Creative Production
Entertainment and streaming platform Blacktag commissioned Artfullyours’ founder Laura Alston to direct the inaugural episode for their revamped travel series Black Atlas, one of the first of the brand’s original content to live on their streaming app, which released Oct. 2021. Blacktag aims to build a platform in the mold of Youtube and Netflix, and produce content such as music, travel, licensed short films, and original videos made by creators that let viewers discover and learn about Black culture in different parts of the world. With this motive, Artfullyours was hired to direct a 10 minute mini-documentary, and was in charge of the creative production such as finding talent, budgeting, and overseeing the project.
Black Atlas is an online travel series that explores different black cultures, communities, and lifestyles in different countries. The brief was for directors to present a subculture or cultural norm through a fly-on-the-wall approach and communicate their authentic understanding of the communities. The key sentiment was for cultural interaction, as well as a POV approach, to be represented within the episode as the director takes the audience into their world. Laura Alston achieves this by showing the tradition and culture of Caribbean island Grenada from a unique perspective, through kids adventures, traditional charcoal-making process and its carnival tradition of jab jab.
With Laura Alston’s direction, Artfullyours utilized their on-the-ground film network within Grenada to successfully produce the inaugural episode of Black Atlas. The release of the episode coincided with the release of Blacktag’s mobile app and garnered press from sources such as the New York Times. Blacktag’s remark of Laura’s documentary was that they were “so impressed with the efficiency and prowess with which [she] made this. What a wonderful benchmark for the series.” The mini-documentary also had a rippling impact locally in Grenada in which it was revered as authentically showcasing aspects of Grenada’s culture in a way that was inclusive and in tune with the sentiments of its citizens.
ARTFULLYOURS is a BOUTIQUE CREATIVE AGENCY & STUDIO specializing in artistically designed BRANDING, MARKETING and PRODUCTION for CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS and culture-forward ARTS & MEDIA BRANDS.
