to bring gaming to disadvantaged Georgia schools and communities. They plan to do this through the independent, non-profit Georgia Scholastic Esports Foundation (GSEF) which will provide funding for computers and other equipment at participating schools as well as support students competing at national and state level tournaments. Ghost Gaming will also be using their connections in the professional esports world to give students the opportunity to gain experience with top players and encourage participation in competitive gaming. The foundation will begin its work in a place already eager for gaming opportunities, Forsyth County. “We are starting in a place that already ‘gets it’, as they say. Ghost Gaming approaches scholastic esports in partnership with community centers, schools, and teachers,” Todd Harris, Partner at Ghost Gaming said. “Starting a program is actually a LOT more involved than simply installing computers and telling the kids – now go play. There is a proven approach for delivering esports competitions and a club structure that has positive student outcomes. Forsyth County has an amazing teacher and instructional designer there named PK Graff who has been doing work with esports and computer science with middle school teams and varsity teams. His job title is actually Gaming Guru! That’s a great place for us to start.” This fall there will be Rocket League and Chess tournaments held by GSEF, and they hope to add many more gaming titles to their tournament list soon. They also plan to build an esports gaming lab in a school that is yet to be chosen. Choosing communities that are less advantaged is a key point for the foundation as kids will not get the same kind of learning opportunities without the help of technology. “In Georgia we want these development and workforce development initiatives to be equitable and accessible,” Harris said. “COVID last year drove remote learning for many but also showcased the technology divide and gap for some communities. Without access to a computing device or broadband internet, learning stopped and we are working with partners to help bridge that technology gap.”

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November / December 2021

OzCetera Urban Mediamakers at UMF Creativity in the Park, Gwinnett County, GA

Gwinnett Based Urban Mediamakers Celebrated 20 Years of Recognizing Content Creation Excellence

t was an exciting 14 days for creatives during the 20th Urban Mediamakers Festival (UMF ), Oc tober 11 -24, 2021 in Gw innet t Count y, G eorgia. H eld annually, UMF recognizes the work of creatives in afrofuturism, animations, comics, commercials, digital games, documentaries, features, mobile apps, mobile films, music videos, podcasts, scripts, shorts, TV pilots, web series and youth films. The festival brought creatives competing from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Namibia, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

UMF featured free vir tual and in-person events, kicking off with the annual Anti- Columbus Day. Festival participants enjoyed a Writers Day, Urban PitchFest, Films in the Park, AfroFuturism Fest showcasing Black sci-fi-, horror and fantasy, Young Urban Mediamakers ( YUMs) Videopalooza contest, guest s p e a ke r s , n e t w o r k i n g a n d p a n e l s . Festival films streamed in competition on the organization’s new plat form UrbanFlixToGo.com. Several local content creators were winners for Georgia produced projects. Etta East of Atlanta received the best AfroFuturism short for directing 10 Years in 40 Seconds. The best music video

award went to WAP: Women As Prophets directed by Will Thomas and Domingo Guy ton of Duluth. Shawn Mathis of Atlanta was acknowledged for best short film directing of Color Blind. The feature documentary of a political icon, Bo Legs: Marvin Arrington, Sr., An Atlanta Story that was directed by Adelin Gasana was a first place winner. “Our 20 th edition is a milestone of resilience,” said Cheryle Renee Moses, Festival Director. “This has been a year of rebranding for us from ‘film festival’ to ‘festival’ as we evolve. We are very proud of our content creators and are ready for 2022,” continued Moses.

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November / December 2021

OzCetera

Kat-5 Studio for Savannah

ndependent producers David Paterson, Arcady Bay Entertainment, and Taylor O we n by, I S P G l o b a l C a p i t a l , h ave announced their project of bringing a sustainable sound stage complex to Savannah, Georgia. Due to its location, planning has been put in place for the complex’s longevit y as ref lec ted in the complex’s name itself: KAT-5, due to its ability to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. KAT-5 will span two acres and have a unique design, featuring a solar farm on its rooftop and a “concrete water tank

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

platform base” which makes the complex a suitable staging ground for FEMA . Current plans include a 130,000 square foot facility with additions of three floors of office and support space; however, Owenby and Paterson have already purchased 30 acres in consideration for future expansion and invested $40 million. The par tners made this move in acknowledgement of the fact that major productions use Savannah for exteriors of tentimes, but must relocate to the Atlanta film hub for interior scenes on

sound stages due to lack of infrastructure in Savannah. Georgia’s film industr y, as we know, has exploded in the past decade due to state tax credits, which has brought many productions to the state and specifically to Atlanta. However, The Savannah Economic Development Authority provides an additional $1.3 million annually on top of state tax credit, giving the city an even stronger appeal than ever.

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November / December 2021

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Atlanta's LGBTQ Film Festival, Out on Film announces Filmmaker Awards

arnerMedia’s Out on Film, a LGBTQIA+ f ilm festival based in Atlanta, is constantly reaching new heights. Not only is Out on Film one of USA Today’s 2020 Reader’s’ Choice picks, qualifying as a top 20 North American film festival, but it also owns the title as an Oscar® qualifying film festival now. Following 2020’s exclusively virtual edition, Out on Film returned to theaters for the 11-day 2021 festival and announced their filmmaker awards on October 18th. Jim Farmer, Out on Film Festival Director said that "while we enjoyed great success last year with our virtual presentations, there is still nothing like being live and in-person with our filmmakers and enjoying their work on the big screen with our film fans here in Atlanta. Adding that to the vir tual presentation has continued our growth as a film festival and it was gratifying to hear the appreciation and enthusiasm from our filmmakers following this year’s edition. We’re already looking forward to 2022.” This year’s Out on Film was highlighted by the Opening Night Southeastern Premiere screening featuring Rebane’s Firebird and the Closing Night World

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment. SINCE 1990

Premiere of Stacey Woefel and William T. Horner’s Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way. The Closing Night World Premiere included Out on Film’s first collaboration with GLAAD, which joined Out on Film to celebrate the films and the festival’s work and support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Out on Film alumni Jan Miller Corran’s Along Came Wanda, Antony Hickling’s Down in Paris, and Jade Winters’ One Four Three, as well as the art installation of Matthew Terrell’s “The Hate Shield Project” were additional world premieres. This year’s successes also included the virtual acceptance by Amanda Bearse of the 2021 Trailblazer Award as well as carefully recorded film talks and thoughtful Q&A’s with the majority of this year’s filmmakers. The jur y for t he 2021 Out on Film included Kat Setzer (Director of Programming; Image + N at ion Film Festival), Lisa Rose (Festival Director; Queer Screen - Mardi Gras Film Festival), Andria Wilson (Director; Reframe), Joe Bilancio (Program Director; Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival), Doug Spearman (Actor/Director; From Zero to I Love You, Hot Guys with Guns),

Lisa Cordileone (Ac tor; Freelancers Anonymous, The Virgin of Highland Park), Christopher Racster (Producer; Cured, Spork), Edward Adams (Film Critic; Atlanta Film Critics Journal), and Rich Eldredge (Journalist; Atlanta Magazine, Eldredge ATL), "This year’s award winners spanned styles, genres, and inspirations, as we recognized the work of both veteran filmmakers and relative newcomers with our awards. It really was an inspiring mix and rightly-deserved group that received both jury and audience nods this year,” said Farmer. Marley Morrison’s Sweetheart was especially favored by the jury and won both Best Narrative Feature and Best Ensemble, while Peter Reebane’s Firebird and Nathan Hale Williams’ All Boys Aren’t Blue shared the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film. T.J. Parsell’s Invisible:Gay Women in Southern Music won both the jury prize and the Audience Award for Best Documentary. William T. Horner and Stacey Worlfel’s Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way was the runner-up for the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lauren

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Atlanta's 2021 Out on Film Festival

Hadaway, filmmaker and director of The Novice not only won Best First Feature, but also the Best Director prize. The jury’s Best International Feature prize went to both Kun-Young Park’s A Distant Place and Henrika Kull’s Bliss, while Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee and Alessandro Guida and Matteo Pilati’s Mascarpone both won the Audience Awards for Best International Film. Additional jury awards included Best Drama Short Film that went to Mat Johns’ Inertia; a Special Award for Excellence in Cinematography to Edward Martinez, director of photography for Flames; and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay went to Kelly Walker for My Fiona. Additional audience awards included a tie for Best Narrative Short Film between Faraz Arif Ansari’s Sheer Qorma and Luciana Bitencourt’s As Simple as That. Both Stuart Ruston’s Together Again and Richard O’Connor’s My Aunties, were awarded Best Animated Short Film as a result of another tie. Wes Hurley’s Potato Dreams of America won Best Comedy and Matt Porter’s Flex won Best Comedy Short. The audience award for Best Trans Short Film went to Roberto Pérez Toledo’s Before the Eruption, and C.J. Arellano’s Griffica won Best Horror Short. Best Local Short Film was awarded to Quinlan Orear’s Over My Dead Body; the runner-up included a tie between Lyrik London’s Black Boi Majik and Deondray Gassfield and Quincy Le Near’s Flames. Best Web Series was awarded by the audience to Denis Theriault’s I am Syd Stone.

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Eagle Rock Studios Expands Facilities

E Let’s Make Something

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agle Rock Studios, a third generation family-owned studio production company based in Atlanta, launched its first studio in Norcross, Georgia, which is known as the largest stage complex under one roof in the U.S. at 470,000 square feet in size. At their original location, Eagle Rock Studios has four 30,000 square foot stages, three production office hubs, 40 loading docks surrounding the building, an enormous main breezeway, as well as shops and holding and catering areas in their storage and support space. Their second location can be found in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and their newest expansion is located in Norcross near their original facility. Behind the scenes, Eagle Rock Distributing Co., an Anheiser Busch distributor, owns these three facility locations and initially transformed them from warehouses to the stellar studio spaces we know today. The recent warehouse that Eagle Rock has acquired is 150,000 square feet in size, bringing Eagle Rock Studios’ space to a total of nearly 800,000 square feet. “It was definitely the right time to expand,” says Beth Talbert, Vice President / General Manager Studio Operations for Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta. “Our phones haven’t stopped ringing. There is a pent-up demand for content, and stages in Georgia.” Eagle Rock Studios currently hosts the productions “Queens,” “Dynasty,” and “The Wonder Years,” with past productions including “Ozark,” “Devious Maids,” “Genius,” “Greenleaf,” “Mother’s Day,” “The Passage,” and “Underground Railroad.” At their newest facility, they have already signed a multi-year booking contract with ABC Signature. “The opportunity here in Georgia keeps growing, and we’re proud to contribute to the state’s thriving film and TV production industry,” says Talbert, who also serves as a Georgia Studio & Infrastructure Alliance board member. “Every full stage means hundreds of jobs every day here.”

Quixote Acquires The Production Truck (TPT)

he Production Truck (TPT), a production rentals provider located in Burbank, California and Atlanta, Georgia, is being acquired by Quixote. William Hadley founded TPT in 1998 with the original intent of streamlining the production process through providing a large-scale inventory of rental items that can be found in one space. The TPT team has been dedicated to providing the highest quality equipment for over 20 years, establishing

a reputation for an extensive, Class A inventory and excellent service in the Film, Television, and large-scale event rental industry. Mikel Elliott, Founder & CEO of Quixote states: “Philosophically, TPT is a perfect fit for us. They have the newest & deepest inventory in the industry & their team is committed to the same level of service excellence as we are.” Together, Quixote and TPT offer a

well-established rental inventory, quality ser vice, and will have a wider reach through the Quixote resources and network to customers looking for bigger and better. “We have always been ex tremely customer-centric. We listen, then we overdeliver. Quixote’s vision is exactly in line with this,” said William Hadley.

