everyone
has
a story; share.
Live to tell the story. An impromptu international trip and a shortage of rental cars left me only one options for navigating the mountainous terrain of Costa Rica, A Motorcycle. With remedial Spanish and a single backpack, I rode to a Bed & Breakfast. A road that partitioned left me in a ditch, but with no stitches. As universe would have it, two cool Costa Ricans just happen to be in the vicinity; only to help lift me and the motorcycle back to solid ground. Arriving unscathed, I was greeted by the bed & breakfast owner: A sight-impaired Black Women from Southern Georgia, impressively fluent in Spanish; self-taught. It was aspirational. Good-natured banter and few beers later we parted ways.
XO CALLI RAE
Color perfection. Lack of exposure is often time the culprit of lack of diversity. As I sit in a coffeeshop in my ‘hood, Anacostia Southeast DC, two kids pierce through the window. They can clearly see what I’m doing. Under the assumption I’m editing a music video they tap the window and run inside. “DO YOU DO MUSIC VIDEOS?!” they shouted as they stare confused, but curious at the histogram and wave forms on my computer screen. “I just color footage” was intently my reply, “that’s all you do?!” one asked. I knew in my heart that I did so much more, but I wanted to speak the 12yr old me.
“that’s all you do… color footage.”
“yes, like a coloring book”
“I can do that”…
I agreed; mission accomplished.
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end search of
96hr until submission deadline, I happily sit atop a mountain without a single piece of footage stitched together for a film festival the universe created for me; the NO BULL® Fitness Film Festival. This wasn’t procrastination; it was wrong place, wrong time. Atop that mountain, A simple swipe of my finger revealed the festival’s Instagram that boldly included the Rules & Regulations and most notability the infamous submission deadline. With this newfound knowledge and my love of film and fitness, it wasn’t a matter of IF I was going to submit, but WHAT I was going to submit. Ultimately, it wasn’t about quality or winning either, this was a lesson of personal ambition.
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I CARE A LOT.
Navigating an industry synonymous with Hollywood I choose to be the anti-hero to the connotations. I actively pursue and choose to film for people with causes much bigger than me; often times in exchange for nothing other than impact. We can call it pro bon or volunteering, but I simply call it caring. I’m aware of my presences & pedigree and that coupled with my voice & vision, I’m the perfect activist.
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black people
A history lesson in editing. Sourcing archival footage was amongst one of the coolest history lessons I’ve experienced. Attention to details is a signature trait of an editor; the best known to be digital archaeologist. The artist Saint Clair is a veteran of the United State Army and a musician. His song ‘Black People’ is about a history of America without. A few google searches brought me the 92nd Infantry Division; an African American infantry division of the United States Army that served in both World War I and World War II when military was then segregated. Digging in the creates; I knew I had to find archival footage of these brave BLACK PEOPLE and many more.
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for reference
Dayo Kosoko
Co. founder & Owner, The DoJo Studios
Adedayo “Dayo” Kosoko is a Nigerian-American photographer/videographer who takes the phrase, “a picture is worth a 1000 words” quit literally. Dayo combines his love for meeting people, photography and his commanding energy to creating modern, lifestyle portraits of people and places. His clients include ad agencies, magazines, publishing companies, celebrities, and non-profit organizations.
In his spare time, Dayo co-hosts a podcast for photographers and creatives alike called ” Shooting With Shooters”. Its an audio show about visuals that was created to connect and educate photographers through storytelling and critical thinking.
Dayo has stayed true to thought that “collaboration is key to innovation. Creatives unite.
Emmanuel Twum
Vice President, New River Systems
Emmanuel Twum is the Vice President of New River Systems’ ERP Advisory Services. Mr. Twum leads New River Systems’ commercial IT audit, financial advisory and security services in the areas of IT audit, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, data analytics, application controls testing, ERP implementation reviews, and implementation of continuous controls monitoring, governance, risk & compliance, & auditing solutions. Mr. Twum has held leadership positions at Ernst & Young LLP in IT Risk and Assurance/Advisory Services. Twum earned a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College, and a master’s degree in E-commerce technology from DePaul University.
