THE SHOP

a short form audio-visual Content Production and Distribution company focused on the webseries market. The webseries lives as a profitable format on its own terms, but also serves as the new path to long-form program development for the major Streaming services, Studios and Networks.

 

Short form content with multiple revenue streams is an excellent industry specific idea for audience building, series and talent development.

The venture is tentatively entitled, "the shop", which would Aggregate the best short form content for broadcast and monetization on our portal, Commission original stories, and License developed series to large streaming services.

This 3 prong strategy diversifies our revenue streams. $100k per 8 episode series, $1m for 8 completed series, the other $200k is for administration, acquisitions and marketing for the first year. The sale of one out of the 8 series we produce during the first year could cover substantially the cost of producing all 8. However, if we didn't make one sale to a larger service, we will have developed a subscriber base on our broadcast portal where these series can be monetized through subscriptions, content-on-demand, sponsors and advertising revenue.

 

Notwithstanding the spectacular but failed Hollywood attempt to co-opt the entrepreneurial space with QUIBI, this business model has two prominent examples to follow: AWKWARD BLACK GIRL, Issa Rae's wildly successful web-series that precipitated her cross into Hollywood superstar status. AWB was conceived as a deep consciousness appeal to the young Black urban denizens navigating the world of work and career while charting their own course and creating an idiosyncratically new Black aesthetic.

 

The other prominent success, BLACK & SEXY TV, a contemporary of Issa Rae. The company was run by Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch, who at the time, were in a domestic relationship and creative partners. The venture produced a number of shows aimed at the same demographic that made AWB famous. B&S was also courted by the major cable producers and ended up licensing a number of their shows to Showtime as series and movies. B&S, however, lost its momentum when the domestic relationship ended.

 

What these two case studies have in common is the Short Form and Deep Consciousness appeal to younger audiences, as well as the Internet as the prime mode of distribution.

 

In summary, The Shop is an opportunity to create Images & Stories We Want to See, to create an infrastructure of self-sufficiency rooted in the economy of our existence and capable of ascribing value to our goods, services and ideas.

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Our Tentpole production:

"ENHANCEMENT: THE NEXT ITERATION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“They're madly in love and want to make the world a better place with their human enhancement discoveries, but their government and corporate competitors would rather see 

David and Maggie Clark dead. “

In the near-future, evolutionary forces are being accelerated through the concerted efforts of scientific and technological exploration and manipulation. There is the expectation that the next iteration of human existence will be characterized by a faster, stronger, smarter, longer living, more efficient human being with artificial genesis but who will naturally reproduce the next iteration of human.
        There is blowback from the headlong pursuit of faster, stronger, smarter. Many intelligent, capable people are feeling the crunch from technological displacement; Radical groups like “Anonymous”, and the anti-globalization folks are actively challenging the Corporatocracy’s control of enhancement technologies.
          Our protagonists, Drs. Maggie and David Clark, are doing Cognitive Enhancement utilizing their core research product, The Biopatch, a groundbreaking, non-invasive device designed to seamlessly integrate with the human body’s electro-chemical matrix. Resembling a skin-soft band-aid, this state-of-the-art device facilitates direct communication and modulation of neuronal signals, unlocking unparalleled potential in cognitive enhancement, physical performance, and sensory perception

          This series will provide multiple mappings of the complex, interlinked social changes brought on by these transformative technologies, to gain critical insight into who we are and who we can become. Drs David and Maggie Clark and their international network of bio-hackers and activists, are out to make sure a critical mass of regular people are part of this future by using their knowledge and network to challenge the Corporatocracy’s control.

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Production Aesthetic

The near-future time-frame provides us with the flexibility to create a minimalist futuristic setting without drastically re-imaging the landscape. This is a character driven drama, with the mood and feel of an  “X-files” adventure in pursuit of a  “Wakanda-like” world. 

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Virtual Set Production

We intend to shoot the series using the on-set, real-time rendering capabilities of the Unreal Gaming Engine with Volumetric Camera Tracking, the latest innovation utilizing the photo-realistic, multi-dimensional rendering capabilities known in the gaming industry, to radically transform the location and on-set capabilities of even the most modest production.

 

Production Budget and Timetable

Our first season of eight (8) episodes at ten (10) minutes per episode x $10k per = $80k, with remainder for marketing and general administrative costs.

 

In addition to the savings realized from shooting virtual, as a long-time industry professional, I have relationships with many award-winning film technicians and creatives that make it possible for us to produce a quality show at this price. 

 

My partner and head writer, Melody Cooper, is coming off a big year in which she won Best Screenplay at the 2019 Urban World Film Festival, has been spotlighted as an up and coming writer by the industry, is now actively represented by Hollywood uber agency, CAA. Together, we have developed a dynamic circle of collaborators that are engaged and excited about The Next Iteration.

 

Timetable

Upon commencement of production, our time will be spent accordingly:

• Pre-production 10 weeks - writing, casting, rehearsals, computer set design

• Principal Photography 3 weeks

• Post Production 12 weeks

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