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November / December 2021

Cover story Cover story

FROM DREAMER TO DREAM MAKER

BY: NOAH WASHINGTON

rom working on NPC-60's to DAW’s. Few have been able to encapsulate the music marketplace, and none can say that they have had the career or longevity that Dallas Austin has. Born on December 29th, 1970, Austin was brought into a world where others were failing to even get their foot into the door. Austin was introduced to music through the clubs that his parents owned and his brothers who were in a marching band. The giant leap into the intoxicating music industry is when Austin’s bass player stepfather Jimmy Knowles took him on the road with one of the greatest showmen of all time, James Brown, "I spent a summer on the road with The J.B.’s, and from that point, I just knew that I was a music fanatic."

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

November / December 2021

Cover story

When most parents hear that one of their children wants to go into a volatile and unstable industry like the music industry, most would think to discourage them. But not Austin's mother, "Either your parents encourage it or discourage it, but my mother encouraged it when she saw just how determined I was.” What proceeded that moment would be a long line of the aforementioned success followed by acclaim. One of Austin's first official forays into the industry was through the group, Another Bad Creation. Having moved from Columbus to Atlanta, Austin produced the immensely successful group. The group was described as the "landline to Motown and the new wave of emerging music." Another Bad Creation's success would pave the way for Austin's musical empire to be located out of the metropolis of Atlanta. Austin said, "The kids were 5 to 11. Imagine kids that age singing and dancing. They blew up before Boyz II Men. We dressed them at Lenox. We made the music and the vision came together. Motown then came down and said that you are going to be incredible in the record business. You are clothing them. You are marketing them; you are writing the songs. You're doing everything that we are doing." When the group took off, a new era of people in Atlanta listening to records skyrocketed. Austin proceeded the same steps to repeat the success that he had previously seen but in other groups. Some of those groups include international heavy-hitters such as TLC, PINK, and of course, Boyz II Men. During this time, all eyes were set on Atlanta. Austin would go on to say, "We nourished the industry that brought on T.I., OutKast, Ludacris, and it kept going on." Other sounds around the world would then go on to emulate the unique sound that Atlanta brought to the market. It isn't easy to compete with what Atlanta has offered for the last 30 years. But now that the Atlanta soundscape has been established, how does it not become the same rhythm and dance that people are used to? In the age of the internet, being able to find new talent has never been easier. With the advancement of

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

technology, it is now more accessible for people to make songs. It could even be done from your garage. There are now so many ways to be seen. YouTube, Instagram, and the plethora of social media applications. But how does a music producer discern the good from the bad? The answer is a lot crazier than you might think, "You have to be the purple cow. What you are listening to now is already two years old to a record producer. We want to know what is next. There has got to be something to catapult you all the way through. Like a purple cow, you have to be the same, but different." Finding new and exciting artists is a daunting task for any producer. Thousands of acts come through a producer's door. Thousands of performance's before they see a performer like Usher, Bieber, or Beyonce. It's not easy to find an act that would stay in your mind. The internet took the gatekeeper's away from the music industry, "Soulja Boy was the first one to be discovered outside of traditional means. He did it with Bapes. He released it on MySpace, and it just took off. The record labels had to take a second and figure out what was going on," Austin said. A lot of artists now cut to the chase, because of the access that SoundCloud provides. They can now show that they have the numbers to back up what they can bring to the label. But just because you reach a point of success on your own and sign to a label doesn't necessarily mean that you make it. When you are a consistent recording artist who is not signed to a label and only self promotes, you can potentially make some money. But for most artists who are struggling to make a living solely on their music, any deal you come across is almost certainly one that you will take. Because being signed to a reputable label, you could make exponentially more money. Austin provided insight into what an investment from a record label looks like in the age of access, "The contracts, in the beginning, are made so that there is a higher possibility of the label getting their money back as there is a good chance that the artist won't earn it back. The whole point of a label is to not only get their money

back but actually earn some more. If you are lucky enough to have success, the first thing that is done is the artist undergoes a contract renegotiation so that they can earn some more money. A lot of the time, when you see rappers with money stacked right next to them, that is the money they perform from doing live shows. It's not from royalties. Shows are usually paid in cash." Most of the time, artists that just made it large aren't thinking about royalty money as much because the show money is so big and it takes so many streams to make a profit. That it's just not worth putting a whole lot of thought into. Even going back to the old school days, groups like The Rolling Stones, The O.J.'s, and even The Temptations were only making money through their shows and not their royalties. Things changed though when Apple and Spotify started buying the licensed music from the labels. It became harder to make money off of the song. Usually, most believe that they are making more money than they actually are. Austin explained, "I educate more people off the bat. When I am working with you and we are partners, I will educate you because you are a grown-up. So we need to understand everything, and it leads to a more honest and open relationship. So when most artists get into trouble with their labels, it is often because of miseducation.” This is all without considering foreign markets. Usually, when a new artists releases, they are only released in America, and if they blow up then the label will release internationally and cross over into other markets. Austin went on to say, "It's not fair for the creators who are only making 0.00001% per stream or sale. I know brilliant songwriters who have to drive Uber. It doesn't matter if they are in Nashville or L.A. Technology came so fast that the record industry didn't have enough time to catch up. A lot of the executives were old, so when the innovation of technology came through, they were not bothered to learn as they were already concerned about cashing themselves out. So all the tech companies came in and raided them. They came to the labels and offered them blanket licenses to use everything. Universal rights. That

Dallas Austin

has to be fixed because it's the songwriters and artists that suffer, and usually, the artists streaming numbers aren't released to them." Austin has not only looked to help artists that he knows overcome these issues, but to help students in avoiding these pitfalls. Austin was on Georgia State University's campus with an acquaintance and came up with the idea to expose students to the intricacies of the music industry, "I got the idea to use students on the stuff that I was working on. It could

go on their resumes; they would get work experience instead of simulations of what it is supposed to be." Fast forward in time to 2019. The Creative Media Industries Institute or CMII has just gone live, and Austin receives a phone call saying they would like him to be the artist-in-residence at the new facility. This would put him directly in line with the students with his own office and everything accompanying it. Austin has been heavily involved with the students and what they are working on, "I'm in the

studio asking, what are you working on? Show me the project. Show me your music, how can we utilize each other". One of the other ventures that Austin is getting into is NFTs. For those who don't know, NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens. They are commonly associated with photos, videos, and even audio (amongst a notable amount of other digital file types). Using blockchain technology, they are irreplaceable assets. They can be bought or sold as digital artwork. In a study done by Forbes, a surreal $174 million dollars have

November / December 2021

Cover story

W HE N M OST A RT I S T S G ET I NT O T R OUBLE W ITH T H EI R LA B ELS , I T I S OFTE N BECAUS E O F MI S ED UC AT I O N ."

been spent on NFTs and Austin wants in, "I've been doing a lot with NFTs and music. Teaching how it really forms and making our own smart contracts for recording artists. Students were involved in shows as well. We come down and ask who is into marketing? Who is into distribution? Who is into what? I want to teach students real skills in real ways so that when they get out of school they can apply their talents in real places". But Austin's yearning to teach doesn't end on a technical level, but a moral one as well, "I want to teach them to be responsible and dependable. Those two will kill off the smartest person who thinks they are the smartest person and the most talented person; when a person starts relying on you, that's when you know that you are really good. The first thing I ask the students when I meet them is, what is your major? What do you really want to be doing? Often times those two are at odds with each other, and that's

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

where a lot of holes are. Suppose you are a journalism major and are really good at but want to work in A&R at a label in the music industry. Don't go out and throw away what you are good at. Go work as a music journalist in the music industry. Don't disregard what your gift is". One of the other resources that Austin has provided the students is through his distribution company, Rowdy Records. Students have access to have their projects listened to through his company, "The incubation process is a little different. I'll have students sign up, and on Sunday, I'll go through them and listen to them and see who has what". Austin goes the extra mile and immerses students in real situations having real discussions over music. Austin's goal is to bring music to Blockchain. NFT assign value to art on a system that is ever-expanding with no sign of slowing down. Austin wants

to give musicians a jump on as it will take the labels a while to catch up. He is bringing power back to the artists. Rounding down our interview was one last vital question. One that has been echoed throughout hip-hop and rap history. A debate that has been going on for generations. Old School vs. New School. Austin replied, "Old School. I haven't seen enough from New School to make me reconsider that. There is so much value with Old School, along with the amount of culture that comes with it. The newest thing that people have been pulling from has been dubstep. There is so much stuff to look at in Old School. There is just so much inspiration. I've since been sampling my stuff from the 90s. I haven't found any New School music that has me feeling the same way as Old School music".

November / December 2021

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

BY: LISA FERRELL oul Troubadour Cody ChesnuTT is an artist who defies definition and transcends genre. “Our spiritual aim is to win the hearts of men and women to better things. If it’s not doing that, I don’t align with it. I am moving to something else.” Starting with his edgy, lo-fi, debut, The Headphone Masterpiece, the Atlanta native has always stood his own creative ground. In 2002, ChesnuTT holed himself up in his bedroom to record The Headphone Masterpiece – armed with his DIY musical arsenal: a drum machine, an array of instruments, a dusty four track cassette recorder and a giant pair of headphones to block out the world. The result was an unvarnished collection of songs – 36 in total, which alchemized his love of a multitude of styles: classic rock, rhythm and blues, pop, punk and gospel music. “I come from a very musical family,” ChesnuTT said. “Singers, writers, natural wordsmiths. From early childhood – five or six years old – I started out playing drums and like a lot of kids, I was inspired by Michael Jackson. By the time I got to college, that’s where the real focus came in.”

