For “Good Times,” I wanted to use a quick dip into my personal life, as a framework to examine to complexities of Black Existence. I’d wager one of the biggest commonalities we have in the Black Experience is reconciling what the world sees/expects of us, and who we really are. We’re haunted by the racialized toxic positivity alluded to in the lyrics “Shut Me Up for the Good Times,” the anti-Black intentions behind mass incarceration in “Lock Me Up for the Good Times,” and cognitive dissonance from a litany of Double Consciousness byproducts. 

Months of work for one end-of-year extravaganza: The Afrofuturist Vampire Dance Party! Last December we celebrated the culmination of 4 years of indie film production to create “Willow: State of Emergency.” It’s from the world of Paul A. Notice II's 2013 play, “Willow.” Watch it now on Amazon Prime!

Question: Who do you think of when you think of skateboarding? 

Shaw Boy: “They always mention Tony Hawk, it's not only Tony Hawk. It's the people right behind me, it’s the man over there… It’s multicultural it's not just for one person. It's for everybody.”

We had the privilege to produce the music video for Mike Bankhead’s latest Black Alternative ballad “Plantation.” Lyrics like the quote above conjure the phantoms of slavery in America, and its pervasiveness in the modern Western world.  

Closing out the 2023 Holidays, ReelWorks hosted a gathering of Alumni from each of their training courses over the years. What’s remarkable was the amount of participants from BIPOC, Queer, Femme communities. While the TV and Film industry only consists of 28.8% of BIPOC professionals, 26%  women - more than 80% of the alumni participants were from these communities. 

I started homecoming back in 2015, and had been slowly but surely whittling away at hundreds of hours of footage - then a robbery took away some of my most prized memories: the 100th birthday of my great-granddad, Lilbert "Buddy" Hollins. It would be the last time I would see him alive. It was hard enough to work on a documentary that unabashedly looked at my depression, survivor's guilt, and PTSD while visiting the home, but the loss had become too great.

On December 16th, the Palestinian Youth Movement organized a public demonstration demanding a ceasefire, liberation for Palestine, and honor the thousands of lives lost in the U.S.-backed genocide against Palestinians. It was called the "March for the Martyrs." 

These are the images of that march.

Thank you so much for coming out to the Afrofuturist Vampire Dance Party! This was one of the largest and most fantastic turnouts for our “Willow” events this year - and that is because of your presence and vibes!

It was cold. And bristling. Wind burning my fingertips as I snapped shots in the dark illuminated by neon lights on a calm November night.

On the way to the Big Give, I felt an urge to capture the things I saw in Chelsea. Corridors: cavernous and liminal, but bustling with light. Some cool. Some warm. Others red. And blue. 

An exploration of redemption, community, and the deconstruction of American law enforcement’s obsession with gangs, “The Disciple” follows former Gangster Disciple, Rev. Andy D. Williams’ fight against gang database policing in Aurora, IL, and beyond.

An exploration of redemption, community, and the deconstruction of American law enforcement’s obsession with gangs, “The Disciple” follows former Gangster Disciple, Rev. Andy D. Williams’ fight against gang database policing in Aurora, IL, and beyond.

I'm going to practice some gratitude. Before we began producing the TV show, "Willow: House of Griots," there was "Willow: State of Emergency." I haven't done too well posting about this, but this short film picked up a good number of accolades over the past few years. It hardly dawned on me, until editing this poster.

This was an absolute thrill! I hosted my first pop-up shop at Nicholas Brooklyn for a product I created during the 2020 pandemic, "Black Thoughts." It's a mango-shea butter that donates 10% of all NET sales to the United Negro College Fund and the Movement for Black Lives.

After 10+ years of rewrites, fundraising, and development - “Willow” finally received its first award: Best Shot Film of the 2023 Black Film Summit

I've nearly forgotten about this short doc I produced at Elite Daily.  Here’s what I learned, covering the Swipe it Forward campaign.

Meet David Whitwell & Felix Del Tredici, a pair of Avant Garde musicians making their way through the New York music scene. What starts out as a simple profile piece for these two, takes us on a journey of Who's Who in the NYC underground's most compelling and prolific musicians.

Five years ago, we revamped The Notice Blog into a fully-fledged nonprofit production company. And the journey has been well worth the many sleepless nights of work. More importantly, your consistent and enthusiastic support throughout this all has helped make all of our work possible. For us, 2022, was a year of expansion into the arts, helmed by our debut of The Anansi Project program.

What are your plans for this year's Juneteenth weekend? 651 Arts has plenty, including a DJing Workshop hosted by none other than DJ Reborn. We're proud to support their work with our video editing services, in their upcoming documentary exploring the meaning of Sonic Liberation.

Take a journey with Jussie Smollet pre-scandal, as he performs on New York subways to promote an upcoming album.

Checkout this 2015 short documentary I produced, examining avant-guarde trombonist David Whitwell's take on Classical Music during the early days of his career.

Check out the amazing cinematography and editing The Notice Blog provided for Pregones Theater's Stage Garden Rumba in this clip of Mazarte Dance Company!

After years of work, shooting and reshooting, and the essential support of an incredibly talented cast and crew: The New Trailer for “Willow: State of Emergency” is finally HERE!

We're finally WRAPPED on filming for the Director's Cut of "Willow: State of Emergency." ⁠

⁠Big thanks to the ultra-talented Ashely Jones (Willow Kerubo Brown) and Suzanne Darrell (Vanessa Masiko Drew) for joining our cast. ⁠

Executive Producer, Paul A. Notice II was just named the Jury President for Editing at the D & AD Awards this year! Take a look at an excerpt from the article they wrote for D & AD here: