Annual Black Entrepreneurship Grant

Five years ago, I saw through the viewfinder of a video camera for the first time. Class projects soon became film festival entries, and I found myself giving a script to my actors, a shooting schedule to my crew, and holding a camera in my hands. Hello, my name is Mazey Copeland. I'm a 19-year-old Video student at Mt. Hood Community College and I'm developing my own production company. Ideas and stories exist in the minds of hundreds of thousands of people. Many don't have the funds to support their ideas, the camera to record their film, and the agent to advertise it. As I work towards my degree, I've learned that even those who have these privileges lose control of their projects once they are distributed. Black actors have been taken off of posters to make the films more "marketable", and scripts are bought and put on shelves to erase competition. Many do not have the resources to pursue this career path, and when they do, it's rarely on their terms. This brought me to start developing my own production company. Gathering a lot of inspiration from companies like Corridor Digital, the main purpose is to be able to develop films and projects separate from Hollywood and large-scale funding. This provides independence for individuals and gives them more ownership over their creative ideas. From then on, I want to encourage others and give them the resources to start their own production company as well, all to help break down the high barrier to entry in the film industry. As we are in the very beginning stages, MarcieProductions is focusing on social media advertising and local small-business spotlights. We've developed three small budgeted short films, and have several clients in our local area we regularly create video content for. We are currently in the planning phase to create scheduled content for our social media pages. We are working on another short film with a larger budget in the next couple of months, and a gaming documentary with access to materials from influential gaming companies. Once we garner more of a following and reach our revenue goals, we are hoping to begin pre-production for a feature-length motion picture, we have been developing and begin the festival screening process. One of the setbacks I have had in developing this company is student debt. While investing in materials and equipment for my company at this stage in development is crucial, I have to allocate my earnings towards living expenses and tuition, as my loans do not cover the entirety of my education. When I'm not creating budget sheets, scheduling clients, and going to school full-time, I'm editing for my own personal clients to cover these residual costs so that I can continue my education. Receiving this grant would not only aid in covering my tuition expenses, it would also allow me to allocate more of my time and earnings towards my company's development. The film industry incredibly risky to enter, with few large production companies developing the vast amount of media we consume. I aspire to be able to provide what this grant could provide for me, opportunities for talented and underprivileged filmmakers to tell their stories. With the development of my company, I aim to level these high barriers and put the control back in the hands of the skilled and talented, rather than the opportune.