November / December 2021

After attending college in Florida, ChesnuTT returned to Atlanta in the early 90s when the music industry was coming into its own. “Atlanta or the South in general just had so much to prove to the rest of the world artistically and culturally,” he said. “It was just that time.” A song from The Headphone Masterpiece was re-tooled as “The Seed 2.0” for the Roots’ seminal album Phrenology, allowing ChesnuTT’s music to be experienced by a wider more mainstream audience. The song was nominated for two MTV Moonman Statuettes at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and his own album was nominated for the prestigious Shortlist Music Prize that same year. Almost two decades later, he is still recognized for his creativity and earning praises for his soulful, contemplative music – most recently by way of his memorable performance in the Disney Pixar Oscar winning film Soul. The song "Parting Ways” was originally recorded in Dave Chappell’s cultural classic Block Party. It could be argued that ChesnuTT is the soul of Soul. During a pivotal scene, a busker played by ChesnuTT serenades the main character, Joe, and the young soul, 22, as they wait for the subway. The film celebrates the vitality of music, and the scene performed by ChesnuTT encapsulates this feeling. Joe ultimately discovers that what was “good” for him was not simply a matter of “playing jazz” it was a matter of living life holistically in the right way. This evolution happens to encapsulate ChesnuTT’s musical evolution. Alternative is a term used primarily for 90’s alt-rock music scene, but ChesnuTT felt that he could bring that same element to what we know as soul. As Chesnutt says, this mind-set was part of his journey before the term Neo-soul had been coined. Long before 2020, ChesnuTT had been building a solid career in the recording industry, signing with the fabled Death Row and Hollywood Records,

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

working in the Los Angeles music scene and recording four studio albums. His albums are The Headphone Masterpiece (2002), Black Skin No Value (2010), Landing on a Hundred: B Sides and Remixes (2012), and My Love Devine Degree (2017). “I was doing typical cookie-cutter industry R&R music, but I always knew there was a broader vehicle of expression for me. That shallow approach was stifling as a writer. I tried to navigate that 90’s R&R space, but it didn’t align with my imagination and spirit, so I began to incorporate the artistic liberty I was experiencing in other genres,” said ChesnuTT. “[The movie] Soul was a super divine gift. My cousin Donray Von (@donrayvon) was out in LA and ran into someone working on the project and they were already using my song as a placeholder. They asked if he could get in touch with me. We connected, hashed out the terms, and Donray and I were flown to Pixar Studio’s in San Francisco,” said ChesnuTT. “It was a divine gift because I was already beginning to focus on scoring and the subject matter was perfectly matched. The impact of this collaboration has been an unquestionable affirmation for me. I have so many beautiful pieces of music I’m now ready to move to film.” ChesnuTT believes that the pandemic allowed everyone to finally get quiet enough inside to really focus on the message behind Soul. “The human connection is what I strive to have in my music or whatever I do, my work is really rooted in the idea of experiencing the deepest connection possible. That’s what drew me to the work of Broad Strokes on Broad Street.” Broad Strokes on Broad Street is an art exhibit created by international concept artist Jose Awo to bring increased attention to Atlanta’s plight of the unhomed. The Broad Strokes on Broad Street events advocate against homelessness using art activism, with a goal of allowing art to draw you in and letting the discussions thereafter touch

your heart. Broad Strokes on Broad Street began November 1st with events closing on December 7th. An Atlanta native, Awo will donate all proceeds from the installation to CaringWorks, a local agency that is working to end homelessness by providing comprehensive services and resources to their clients. Attendees will experience artist Awo’s talents through an interactive, multi-media exhibit that combines a painting installation featuring QR codes that launch interview clips with subjects who shed light on this issue. The exhibit is presented by the Atlanta Department of City Planning. ChesnuTT attended and performed a number of his songs at the November 1st opening of the exhibit. “I am doing in song the same as he [Awo] is doing in visuals – touching the heart and uplifting the human experience. Raising consciousness. Now that I have become a student of vibration and word, I am working to put the heart and spirit in a healthier place.” Although Awo and ChesnuTT are lifelong friends, this collaboration stems more from their common purpose: to

inspire healthier connections. ChesnuTT believes that as he grows and matures, he is learning just how important the art and quality of communication is to to allowing people to connect on a human experience. “I have been working for a few years on music that has a higher vibration and it aligns perfectly with the show,” he said. “The music that I shared, grounded them [the audience] and allowed them to meditate on their own personal growth and the powerful solutions that they can contribute. Not only to the community but the world.” Much like the movie Soul, ChesnuTT feels that the Broad Strokes on Broad Street exhibit has come with divine timing. “This is the perfect time to create meaningful content. Something to spark the soul and to elevates the spirit… it’s really about elevating the conversation at this point. What we are talking about is a production with a new mind - with new vision. We see what is going on around this city… all cities, for generations,” he added. From his early days in the industry to today, ChesnuTT has evolved and changed, both musically and spiritually, but it may be possible to glimpse where his progression will take him and us from the artist himself: “Everything I offer, I do to reshape my perception of the African American expression across the board," ChesnuTT said, “Daily, I am asking within, how can I steadily evolve spiritually and creatively. I am enjoying the fact that, in my soul, I can clearly see, something new is being built and I’m determined not to let go of this joyful vision.”

November / December 2021

RAISING THE SOUND BAR BY:KEVON PRYCE

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

Studio 9000

hitney Houston, Cher, Gucci Mane, Outkast, Travis Scott, Boyz II Men, Usher, all have one thing in common. At some point in their career, they’ve been through Patchwerk Recording Studios in the heart of Atlanta. The walls of Patchwerk are littered with multi-platinum plaques from almost every pop, hip hop, or R&B artist you can imagine. From the moment you step into the facility, you get this essence of greatness that greets you at the door. Patchwerk Studios is quaintly tucked in the neighborhood of Home Park at the intersection of Ethel Street and Hemphill Avenue. Atlanta is known for a multitude of things, needless to say, music sits at the

very top of that list. Running a recording studio for almost three decades must’ve been a daunting task through it all. Curtis Daniel III, Founder, and Co-Owner of Patchwerk Recording Studios has many stories to tell about the rise and maintenance of the studio from the Freaknik era of Atlanta to the State Farm Arena era we’re now living in. Curtis Daniel III is a man who prides himself on authenticity, professionalism and providing Atlanta with the best recording studio he possibly can. Hailing from Carson, California, the Tupac Shakur fan knows the ins and out of the industry just as well as he knows his world-class recording studio. Patchwerk Recording Studios originally sat on McMillan Street

back in 1995, but quickly outgrew the space, forcing them to move to the facility many Atlanta icons call home to this day. Oz: Tell me about the start of Patchwerk Recording Studios Curtis Daniel III: Once I graduated from Michigan State University in 1995 we decided to start the studio. The original owner was one of my childhood friends, Bob Whitfield. We ended up in Atlanta after Bob and I played college football. He played for Stanford, while I played for Michigan State. He got drafted 8th player overall in the first round by the Falcons in 1992 and during spring break and other breaks I start coming down here for

November / December 2021

CURTIS DANIEL III Freaknik and that’s how we ended up in Atlanta. We started a bit differently. Most of the other studios are either artist or producer based or they received funding from a big record label. We were blessed that Bob got drafted, had a bunch of money, and decided to self-finance what we were doing. We had the freedom to do what we wanted. We actually managed our own artists back in 1993 as well as had our own record label. My business partner Mike Wilson and I have now been owning the studio for about a decade now. You’ve been able to see Atlanta grow exponentially over the years, what are some things that you’ve noticed about the city through its growth? One of the things I thought was a blessing and unique is that if you think about it, what large cities are available for you to be a part of when they are growing? So if you think about it, Los Angeles, they've been popping for over a hundred years, we weren’t there when it was a small town filled with mom and pop shops. Chicago the same thing. New York, old. Detroit, old. All of those are great cities but I remember when back in 1995 Atlanta didn’t have any

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double yellow lines on the roads. Atlanta really began to take off when the Olympics was hosted here and they started building stadiums, expanding the Georgia World Congress Center, and money began to be circulated among Georgia Tech and the AUC. You have Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young, who is still alive, who had a hand in architecting the city into what it is now while those responsible for architecting other major cities aren’t still alive today. After doing some research I came across the most common element of successful organizations is timing. Atlanta is the same. I remember back at our old facility I met the Dalai Lama because when they walked the [Olympic] torch they walked right in front of the studio. The Dalai Lama actually came into the studio. Atlanta was that small back then and is still growing. When I refer to timing as it relates to Atlanta, the only thing I feel like I missed that was historical was the release of Outkast’s first album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. How has the music industry changed over the years? Things aren’t the same anymore. An artist

had to work so hard to get a [record] deal, they had to battle everyone, freestyle, go out on the streets, rock live parties, have an actual stage presence just to get an opportunity to make a single with the B-side and if you're single with the B-side didn’t pop off, record labels wouldn’t do an album with an artist. Now the people that have the power to sign people are signing popular people with a social media following. They’re signing their friends. They're not necessarily signing the dopest artists, they’re signing people they know they can benefit from. What makes Patchwerk Studios worth the investment? There’s a company, there’s the brand, and then there’s the business, and the business is either selling a product or providing a service. We provide a service. Our service produces a product which is your song or your music and so we produce a different product than other people. We have a standard that we are professional all the way through. There are three categories for studios: there's a home range studio, a mid-range studio, and a world-class facility, and with each

different range they provide a different set of services that produces a different product. We are a professional recording studio so every service that we offer is offered by a qualified professional. All of our engineers graduated from our audio engineering program and every last one of them went through our intern program where they assisted then became tracking engineers. We just try to put people in a position where they’re only working on their strengths, so our engineers don’t have to worry about booking, billing, and scheduling. Our front desk people don’t have to worry about making CDs or doing labels. We just have a collection of talented and qualified people doing what they want to do at a high level. We have uninterruptible power, you may have the same mic but our vocal chain might be $16,000 before it even hits the Pro Tools rig. You may go into a home and notice the studios are built in a square, none of our rooms are built in a square for sound purposes. When building the studio we had people cut the concrete around the room, two feet wide so that you don’t feel vibrations on the other side of the wall. You like to cook at home, but you still decide to go out to eat because you’re eating from a professional chef. We have the resources, the equipment, and the professionals and when you put them all together it produces a different product for our clients and they appreciate that. How should artists vet studios? I mean the first thing is to look at the shapes of the room and if the room is square. Are there any objects in the room that make it not square? Are there bass traps that trap certain frequencies? Are there diffusers? Is the room made up of all hard surfaces and are the sounds reflecting? More importantly, what does the vocal booth look and sound like when you go in there? If there are a bunch of hard surfaces there will be echos and if you hear echos, it will most likely translate to your vocals. What is the engineer of the studio’s skillset? Are they recording, mixing, mastering, doing your artwork, and an A&R on the side? There’s value in having a different set of ears at every stage of the process of creating a song. I stay away from the title of being a one-stop shop even though we can do everything

Chingy & Mannie Fresh

because I like to reiterate that yeah we know we can do all these services but there's a different professional providing each one. I try to encourage people to record one of their songs the right way, you may not be able to do an album but we have a single deal and it’s $1,200, you can record your song, mix it and master it and for another $350 you can get all your codes, distribution, and your artwork. If you do that then now you have one record done right that you know was recorded, mixed, and mastered properly. The next step would be to go to a new studio to record vocals then can play your raw session from our studio to see what it sound like against the vocals you’re doing in the new studio. You need to have a record that you know is yours that you can play in their studio and be able to check the sound. Tell us about Patchwerk Studios Internships Our engineers work with some of the biggest names in the industry from Sean Garrett to Monica to Fetty Wap. All of our engineers came through our intern program so it's too many to name but if they ever worked here he came out of our program. You know funny enough

my style is I always say free costs too much so I initially didn't like the intern program. I felt like these people should be getting paid but we couldn't pay them to learn from us. I wanted to quit the intern program until the interns convinced me of how valuable it was. As far as requirements, interns must have graduated from an audio engineering program. We see ourselves as the grad school of audio engineering. We don’t start at the basics or ground zero. We try to pick you up from level six and try to get you to level fifteen! We attract some of the top students from Berkely, Full Sail, and other institutions. The value of an institution is based on the success of its alumni. From a marketing internship to working the front desk, to becoming a manager at the studio. All of our managers are in-house. We’re currently in the process of adding a video and photography internship as well, Covid delayed the launch of that program. How important is it for an artist to understand the business side of the industry? It's no different for music than any other business. If you don't understand the business then you know you can be taken advantage of and most likely will be taken

