Shawnee & Shawnelle Gibbs Wonder Twin Power!!!

I first became acquainted with Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs when I saw their animated short film Ravishing Raspberry at a local film festival. These Wonder Twins are really on the ball, making a name for themselves in the fields of animation, reality television and family-oriented film and television. Currently, Shawnelle is working as an associate segment producer on a hit Bravo reality show. Shawnee just completed a stint as an Assistant Story Editor on another syndicated reality show. When not at work, the two are working on their animated web series Adopted by Aliens. They are also working on a screenplay, a family-oriented comedy called, A Star is Re-Born. 1. What is it about animation that you enjoy the most? Shawnee: I enjoy being able to combine two of my favorite things—drawing and filmmaking—into a tool for storytelling. I doodled a lot as a kid and always dreamed of having my sketches jump off of the page and come to life; animation can actually make that a reality. Shawnelle: The fact that we can create the most imaginative characters and worlds with absolutely no budget constraints. The only limitations we have with animation are purely technical (our fault). If I can’t make Whitney our main character do the “chicken head” dance, I might have to settle for the two-step (laughing). 2. Your series Adopted by Aliens is available via the web. The web is quickly becoming a formidable force when it comes to media. Sites like YouTube and CurrentTV make it possible for almost anyone to get their art and their information out there. Does that make it easier or harder for you to get your project noticed and taken seriously? Shawnee: I think the web is really the next frontier for entertainment. It’s definitely a refreshing place to see things you would never be able to see on the major television networks. We’ve had people from all over the world visit Adopted By Aliens and I don’t know if it could ever have happened if we waited on television or film execs to come to us. I think there is the tendency for over-saturation on the web, though, but the great thing about the web is that people are usually searching for what they want instead of having it given to them the way television schedules programs. Shawnelle: It definitely makes it easier to get noticed as an artist. There are mini divi and videotapes all over the world collecting dust because their creators didn’t (or couldn’t) go the festival route. The point and click age has made it possible for virtually everyone to get involved. This means more people can make films for the internet masses but it also means more weeding through the junk for quality material. With places like YouTube, Adopted by Aliens could reach a larger audience. But because we host the series from our own website, we haven’t taken advantage of such services yet…but we will. 3. Both of you are writers and both of you have worked in reality TV. Many writers lament the popularity of these ‘unscripted’ shows because they don’t appear to need as many writers. However, as assistant story editors and segment producers, there is a need for people who can craft a story out of raw footage. Sounds like a job for a writer to me. Shawnee: You’re right. As long as shows are telling stories there will always be a need for writers and creative people. I think the difference between reality TV and scripted television are the staff titles. So you may not see ‘writer’ in the show credits (because much of what happens is the reality contestants’ own doing) but there are always people there to help guide the story along in some way. Shawnelle: When you think of all the hours involved in filming the daily lives of multiple people, it adds up to tons of raw footage. So while we may not create stories like our scripted counterparts, we’re definitely involved in helping the post production team make it watchable. And contrary to popular belief…it takes a whole lot of work. 4. Exactly how real would you say reality TV is? I ask because I had a friend who was featured on a reality television show. She was livid at one episode. According to my friend, they took a comment she made weeks before and used it in another scene to make it look like she was making a negative comment about someone when she wasn’t. Shawnelle: Oh, no. I don’t know the circumstances surrounding what happened here...Is your friend Omarosa? DivaSoulSista: While, Omarosa is an Ohioan (like me and Halle Berry), it wasn't her. Shawnee: I think most of reality TV is real but it’s also entertainment, so before anyone goes on a reality TV show they should give it a lot of thought. 