November / December 2021

Left - right: Alverne Emmaunel, Anthony Majors, Ray Seay, Kori Anders, Toya Elise, Dee Brown, Kenny Mixx, Luke Campolieta

advantage of. Some people come in with the person and they don't have any intent on taking advantage of them but then they look at the person not paying attention notice that it’s an open opportunity to start taking from them. Artists have to get out of the mindset of “I just want to be the artist. Talk to my manager about everything else.” Artists aren’t asking for receipts from their studio sessions, it just gets sent to the record label, then the label just tells the artist what they owe. You don’t want to be like Tyrese or Keyshia Cole, telling your record label you want to do an audit of the books 20 years later when you had the opportunity to audit in real-time. What do you think makes Patchwerk different than the other studios in Atlanta? There’s nothing the same. Humbly speaking if you go B.P., before Patchwerk, this model of studios that you see now didn’t exist. This is our model, we implemented it and changed it. Engineers never used to be loyal or exclusive to one

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

studio. They weren’t getting paid by the studio. They were independent contractors who had to deal with the labels and artists on their own. We changed that. All the studios are operating theirs how we operate ours. The main difference though is the people. There aren’t two people here that are alike meaning that our employees make us special and make us different. There ain’t another Mike Wilson and there ain’t another Curtis Daniel. Each studio takes on the personality of its “head coach” and the coach matters. It’s leadership, guidance, caring about the service you provide, the upgrades and maintenance, and having pride in your business that makes us different. If you’re in the Super Bowl, everyone’s going to copy your offense and defense. They duplicate. Most of the people trying to build a great business come over to our studio with their architect and look at our rooms, sit with me, and talk to me about how they should make their next steps. I don’t have a problem sharing that information because when we got started the people I went to didn’t share with me and that scarred me. I always felt like if we

had multiple great studios in Atlanta, it makes the city bigger and better. If there’s only one studio doing well it doesn’t benefit Atlanta. This is a special place with special people working here who actually care. We live in a time where anyone can popup and say they’re a recording studio. We have to find a way to standardize recording studios. There are Zagat ratings for restaurants, there are professional certifications for people in IT, recording studios feel like the wild wild west. If we can begin to standardize our industry, consumers won’t be confused and have an idea of what they’re getting before coming to the studio. Have you noticed a shift at your studio when the music industry decided to go the streaming route? Curtis Daniel III: No, not at all. If you think about it, nothing has really changed. Artists still have to come in get their song recorded, mixed, and mastered. The only thing that changed was the platform it’s

Studio 995

Curtis with Patti LaBelle

Joanette Gogue and Usher

presented on. Think about, from vinyl to cassette, from cassette to cds, from cds to digital, what really changed? That’s why I always say its important to make sure that your song sound professionally done. Have you always known Patchwerk was going to be successful? When Bob owned the studio he probably wanted to close no less than 10 or 15 times. Instead of trying to figure out a plan B,

Studio Buildout

I was steady trying to figure out what I needed to do to stay open for another month. I just couldn’t leave. I always asked Bob when he was frustrated, “what did I need to do for him to keep the place open?” He would respond “you have to make at least $10,000 a week.” And that’s exactly what we would have to do. We would fax people, cold call, go out to clubs, and just try to drum up business to figure out a way to meet our threshold. It took us about three or four years to get out of

Bob’s pocket and that’s when I thought we could make it. We were able to pay off our first facility in about three or four years which was a ray of hope, it wasn’t until we decided to upscale and open up this worldclass facility that we had to go back into debt. You can exist where you are forever or if you want to grow you’re going to risk it all. We wanted two things: to be able to be in control of our own destiny and to be a great recording facility.

November / December 2021

FANBASE A N A P P F O R T H E G R E AT E R G O O D

In 2021 a revolution in the Monetization of content took the world by storm. Fanbase was developed to finally deliver on the promise of content creation with the recognition, and most importantly, compensation that creators deserve. BY: NOAH WASHINGTON

I want to democratize the distribution of content for users, especially musicians, in a social media environment.” ISSAC HAYES III

anbase was developed to finally deliver on the promise of content creation with the recognition, and most importantly, compensation that creators deserve. Fanbase is a one-stop-shop that includes a photo, short and long-form video, chatroom, and live streaming features that allow users to monetize their content. Subscribers pay their favorite creators by purchasing loves for equal to half a penny in the Fanbase app store. From there you distribute the loves at your own whim to the content creator of your choosing. So for each love you give your favorite content creator would then receive a monetary payment with the loves you paid for earlier. I spoke to Issac Hayes III, the pioneer, and son of music legend, Isaac Hayes. Ike (as he is called) sat down with me to give a behind-the-scenes of the soon-to-be newest social media craze.

Isaac Hayes III

Oz: With Fanbase, how do you intend to change how music is produced and distributed? Ike: I want to democratize the distribution of content for users, especially musicians, in a social media environment. I want to be able to have artists share their music in a community setting and be recognized for it. The two words that kept coming up were monetization and ownership throughout our discussion. Two of the most important words for an artist in the 21st century. We want products that will allow users to monetize their content in places where they normally can't. A big draw of the fanbase app is the talent that is on it. The promise of money is alluring, and the opportunity for fans to listen and watch some of their favorite artists is well worth the price of admission. Artist's art for art's sake, but once you take your art and enter it into arenas such as the music industry, the goal is to maximize the potential and the visibility of that record. Seeing creators getting the long-overdue recognition for their passion is a sight to see, especially for black creators who have long been owed their due. People want to be entertained regardless. I don't have an issue at all with people listening to an artist. The ownership of the copyright is what is important. For me, the fact that [Fanbase]

is black-owned and a black-founded platform give us a different face to look at in the tech part of the world. One of the biggest draws to the Fanbase is the artist that has been driven to the platform. What entices artists to obligate themselves to a new platform. I don't see it as an obligation. It's a choice. There are a bunch of social media platforms people can use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. What separates it is that an artist monetizes in two ways mainly. Sell their record. Sell their content, and they monetize their audience at a concert. But there are significant time gaps during those processes where an artist is just chilling— they’re working out. They're working on their album. They're living their lives. Those are verticals themselves that an artist can monetize to their Fanbase. You are leaving a lot of money on the table by not monetizing other verticals that your Fanbase will want to know about. We live in an age of Monetization. I come from the belief that art is art for art's sake. Do you think replacing the word art with content brings down the value of an artist's creation?

No because art is art for art's sake. But once you take your art and enter it into an arena such as the music industry, the goal is to maximize the potential and visibility of the record or album. Once you step into the arena of the music business, then it is all about Monetization. If that's not the case, just perform for free. Give the music away for free. Then that is art for art's sake. But people have to make a living, so the moment you step into the music industry, it is about Monetization. What are the long-lasting hopes for Fanbase both in development aspirations and culturally? Inside the app, I hope to bring creator tools. So we have a photo, video, and audio rooms. I eventually want to add podcasting. Retail, to be able to sell clothes. Gaming, to be able to have all that distribution on one platform. As far as culturally, I want to be able to set the standard that an African-American man can build a social media platform that is for all people and stand along with people like Zuckerberg, Spiegel, Decker, and Jack Dorsey. To be that individual.

November / December 2021

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A C O N V E R S A T I O N W I T H A T L A N T A N A T I V E D I A L L O R I D D L E A N D H I S P A R T N E R B A S H I R S A L A H U D D I N _ BY: NOAH WASHINGTON

iallo Riddle is genuinely a renaissance man specifically made for this generation of multifaceted audiences. A Writer, DJ, Actor, Producer, Showrunner, as well as a melodic musical Megamind. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Riddle grew up with legendary performers such as Goodie Mob and Outkast while cultivating his music taste as well as his comedic voice. Having an opportunity to sit down with Riddle and his longtime writing partner Bashir Salahuddin, we talked about their careers and their processes without leaving anything off the table in our time together. "We were both in the acapella group when we first started off at Harvard; we've been singing since day one. We have always talked about music, debated music. I know that Bashir hates The Doors and loves Mercury Rev. These are opinions from 20 years ago. We've always talked about who's the rapper that you like, who's the singer that you want [to work with]. And along the way, most of the music that we were fortunate enough to work on together was music for our comedy,” said Riddle. Riddle and Salahuddin got their start at "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

While there Riddle and Salahuddin developed some of their most recognizable sketches which include “Slow Jam The News” and “History of Rap”. Among their skillset is their ability to master the vernacular of African-American music and combine it with their brand of humor. "Jimmy Fallon came to us as we were working for him at the time and said, 'Hey, we're going to have Justin Timberlake on the show. What if we did a "History of Rap”'. The thing about working with Jimmy was that he always had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do, then Bashir and I would take our expertise and figure out how to execute his vision and apply it where it was necessary. Then just by chance, I DJ’d a party for the staff, and Jimmy enjoyed the music and so we took my insights and my curated playlist from that party, and built out the first draft of what "History of Rap" was. "We took a lot of those songs out. We had some other songs in more alignment with Jimmy's tastes. We knew that this is going to entertain the crowd when it happens, we went ahead and launched it to a lousy response. The following week we don’t know what happened, but we saw that the "History of Rap" was blowing up in

Thailand. We were thrilled. Then by the time we came in on Monday morning, it was like "The History of Rap” had exploded around the world.” Salahuddin said. "Everybody had been sharing that clip. Sadly, this was at a time when NBC didn't officially post clips of Fallon on YouTube because they felt like that was going to hurt the traffic to NBC.com. So we'll never know exactly how many people watched the "History of Rap" because when it was truly going viral, NBC wasn’t posting it. NBC was taking it down and then someone else would post it on YouTube and then NBC would take it down and thus the cycle would then continue. I guess it's a sad fact. But that was a fun sketch.” Riddle said. Salahuddin then added in, “We were like if we could do this on our terms, not necessarily on the NBC terms, but on you know [our own], anything can happen. We can go deep into black music. We then decided, why don't we do a show that at its center, has just our love affair with the beginning of black music. So we could do everything from the sixties soul to seventies funk to eighties pop and right on up to the 2020s.” After leaving "Late Night" in 2011, the pair went off and developed their

November / December 2021

Diallo Riddle

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

own passion projects. One of these projects came to be the musical variety sketch show, "Sherman's Showcase." The pair described the show as, "What "30 Rock" was to "Saturday Night Live." Our show is to "Soul Train." The premise of "Sherman's Showcase" is that it is inspired by variety shows such as "Soul Train,” "American Bandstand," "The Midnight Special" and "In Living Color", and each episode is hosted by Sherman McDaniel, who takes viewers through time via music and comedy drawn from a legendary (but fictitious) musical variety show's forty-year library. To do this, the show employs a series of fictional paid programs centered on the sale of a mostly-complete 23-disc collection of 47 seasons of Sherman's Showcase. Various celebrity hosts introduce the show which includes the likes of John Legend (who is an executive producer on the show), Paul McCartney, and a fictional Mary J. Blige (played expertly by Bresha Webb). All of this comes together in an incredible original program that dares to defy the expectations of similar musical variety shows that came before it. The writers’ devotion to the art form truly comes through. They write all the songs featured in the show themselves. Riddle even goes a little into his process, "There are just times when I have a song in my head and I'll just sing it into my iPhone. So after that, I have to go find somebody to bring it to life. Sometimes it's just somebody else who knows how to play an instrument, and I'll be like, Hey, can you make this work? Can you make this sound good? And we've done that so many times on Sherman's whether it was [our song] "Time Loop"or "Marina Del Ray (Let’s Spend the Day)." Atlanta has been the home and birthplace of so many artists and multifaceted artists. Individuals and groups like Ludacris, OutKast, TLC, Arrested Development, and the aforementioned Goodie Mob. These artists surged during the 2000s and are now international sensations and icons. Some of them have even ventured out and are exploring other mediums in the entertainment industry. But they all can trace their roots back to the peach state. Salahuddin, a Chicago native, and his take on the Atlanta music industry provided a more worldly and melancholic response,

Diallo involved with music for Baby Driver.

"That era of Atlanta music is, underappreciated. You only know the people who broke out, but there are so many great artists who probably never made it out of Atlanta. I would love to watch that movie on TLC. You know, I just think that's something that I've never seen, any film tackle it. And it's so rich, and it's so black. And so many of the artists in that era have gone on to change the game and redefine everything.” One of the things that Atlanta-based artists have not broken into has been movies based on their realities. Groups like The Beatles, Queen, and even NWA have all had movies based on their impact in pop culture or on themselves directly. So Riddle being an Atlanta native, had a few words to say about it," There was so much popping off in Atlanta at that period, [there] are groups that, by the way, when they tour, they still sell out. My wife and I watched The Real Housewives featuring Kandi Burruss. When she goes on tours she sells out. I know black people, I love us, but we have an aversion to old. Sometimes it's like, what's the newest thing. But I think that period of Atlanta’s music history is still unexplored from a movie standpoint. I think people would love to see that." Riddle's contribution to Atlanta goes further than just being born here. Riddle had contributed to the award-winning Edgar Wright film, Baby Driver, which

was shot right here in Atlanta, "It was actually fun working on Baby Driver. We specifically went for soul artists and funk artists that had some roots in Atlanta, we legitimately wanted it to be Atlanta artists. Even though Atlanta radio record labels from that period are kind of fun to go in-between. But because we couldn't just cast a super wide net, it made it more targeted. I think the music was a lot of fun". But just because you have an incredible name like Edgar Wright attached to a film, that does not mean getting the rights to a popular song will be super easy. "It's just stupid how hard it is to get a contemporary rap song. They were a little difficult to obtain. For example, there was one, a Ludicrous album cut of a song, then there was a Migos cut. There was a contemporary hip-hop song that Edgar and I played for an hour that he was really into, and every time we sent a request to use it would not come back. It was almost like people didn't want their music in a movie unless they could get paid a lot of money for it. It's just that there is something fundamentally wrong with the music system. The fact that people got one more easy click was literally an advertisement for your music. There's a speeding car, for God's sake. Sometimes they don't even tell the artists that they're trying to clear the song because they know

they would say, yes.” But the team's love of Atlanta doesn't end at its appreciation. The duo famously shot a pilot for a show set in Atlanta titled "Brothers In Atlanta." The show was homed at HBO and produced by legendry comedy producer Lorne Michaels. The series landed a spectacular cast that included Maya Rudolph, Jaden Smith, Will Catlett, with the writing team in the titular roles. The half hour comedy filmed their pilot episode here, but in the act of Shakespearean like tragedy, the decision to move forward with the series was reversed, "Human instinct is to talk about that individual. The individual who approves our show and then unapproved our show. We grew beyond that because ultimately, I think focusing on that colossal loss, would’ve consumed us and consequently killed Sherman’s Showcase. I think that we're very proud that we moved on. That individual is not the only person in Hollywood circles who was perhaps not handling one particular black project in the way that the creator would have loved." said Salahuddin. Defending his partner's statement, Riddle added, "I would argue that if you surveyed every single network and every single black writer, we know them all. With each project that they had at a different network, that person will be able to tell you a specific story about NBC, ABC, everybody's got a story about

November / December 2021

"IT WAS ALMOST LIKE PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT THEIR MUSIC IN A MOVIE UNLESS THEY COULD GET PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR IT. IT'S JUST T H AT T H E R E I S S O M E T H I N G F U N D A M E N TA L LY WRONG WITH THE MUSIC SYSTEM. THE FACT THAT PEOPLE GOT ONE MORE EASY CLICK WAS L I T E R A L LY A N A D V E R T I S E M E N T F O R Y O U R M U S I C . THERE'S A SPEEDING CAR, FOR GOD'S SAKE. SOMETIMES THEY DON'T EVEN TELL THE ARTISTS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO CLEAR THE SONG B E C A U S E T H E Y K N O W T H E Y W O U L D S A Y , Y E S .” - Diallo Riddle

the executive who unfortunately didn't get the vision. That helped us refine both our points of view. It really helped us get stronger and learn not to take everything to heart. I'm so grateful that we had the opportunity. We not only hoped that it would be a great show, but that it would open a lot of doors for us to do other things both as writers and performers.” Riddle and Salahuddinr's second baby “South Side” on HBO MAX (formerly Comedy Central), premiered season 2 November 11th, also reflects their deeprooted love of comedy, music, and its creation. The synopsis for the series is a pair of newly minted community college graduates and small-time hustlers who are always cooking up some petty schemes — from black market Viagra to street corner popcorn — with an eye toward upward mobility. "We are still making music for our show "South Side" on HBO MAX." Whenever we put our heads together to make a comedy and an opportunity to

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make an original song comes up then we will do it. Dave Chapelle once said, "Every comic wants to be a musician. Every musician thinks they're funny." There is a lot of overlap between those two. This may seem like a lot of work for any one person to take on. But these two expressed only a childlike sense of excitement, especially at the thought of more collaboration, "I think we've always been just really inspired to make music. So much so, it is in the DNA of what we do when we're not making TV. I think that in some ways it explains why it's so important to us because what do you do when you don't have to do anything? Most of the time I will listen to the Billboard Charts and try to hear new sounds, new artists, see who's coming up. I think it is so exciting to see how music has evolved. The idea that we love it enough that we're able to write comedy and also work with people from Questlove to Drake, to Neo, to Vic Mensa,” said Salahuddin. In the case of most writers, there isn't

a symbiotic relationship between comedy and music. Most develop one skill and master it. If you are one of the selected few that has mastered both, not only is it profound but enlightening to those who have not. Salahuddin added, "It's fascinating because musicians and writers are wired differently. I don't have a better way to put it. I think it's a real blessing. If you're touched in that way, where you can write a tune and write a great sketch then you are lucky. I'm always over-enjoyed when our work as comedy writers allows us to be around people who are working musicians, ones that we love."

November / December 2021

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

BY: EMILY L. FOLEY

hroughout the annals of music history, there have been quite a few musicians who have held court without any need of their last names–Madonna, Cher and Rihanna quickly come to mind–and among those is music industry legend; Atlanta’s own, Mama Jan. Although her legal documents will show the surname Smith, Mama Jan (or ‘MJ’ as she signs her correspondence) is widely known throughout the music industry for her huge heart, her eye for talent, her unparalleled guidance and her love for her clients–the maternal moniker just fits. Although Mama Jan’s impact on the music industry–first as a rock musician herself and then as a vocal coach and producer–has spanned decades and seen her nominated for a Grammy award and inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, most people outside the industry

first learned her name when Justin Bieber hit the music scene with Smith by his side, helping him develop his voice. She has also notably worked with artists such as Usher, The Band Perry, Rob Thomas, Ciara and Colbie Caillat (to scratch the surface). Of course, as an integral part of Atlanta’s music scene, it’s no surprise that Georgia’s booming filming industry has also felt the Mama Jan touch as many productions have turned to her expertise. Chances are, if an actor sings in a film or show produced in Georgia, Smith was the coach behind that voice. She recently worked with Dwayne Johnson on the film Jungle Cruise as well as with actors Liam Neeson, Terrence Howard, Jamie Chung and Christian Serratos on various projects. Like most industries, the music industry–and the creatives therein–were hit hard by the pandemic, but with her usual chutzpa, Mama Jan was able to

quickly pivot her business. “We went virtual immediately,” she shares. “Not only with our existing clientele, but we quickly picked up virtual clients from all over the world. Our doors got blown off, because so many people were home and weren’t able to tour, so they took the opportunity to work on their voices and get ready for the albums or tours they hoped and prayed would be back soon.” Of course reinvention isn’t anything new for those who enjoy the most longevity in this industry, so a reinvention of her business model only makes sense for someone like Mama Jan. But moving her business to the virtual space wasn’t the only change for Mama Jan in the past year and a half: She also physically moved her studio of 18 years to a new, larger facility, which has opened her business up for even greater things. Jan Smith Studios now November / December 2021

rt. L.A. Reid, Justin Bieber, Jan Smith, Usher, Scooter Braun

has 12 in-house employees, as well as a trusted roster of contractors Smith relies on. “Instead of just housing me and my vocal coaching staff, we now have space for an art department; we have room for songwriter nights; we are truly a one-stop artist development facility,” she shares. But really this bigger studio just levels up the physical space to what Mama Jan already offered her clients. “I always say we work from soup to nuts,” she says with her signature southern charm. “Wherever a musician is in their process, we can help. I have people who can help with tour prep; I have songwriters; guitar instructors, so we are personal trainers for vocal athletes, and that includes all of them. We take care of artists as a whole.” And everyone who has worked with Smith knows that she isn’t about a vocal session, a check cashed and moving on. Mama Jan is in the business of people, and the business of relationships. In fact, Smith has a background in psychology and actually practiced in the state of Georgia for nearly nine years at the end of the 70s: “When the disco era put all us indie rock artists out of work, that’s what paid my bills,” she says. (Now that’s a pivot!) So during

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

the pandemic, when creatives suffered with depression and anxiety about their livelihoods and having to let people go on their teams, Mama Jan did what Mama Jan does: She loved on people. “I was really concerned about a lot of people sitting at home; these artists who are naturally on the fringe, and I worried about excessive alcohol or drug consumption, so I reached out to people, just to make sure they knew we cared about them and they could call me if they needed. And I did get a few of those phone calls from major national artists who I don’t see on a regular basis, but who needed me. It’s that mama thing.” That mama thing is what forges such a special bond between Smith and her clients turned friends. Even when she isn’t actively working with artists, they stay in touch. “Justin [Bieber] calls, and we talk and catch up and pray together,” she shares. “I’ve known him since he was a teenager, and I’ve been very proud to watch him evolve and grow,” she says. “He and Hailey are absolutely precious together. They are an incredibly loving couple and both faith-based people who have made a commitment to each other that I think will withstand the test of

time.” Having been a part of so many musicians’ rise to fame, Mama Jan knows a thing or two about what makes a star, and who real stars are. When asked about the pandemic induced uptick in social media stardom, she definitely has some thoughts: “During the pandemic, we saw labels scouring the internet looking for talent, and we’ve seen an inordinate amount of celebrity-driven Instagram and TikTokers being signed. I understand that labels see someone with 2.8 million followers and they want to sign that following, but then they call me and say they need me to teach these people to sing,” Smith shares. “I think people are starving for authenticity, and I am in the business of growing artists. That’s what we say at Jan Smith Studios.” And when Smith says artists, she has very specific ideas about what that means. “People think they want a celebrity lifestyle and that a tour bus looks really fun until you have to sleep on one for 86 days,” she laughs. “People don’t really understand the hard work [required in the music industry] and many more hours than most people put into a day job. People can have

"A REAL STAR IS WHAT A TRUE ARTIST R I S E S T O I N T H E I R C E L E B R I T Y." great voices, but are those people true artists?” And what exactly is a true artist according to the one and only Mama Jan? “I know it when I see it and hear it,” she says. “Not all true artists get to be in the mainstream eye, plus, being a celebrity and being an artist are two different things,” she points out. “Sometimes, the two collide, but a real star is what a true artist rises to in their celebrity.” So while not many TikTokers are catching Smith's eye these days, what young artists are? “I have some incredible artists in my house,” she says. One is Sage Hammond who moved here at 15 just to work with me, and she has an amazing voice that will shake the rafters. We were about to release her new stuff when the pandemic hit, but it will release soon.” Other up-and-comers under the watchful eye and talented guidance of the Jan Smith Studios team include Grace Asbury, a young rapper named Whoada, singer CeCe Benz, and a rock band named Dim. It's clear that the list of things that make Mama Jan special is long, but one of the items on that list is that she’s never compromised the foundation of who Jan Smith is. One of those cornerstones is that

she’s a Georgia Peach. “I’ve traveled all over the world from China to Canada to Israel, but I chose to stay living in Georgia on purpose,” she says. “Atlanta is a little big town that I’ve watched grow from the time I was a child. I love this town. I love our skyline! And Georgia’s thriving right now. Not only the music industry and what Atlanta artists and producers and songwriters are creating, but also the film and television industries here. It’s a

special place to be, and with the level of talent and the cost of living, my opinion is the future of Atlanta and Georgia looks pretty bright. And I’m glad I’m already here and solid as far as a brand and my business and my reputation.” Another integral part of Smith is that she’s a woman of faith. “Everything goes back to the way I was raised, and that’s to treat other people the way you want to be treated and to tell them the truth,” she shares. “I think God has me in a position to be an example, and our studio is a light on a hill. People need to know that somebody cares about them and that they’re loved and that someone will pray for them, and if ‘Mama’s Music House’ can be that place for artists, I consider myself successful.” Mama knows best, indeed.

November / December 2021

Brings the Entertainment Busine ss into the Cl assroom

BY: PATRICK HARBIN

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

Sirena Grace with MacLab Students

here’s a reason why Georgia’s entertainment industry is attracting a record number of productions. The state boasts one of the most competitive tax incentive programs in the country, along with a broad network of production and recording facilities. Georgia also has a large and skilled workforce of actors and performers, production equipment suppliers, gaming and interactive media developers, and technology and support professionals. With Georgia’s vast production infrastructure, there is little you will need to provide for your next production, saving you time and further expense. In fiscal year 2018 alone, Georgia

hosted 455 film and television productions, generating an economic impact of $9.5 billion including $2.7 billion in direct spending and $4.6 billion in total wages. That year, more than 92,100 permanent jobs were created in the entertainment industry. In Atlanta, music is more than one of its defining art forms, it’s big business. Billboard reports that the music industry created more than 10,000 jobs in Atlanta between 2001 and 2018 in recording studios, performance venues, rehearsal spaces, festivals, and more. As Atlanta’s influence in the music business has grown, so has the need for skilled professionals at every level of production,

distribution, and exhibition. The impressive economic impact of music and entertainment in Georgia means there is a high demand for professionals who can meet the needs of this growing industry. With its seasoned faculty, Kennesaw State University’s Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program (MEBUS) is helping this important industry grow and is positioning students to have an advantage when seeking opportunities after they graduate. Located 25 miles north of Atlanta, Kennesaw State University and its Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program (MEBUS) has been empowering

November / December 2021

Bryan Calhoun developed a marketing tool called the Music Business Toolbox

Georgia’s entertainment industry for 11 years. Thanks to an ongoing relationship with legendary entertainment attorney Joel Katz and with an ever-expanding collection of working artists and industry leaders, MEBUS has become one of the most successful music and entertainment business programs in Georgia and the nation. MEBUS is a 24 credit certificate program, or an 18 hour minor housed within the Michael J. Coles College of Business. The minor offers three capstone courses in music & entertainment business, while the interdisciplinary certificate program provides a broad range of entertainment business content open to all KSU undergraduate majors with a desire to work in the entertainment industry in areas such as film and television production, audio and video technology, venue and artist management, and concert and event production. Courses include marketing; management; audio and video production; entrepreneurship; communication electives; and unique internships that provide hands-on learning experiences in the entertainment industry.

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MEBUS Director Keith Perissi helped launch the MEBUS program with Katz in 2010. Katz has spent over 50 years representing organizations such as The Grammys and The Country Music Awards as well as artists like James Brown, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, and many more. Both men had ties to Kennesaw State – Perissi is an alumnus while Katz was personal friends with then University president Dan Papp – and the two decided the institution’s proximity to Atlanta made it the ideal place to launch a new music and entertainment business program. From the start, Katz has helped connect the MEBUS program with major entertainment companies around the world. In addition, Perissi and MEBUS Associate Director Daniel Howes are both entertainment industry veterans and professional musicians with many years of experience who have built strong relationships of their own with local and national entertainers and businesses.

All students in the upper-level capstone courses must complete three externship opportunities to earn their certificates. Perissi and Howes evaluate each student’s skills and career goals before placing them in positions with major Atlanta area entertainment companies like Sony Music, Live Nation, EUE/Screen Gems Studios, and Coca-Cola Studios. “We are all about getting our students on the front lines,” Perissi said. “By the time they leave our program, their resumes look like a million bucks.” The externships can be transformative experiences for the students, including alumna Olivia McGill, who currently works as a content operations manager for WarnerMedia. “There are a handful of students like me who come into the program with no clear direction other than wanting to work in entertainment,” McGill said. “Keith has curated an amazing variety of relationships and externships here in Atlanta that allow students to explore different fields in the entertainment industry. My externship helped me transition into a business environment.”

While externships with major entertainment brands offer students valuable experience doing the kinds of jobs, they are pursuing careers in, the exposure to the ins and outs of the business starts in the classroom. Several prominent performing artists and music industry executives have partnered with the MEBUS program to work directly with students. Among these are Coy Bowles, guitarist for the Grammy award-winning Zac Brown Band, and bandmate John Driskell Hopkins, who both serve as artists-in-residence. They regularly visit the classroom to share perceptive insights about the recording, concert, and touring parts of the business. Bowles appreciates that MEBUS inspires students to think through what it takes to succeed in entertainment from a business perspective. “[Perissi and Howes] are very supportive of me pushing the students past what I think most people expect,” he says. “I love getting into a room of young faces and inspiring them to really dig deep to find out how bad

they want success and to think outside the box to carve out a solid place for their success.” The MEBUS program’s executivein-residence Bryan Calhoun has helped students better understand what it takes to market musical acts in the 21st century. Calhoun is head of digital strategy for Blueprint Group/Maverick and the director of artist marketing and industry relations for Pandora Media. He has developed digital strategies for artists like Lil’ Wayne, Nicki Minaj, T.I., and The Roots. In 2007, Calhoun developed a powerful marketing tool called the Music Business Toolbox, which is a collection of print and electronic resources that help new musicians successfully manage their careers. Calhoun assists students with artist marketing projects using the Music Business Toolbox to solve challenges that marketers face in the digital music economy. Other entertainment industry professionals working with students in the MEBUS program include screenwriter Rhonda Baraka, film and television producer Dale Goldberg, and actor Beth Keener, who has appeared in multiple

television series including "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Walking Dead."

Not only does MEBUS expose students to the inner workings of the Atlanta entertainment industry, but the program also offers an international perspective through an annual education abroad experience to London. Students meet with executives at Sony Entertainment world headquarters – including Simon Cowell’s marketing team – to create a mock digital marketing strategy around launching a hit UK performing artist in the US. The London experience also includes partnering with the Discovery 2 Showcase, which is a monthly event spotlighting four emerging London musical acts. Discovery 2 Showcase gained prominence after launching the career of recording superstar Ed Sheeran. MEBUS students partner with Discovery 2 Showcase to develop branding, promotion, and public relations collateral for each of the four artists performing

November / December 2021

during their trip, with the work beginning before they leave the US. “It’s unbelievable the impact this has,” said Howes. “This is an international event with a track record of success, and now we’re co-promoting it with them while in another country. It’s a game changer.” The education abroad program, which also features visits to Royal Albert Hall, Universal Music Group, Abbey Road Studios, and Tileyard Studios, is a transformative experience for students. For many, it cements their desire to work in the music industry. “When I found the Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program at Kennesaw State, I immediately knew I was meant to have a career in the industry,” said MEBUS student Dani Klekot. “The struggle for me has been deciding exactly which avenue of the business to pursue, and I had heard from friends that this trip was a catalyst in their self-discovery. With opportunities to tour and interact with professionals from Sony Music and Universal Music Group, as well as explore the music rich culture England has to offer, I was confident that this trip was exactly what I wanted and needed.”

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The work the MEBUS program has done to create opportunities at home and abroad for music business students has garnered national attention. In 2020, Billboard Magazine recognized MEBUS as one of the country’s top music and entertainment business programs for the third year in a row. Billboard cited several recent collaborations between MEBUS and prominent entertainment brands, including a partnership with Walt Disney World Resort to establish a new immersive learning experience. Launched in 2020, the interdisciplinary KSU Disney Interactive Entertainment Study Program sees MEBUS students and their peers in the College of Computing and Software Engineering traveling to Orlando to learn from Disney executives and Imagineers. Participants study music, film, and video game production, computer graphics, 3D modeling and animation, and augmented and virtual reality. Along with Kennesaw State, other universities profiled include New York University, Pepperdine University,

Syracuse University, and the University of California Los Angeles. “It’s absolutely amazing for such a young program to be named alongside those institutions,” Perissi said. “I’m extremely honored and proud of the opportunities this will create and the doors this will open for our students in terms of getting hired.”

For Perissi and Howes, behind every industry professional they bring into the classroom, every business partnership, and every ranking is a passion for helping students achieve their career goals. The results of this approach speak for themselves. Organizations like Katz’s law firm Greenberg Traurig, Live Nation, Coca-Cola Studios, WarnerMedia, Turner Sports, Sixthman, and Red Light Management and many others have all hired MEBUS alumni. “We are really passionate about helping students who do the work into positions in the industry,” Perissi says. “I’ve never won a Grammy, but I feel like I’ve won a Grammy every time I get one of our students into their dream job.”

November / December 2021

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

BY ALEXA RACHELLE JENNINGS

Oz Magazine got the chance to interview Peggy Still Johnson, an accomplished film and music producer for film and digital media in Georgia. We were able to learn more about the importance of sound through our interview with Johnson and her passion for film. At an early age, her love for film scores made her realize that she wanted to become a composer and music supervisor for film. She has a very impressive résumé that most people can only aspire to have, and she is proof that it is possible. Her responses are thoughtful and full of clarity as she explains how she has gotten to where she is now in her career. In the years after graduating from college, her aspirations were to work in film. She performed in bands, founded and sold a successful music school in Georgia called the Peggy Still School of Music, and then ran a non-profit organization. She has had opportunities to work in notable productions like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bessie, and Parental Guidance. …Johnson adds, “I have worked on a number of independent projects as a composer and music supervisor and now work with

the post team at GO Media Productions and Pendulum-Productions. Though I still work wearing many hats in film and in fundraising, I enjoy most working in post-production composing stems, creating theme songs, working in sound design, and music supervision.” Johnson has also held leadership positions that include serving on the Board of Governors (Composer Seat) for the Recording Academy (Grammy Organization.) Johnson’s humility shines through all that she shares with us, including talking about her musical influences ranging “from Brian Eno, Philip Glass, to Trent Reznor. As a female composer and in the industry, Hildur Guðnadóttir (Oscar winning female composer of the movie Joker) really gives me hope that women may be given more opportunities and women can create raw, edgy, and impactful work. Tyler Perry’s commitment to filming in Georgia has also influenced me to keep believing that we Georgians, if we create it, the work will come. My college teacher and mentor Dr. Robert Thompson has taught me so much, always believed in me, and influenced my work, and now Wayne Overstreet and Len

Gibson of GO Media Productions are a huge inspiration to me as they continue to mentor and teach me more about the industry and about post-production. The other talented, brave, and successful women I work with and admire like Mala Sharma, Margaret Marshall, and Diane Durrett also continue to be a strength to me in my journey along with my longtime writing and producing partner Nev Walker. Nev and I were both mentored by Eddie Horst (composer of “In The Heat of the Night” and Man on the Moon) and there isn’t a month that goes by that we don’t talk about Eddie and the influence he still has in our work and in our lives.” From silent films to talkies to how film has evolved today, we have made a giant leap technologically, in regards to sound. It’s no secret that sound has always been an important factor in a film, and music has strengthened that importance. Music will make the audience feel intensity or sorrow, or even the excitement of a grand adventure. Sound’s impact is limitless and gives an otherwise bland scene color. If you were to go to a theater with surround sound and just close your eyes, you would be able to feel

November / December 2021

the emotion along with the vibration of the sound. You would be able to get the tone and the emotion of the film without seeing one scene. That is what makes sound so precious. Johnson feels that “Sound can make or break any project. If the sound quality and score is at a poor level in creativity or in mixing and mastering, it will distract from the film experience for the audience. I have always been a minimalist meaning, I feel it is better to support the visuals rather than overpower with too much music or sound. My favorite film composers are Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and Trent Reznor. Their work is of high quality and highly creative using sound textures in addition to orchestrations and layering. I really think sound design and sound effects are very important and can be incorporated into the music score or vice versa. Feature film dramas like The Social Network show how effective a good score, sound effects, and sound design can have on a film adding so much tension and release even where there is no real action in the film.” With technology being a huge part of Johnson’s job, technological advancements have been the cornerstone of sound’s evolution in television and film. Without it, we would still be watching silent films while a pianist plays the accompaniment near the stage. For Johnson, “The creation of ProTools and Finale and other similar digital audio workstations... have been a game changer in the industry. In the 90’s I started using Cakewalk music software (now considered vintage) and the Alesis ADAT digital 8 track recorder and created my avant garde album Footsteps using mostly analog recording. Today, with plugins, time sync, and music notation software, the sky’s the limit. Our team at Pendulum-Productions recorded our latest album Pendulum working remotely sending files to one another (to as far as London) through the internet. We only needed a couple of recording sessions to lay down live tracks but it was amazing through the pandemic how we were able to still create and also work together also creating the soundtrack and film score for the documentary film Hello World (now streamed in 56 countries) without being

Oz Magazine - film. tv. entertainment.

in the same room together. It is because of the advances of technology we are able to have home studios which saves on overall film budgets and we can be selective on booking studio time (which also saves time and money) and yet not be impacted by circumstances out of our control like COVID-19.” No longer are we unable to create due to unforeseen circumstances. Now that recording equipment and the internet are largely accessible, people are able to learn, create, and publish something all with the click of a button (or more). It can only be imagined what the future will have in store for us as sound technology develops even further. It is important to Johnson that people know that Georgia has the talent and that successful projects can not only be created here but also completed in post-production. As we know, Georgia is one of the top producers of TV and film because our tax incentives are great for productions, but something I was unaware of is that post-production is still lacking as far as Georgia is concerned. The majority of post work is being done elsewhere. People are being hired out of state because that is what they are used to doing. Johnson stated, “Georgia still has a way to go to attract post-production projects.

Generally post-production work is given to post teams in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville. Filmmakers want to finish their films in their home town and/or work with those they are most comfortable with. With better post-production tax incentives, we may influence some filmmakers who are willing to take a chance on Georgia talent, especially if they can receive money back from the incentive. Our post-production tax incentives in Georgia need to be updated to benefit film production companies instead of benefitting the post house. The way the incentives work today for postproduction, there is not much allure in hiring Georgia talent for post.” Hopefully this will change at some point as people become more aware that Georgia is more than capable of handling a production from start to finish. Johnson continues that “This is something that Georgia Post Alliance (GPA) has been working on to bring awareness of our collective group of talent and creatives in Georgia working in post. I am hopeful with the many working to bring awareness of the talent that is here.” “We as a team at GO Media Productions work together to analyze the films with the director, producer, and post teams giving our input on what we feel is working great for the film and what needs improvement. I do have great respect for those working in all aspects of post from coloring to sound. It is fascinating and vital to creating a good film. My hope is that more programs in Georgia are created to train up and coming talented students to learn the craft of visual and sound work in post-production.” Johnson states, “Post-production as a whole fascinates and excites me. I am so blessed to have a wonderful music and sound design team at PendulumProductions but also to work with GO Media Production’s post-production team. Under the supervision of Wayne Overstreet, long time post-production veteran and General Manager (Wolffe Bros Post and Overstreet Production & Post), we are working in post offering everything from editing, coloring, ADR, SFX, VFX, motion graphics, mixing, mastering, music, sound design, and clearances. As a producer and manager, I

love it all! Though GO Media Productions develops, funds, and distributes films, because of Wayne Overstreet, Len Gibson, and myself, we are very interested in post-production especially offering services here in Georgia hiring Georgia talent. We are also looking for interns in video production and digital marketing with social media. We always have a preference to work with those who live in Georgia. Though there are so many new innovations in technology today, talent in Georgia is what I am excited most about.” With a rich and complex history, “Georgia’s sound legacy is like nowhere else in the world. From the origination of the blues, to recognizably Georgian’ styles of R&B, Southern rock, hip hop to classical. Georgia’s music has shaped the soundtrack for the world. For this reason, past rockers like Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and Trent Reznor, have had much success mixing commercial music with old school classical orchestrating. So I believe Georgia has had a huge influence on music, scores, and soundtracks created today especially since Georgia has influenced music for decades from

the blues, to country, to hip hop to classical. As a composer, I am inspired and influenced by the music created in Georgia. I really enjoyed working with John Mellencamp, Andy York, and their team collaborating with Stephen King and T Bone Burnett in the musical “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.” The incredible music was Americana blues with a folk and gothic feel and I feel to be some of John Mellencamp’s best work. T Bone Burnett has had a huge influence bringing the Americana feel to film and television scores which of course is highly influenced by the music created here in Georgia and in the South.” When asked if she had any advice to give to people wanting to branch into sound design and music production in film, Johnson said, “Anything you do, do it because you love it and remember it is not a sprint. Becoming proficient at your craft and getting gigs takes time and if you really love working in film on the sound and music side, the work will come if you keep at it. You may have to score a few films for free or for not much pay but it will help you grow your demo reel

and of course grow your experience. The more diverse projects you can work on, the more diverse your tools and creativity will be. We all have our specialties and preferences. Some are technicians and some prefer to be creative artists. If you can practice at both and of course read music and know orchestration, your odds of success will be higher.” Johnson’s experience and humility and love for her craft give off an energy that I would love to learn from, being a woman in a maledominated industry. Johnson is exemplary of the journey that we all take in this life. When asked if she had anything else that she wanted to share, she simply stated, “I feel incredibly blessed to have moved from San Diego to Georgia over 35 years ago and incredibly blessed to be here during such an exciting time in the industry...I feel my best work is yet to come.”

November / December 2021

P R O T E C T

Y O U R

BY: ADRENA WALTON

tlanta is a bustling entertainment hub, quickly catching up with New York’s and Los Angeles’ industries. Atlanta’s music industry is characterized as a highlight of this success, with many musicians and artists expanding both nationally and internationally, cultivating longevity within their careers. However, for an artist to reach this level in their career, behind-the-scenes work is of the utmost importance. We got the opportunity to speak with Moraima “Mo” Ivory and expand on what it takes to be successful in this ever-growing industry. Ivory was introduced to the music business and the work behind it while interning at Virgin Records during her undergraduate years at Spelman College, which grew her interest in entertainment law. After graduating from Temple University School of Law, she went on to work as a radio host for WHUR 96.3 in Washington, D.C. near Howard University and was then offered a job at Howard teaching entertainment law. Now, she is an entertainment law professor at the

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Georgia State School of Law, offering her expertise to Georgia law students. Her courses are anything but average, however. Her current course: “The Legal Life of…” focuses on a new celebrity entertainer each semester, and she has even gone viral for these courses that have law students studying Ludacris’ business contracts one semester, and Kandi Burruss’ contracts another. “That is an attempt to bring more real life examples that students know. That makes it more interesting to study than just sort of large concepts that just don't touch their everyday lives. And so when I search for people that I want to study in this series, I look for people that have interesting careers beyond just the one thing that they may be most known for,” says Ivory when explaining the practicality behind the courses. “Currently, the classes that I teach are only available to Georgia State law students, but I am hoping at a future time they'll be available to the larger community.” When speaking about the study on

Ludacris, she explains how he fits into this model: “Ludacris was a perfect example of that because he, first of all, went to Georgia State for a couple of years and his experience working as a student in the music business program, I thought was instrumental to letting students know that he's not a typical artist, he had pathway to college.” In addition to Ludacris’ music career, he was in a movie, is the owner of a philanthropic foundation, and started a restaurant called Chicken + Beer that is currently serving at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. This versatility of entrepreneurial endeavors throughout one’s career, Ivory deems as the key to longevity; “For both Ludacris and Kandi, we see them exploring businesses on their own that are not driven by music, that are driven by their business acumen and both of them having very successful opportunities because of that. So both being in the restaurant business, both having a philanthropy, are both being in television and movies, just really extending their

W H E N S I G N I N G A R E C O R D D E A L O R B U S I N E S S C O N T R A C T , N O T H A V I N G A L A W Y E R O N Y O U R T E A M I S T H E B I G G E S T M I S T A K E A N E M E R G I N G A R T I S T C A N M A K E . "

entertainment enterprise into other areas, which provides for a lifelong career and not just having an album here and there, but being able to have longevity in the business.” She includes that Ludacris’ key to success in branching out to other industries is the strategy behind what projects he chooses to take on, spending money wisely, and learning the business before attempting to dive head-first into it. The evolution of the music and entertainment industries goes handin-hand with advancing technology. In the past, people got their music from CD’s or records, which is not particularly prevalent anymore today, as compared to the ease of streaming music or music videos from your phone or laptop. Ivory notes big changes on the business side because of this; “the way people buy, the way they market, the way contracts are put together, the way rights are being sold or retained.” These technological advancements also give way to even greater opportunities for marketing and expanding your audience. “They (artists) have the opportunity to market themselves. They have an opportunity to put their music out, to distribute themselves. They have an opportunity to create a following, which makes their product very much more valuable to a large record company in ways that in the past haven't been able to be done,” said

Ivory. With influencer culture on the rise, social media and streaming platforms like Instagram, TikTok, SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube present these marketing options and methods, and are increasingly beneficial to emerging artists’ successes. Ivory states: “social media plays a huge role in connecting people to the projects and connecting people to the businesses and all of that. So I don't think that an artist can be successful anymore in their craft, whether that is TV, motion pictures, music, a product endorsement, whatever it is, without knowing how to successfully navigate the ways people take in media these days.” Ivory’s advice to artists looking to break into the scene is firstly to utilize these self marketing tools and strategically play into this age of technology to build a following. Additionally, artists should be open to other business opportunities and not allow themselves to be segmented into just one industry, as strategic crossindustry projects can broaden your reach and provide for longevity in your career. For those interested in the behind-thescenes work, Ivory adds: ”I would say that there's just a lot of opportunities in a lot of cities to do a lot of things and you have to figure out what role you want to play, whether it be an entertainment attorney, a business manager, an agent, whatever

a regular manager or a tour manager. I mean, there's just so many roles that you can play, and I think it's important to figure out what that is and then to learn the business behind that role.” This concept of finding your role is important in both behind-the-scenes work and to the artist themself. As an artist, being assured in your role develops the confidence needed to push yourself for big opportunities and also creates the niche market that a supporter or an audience is looking for. In order to figure out your place and support the market you create, you must also have definitive goals for your career. Becoming rich or famous are commonly thought of; but from Ivory’s perspective, she thinks that “you have to have a goal of staying true to your craft and sharing that craft and those results coming because you've been true to who you are as an artist. And if you're really great at what you do, then those two things are going to happen.” Passion is an important element of a music career; when an artist is truly passionate about their art, they will gain more respect from the industry and fans will also be more attracted to it. “I always like to work with artists that really just have a passion for their craft and for their music so that they want to figure out a way to get that music to the world and share it with the world,“ Ivory adds. November / December 2021

Mo Ivory and Ludacris lecture at Georgia State University

'Getting yourself out there’ is a high priority and common sentiment in any entertainer’s career. While social media marketing is very important in the music industry, there are many other ways to make your name known, namely through showing up and showing out. There are many events that are both educational and give an opportunity to show off your art; all of which are great opportunities for networking. “There's just a lot of music industry festivals and panels and conferences, and I advise anybody who is interested in being an entertainer or promoting their career to follow that path by finding out about 72

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all those conferences and taking those learning opportunities and to gain the knowledge that they need,” said Ivory. The recent A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta is a perfect example of this. Ivory further explains the importance of networking, saying: “So much of success in the entertainment industry is based on your relationships and who you know and you want to be in a town where you can meet people and you want to be in places where there might be a chance opportunity.” In terms of developing a career, location is very important because of these events and networking opportunities; making Atlanta an ideal place for music careers to

take off. A universal consideration that artists face at one point in their career is whether to remain an independent artist or sign a record deal. From Ivory’s perspective, neither is a better decision than the other, generally. She goes on to explain that this business decision is fully dependent upon the artist’s goals and where they are in their career. Ivory adds, “I mean, the music business is based on leverage, so you really are going to make those decisions as your leverage increases or you're going to decide from the very beginning along with whoever is advising you, like that's the way you want to put yourself out there,”

meaning that if an artist is just starting out and has not yet cultivated a buzz, they will have different opportunities than another artist with a more established following. “If you are able to create a buzz, then you're going to have people coming, larger companies coming for you and creating a bidding war over your artistry. (This) is the most prime place to be. It's going to yield you the most money… your reach will be larger,” Ivory states, “But that does not mean that many people might not choose to stay independent because they don't want to give up certain rights that you normally are going to have to negotiate very hard for when you go to one

of the major labels.” When signing a record deal or business contract, not having a lawyer on your team is the biggest mistake an emerging artist can make. Ivory advises that investing in a lawyer early on is of the utmost importance. Many entertainers rush into these deals, for various reasons, but Ivory warns against that, saying: “You could be binding yourself to a very long term situation that would be really hard to get out of when you realize what you did. And so before you bind yourself to something, have a lawyer look at it. And if you can't afford a lawyer, then you need to try to reach out to some of the volunteer

lawyer organizations that, for example, the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts or Atlanta Legal Aid are places that give pro bono representation to people who cannot afford it, because it's worse to sign something because you couldn't afford an attorney than to wait a little bit to sign it and have somebody review it.”

November / December 2021

FEATURING CHRIS RICKWOOD BY:KRUPA KANAIYA

he artistry of the gaming world consists of more than what meets the eye or ears in this case. Since ‘99, Chris Rickwood has been making waves in the industry, working on some iconic titles we know and love, including Evil Dead: Hail to the King, BloodRayne, and Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. Raised on arcade games, it is no surprise that the world of Gaming captivated Rickwood. With a bachelors in music theory and a masters in music composition, he was originally set to be a film composer. While films remained a point of interest, Gaming offered a mysterious and uncharted territory. At the time, music in games was not what we know the industry to be currently. Everything started on the computer instead of live recorded orchestras or the limitless options tech

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now provides us. Computer chips played the music. It was a path with plenty of room for growth and the option to pave your own way. “[It] seems more interesting, more cutting edge and, almost punk rock because nobody was doing it or it wasn't mainstream,” says Rickwood about that time. The internet was still pretty new, and the tech bubble and Y2K were all the rage. “There was no precedence of how to break into the game industry, music for games was still so young that there was definitely no books. There were just no resources on how to do it. So it was scary in a way where it was exciting.” Rickwood’s introduction to Gaming came in grad school. “While reading an article about music and games, he stumbled upon the addresses of big audio directors at the time for SEGA

and EA looking for composers and their demos. Rickwood’s writing gave him a strong start, but his production was not as polished. “It's not like I was going to recording studios. It was the early sound cards, like basically making all my music.” With a call back from Tommy Tallarico, lead composer of the Evil Dead game, Rickwood showed his skills were strong enough to land him his first dream role on Evil Dead. The position allowed him to move from working on early sound cards to a live orchestra. “It was kind of a legitimizer of my career,” said Rickwood. Working with the Budapest Orchestra for Evil Dead provided Rickwood with the necessary experience to move forward. The ability to use a live orchestra has become almost standard for game composers. Although our computers are

no longer the setback, they may have been. Sample technology has progressed immensely. “You can get a pretty realistic sounding orchestra or really any kind of genre of music out of a computer using sample technology.” Rickwood says, “It's kind of raised the level of what you need to do to stand out.” With many companies offering vast music libraries, standing out can seem impossible, but there is a benefit to immense collections. With Rickwood, the ability to have his work in music libraries has allowed him to hear his music in various mediums. From mobile and flash games to licenses for TV, his music has taken the stage in our lives in a plethora of ways. More of his music was released on Associated Production Music’s Endgame Music Library and has been placed in

television broadcasts for ABC Family, G4TV, and Fox. In 2006, Rickwood worked with APM, a music production company. APM offered a music library featuring composers of all mediums. During this time, the "NFL Monday Night Football" theme needed a revamp from its previous John Pearson version. The goal was to take the famous theme song and modernize it. Through his work with APM, Rickwood was asked to provide a demo for the pitch. “It was like a cattle call of proposals,” says Rickwood. He knew this would be a big deal and sent his demo. The studio came down to three finalists and even requested a second demo from the participants. Through the mix of excitement and nervousness, Rickwood composed a second demo and went on to

be a co-winner of the project. The studio decided to combine Rickwood’s demo with the demo of another contestant to create the theme. You can hear Rickwood’s voice in the music as he makes calls when listening to the song. Almost a year after the recording, the news of his pitch win was revealed to the public, thus setting him on a journey to work on more sports themed games such as EA Madden NFL. After 20 years in the industry, Rickwood has seen it all. When asked what most excites him about the industry at its current state, he says,” I think what excites me is again, the limitless technology available. You can do anything because the technology is there.” Having spent a lot of time on multiplayer games, including many esports and competitionbased games, he notices a trend in players

November / December 2021

WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO SOMETHING, YOU D I V E D E E P I N T O I T A N D G E T L O S T F I G U R I N G I T O U T.” CHRIS RICKWOOD

turning off the audio at times to focus, especially at the pro level. Still, when done right, he says, “It gets you excited.” Using music as a driving force to storytelling, Rickwood is now focusing on more narrative-based games. He says, “ I'm excited about finding those games. And those are the games I enjoy playing too.” While his first project was scary and uncharted territory, Rickwood has reached a point of fearlessness in his career. “When you don't know how to do something, you dive deep into it and get lost figuring it out.” When creating his first solo Xbox game, Circle of Doom, he felt those initial fears of taking on a score on his own and not wanting to screw up. That project was being created by a company whose president flew from Korea to meet with Rickwood before he got the gig. They wanted to see his studio. Rickwood says, “It was in the basement of my house. It was not anywhere close to looking like a studio. It was an unfinished basement with a computer and some speakers. [the president of the company] looked at my studio, [I] played a couple of tracks for them, and then we signed the contracts.” The president of the company told Rickwood, “This is how much music means to us.” 76

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That was a scary time for Rickwood, but now he says, “I reached a point to where I wasn't scared of projects, and that flattens you out creatively if you're not scared of what you're doing. So I'm searching for those kinds of projects where it's like the huge triple-A games.” Those big budget games with IP Holders like Disney, Sony, etc., are creating the excitement of the unknown for Rickwood. “There's no denying the technology is kind of not the bottleneck anymore.” Audio can now be created in real-time. It is faster and cheaper than before, so there are no more excuses. “Your creativity is unlimited by the technology,” says Rickwood. Audio composers are striving to evolve their creativity and push their artistry to utilize the power of technology. The words the sky is the limit is proving to be true. As the gaming industry, in general, has become more mature, there is a shift to the market. Similar to film, you can see a divide between the mainstream vs. indie markets. Before the punk rock element of Gaming allowed creators to push the boundaries of their vision on a limited budget. Today we can see Gaming falling in line with more Hollywoodesque standards and the budget to match.

With the demand for games holding steady throughout the pandemic, “It was almost good for the game industry because people were paying attention to entertainment,” says Rickwood. In the world of audio composing, working from home is not a new concept. Audio composers have often been met with the flexibility of a nontraditional workplace. When COVID-19 first took over our headlines, the thirst for entertainment grew. What was once a coveted benefit of the industry has now become mainstream. The difference between an in-house audio team versus a remote one is diminishing. While the face-to-face element of the workplace is quickly becoming a standard of the past, Rickwood says. “I hope the result of this will be more of an acceptance of working with remote teams.” There is no doubt that music in games will continue to evolve. Building the excitement of competition and pushing storytelling to new heights, we are sure to see Rickwood and other composers push the boundaries of their artistry.

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Oz Magazine November / December 2021

Articles inside

Feature Story: Protect Your Assets

Feature Story: For The Love of Sound

Feature Story: Composing In the Gaming World

Feature Story: Joel A Katz Music & Business Program