5. You have made it a point to return to the Bay Area and teach animation and multimedia courses to young kids. A lot of people wait until they have officially ‘made it’ to give back but you are making it a habit now, while you are on your way up. Why now? Why is this a priority? Shawnelle: We’ve been teaching in some form or another since we were kids ourselves. Whether it was playing teacher with little cousins in elementary; helping out at a family friend’s day care center as tweens; volunteering for children’s hospitals in high school; or mentoring in college…Teaching (and advocating for) youth have been a recurring theme in both of our lives…. We both got jobs teaching video and multimedia out of college. Shawnee was an instructor at a great program called Youth Sounds in Oakland, and I was in San Francisco teaching at Zeum Arts & Technology museum. We’ve combined our forces to conduct workshops on Flash and Digital video production throughout the Bay Area since then. I’d like to think I’ve helped to create the same fun memories I had as a youth after learning new skills. I don’t think there will be a time when I’m not teaching or thinking about going back to it. Shawnee: It’s definitely important for the next generation to learn the tools to tell stories. Much of what we do now is done on computers and it’s no secret that kids in poorer communities don’t have access to a lot of that stuff—we sure didn’t. We’re Cancers (for anyone who believes in Astrology) and our mother was a teacher, so it’s kind of a natural feeling for us to enjoy teaching and working with young people. It feels good to know that you’re empowering youth with a new way of seeing things. They may end up choosing to go into Law or Medicine but learning how multimedia works is important—even in the way they look at the rest of the world. 6. With so many irons in the fire – animation, reality television, screenwriting – is there one thing that ignites your passions more than anything else? Shawnelle: Well, writing is the foundation to all of those things. But even more thrilling for me than writing is coming up with the initial idea itself. An idea is fresh…. full of promise, possibilities, and untainted by the doubt and insecurities that surface later down the line in the writing and production process. A new idea, to me is like finding new love. I usually fall head over heels with a certain idea and bounce them off Shawnee until one sticks. When an idea is truly good, the excitement is contagious and fuels us to get it written or somehow produced. Recently, Shawnee has been on a roll with ideas, while I’ve been stuck in a bit of a rut. Adopted by Aliens was my last big idea...Shawnee came up with the premise for the current project we’re writing A Star is Reborn. But no matter who comes up with the original idea, there’s always a give and take in our partnership to make the best project we can. Shawnee: I just love to create things. Painting, singing, writing, animation…I think Shawnelle and I are both wired for the arts. Now one thing you won’t see me attempting to do is anything in Science. I’ll leave that to the pros! As long as I can write or sketch it and see it blossom into something tangible, I’m passionate about it. 7. Your focus is on family-oriented projects. Why have you chosen to go that route? Shawnee: I enjoy a good dramatic adult-oriented movie or show as much as the next person but there’s something about a terrific film that the whole family can watch that stays with you. Most of the most memorable films for me have been those that I saw in my youth. Even the mention of films like The Goonies, The Neverending Story, Clueless, Teen Witch, or Polly brings a smile to my face. I’d love to be able to create memories like that for future generations. Shawnelle: Currently, our focus is family friendly projects. They have always been a personal favorite of mine. The problem for me is that I can run down the gamut of great family films I’ve seen in my lifetime and very few of them have had characters that really, truly resonated with me. Not that I didn’t enjoy them as much as the next kid. But sometimes there’s that element of magic that is just out of reach when you’re on the outside looking in. Great on-screen adventures don’t generally happen for young people of color. We’d like to be part of the change. 8. There seems to be a renewed interest in family-oriented films. In fact, Bob Johnson, founder of BET and the Weinstein Brothers, formerly of Miramax, are combining their talents and focusing on producing black family films. Why do you think we are having this resurgence on films that are, for lack of a better word, more ‘wholesome?’ Shawnee: I think we should probably start by contacting Bob Johnson and the Weinstein Brothers (laughs). The studios are beginning to see that family films can turn out a profit at the box office. Families are pretty dependable audiences because they go to the movies in bigger numbers (mom, dad, kids, kids’ friends) and they’re always looking for something cool to do on the weekends. Studios seem to be so eager to reach this audience that they’re beginning to over-saturate the market, hopefully it all levels out soon. Shawnelle: I thought this was just urban legend but I know that if this was reported by DivaSoulSista, I can believe it. DivaSoulSista: Yes, it's true! In fact, they just hired Tracey Edmonds as President and Cheif Operating Officer. Shawnelle:I can only point to the success of recent franchises like Disney’s That’s So Raven and Cube Vision’s Are We There Yet? And even the Tyler Perry Madea franchise. The field is virtually wide open for family entertainment. It’s the new frontier. 9. You all do so much, looking ahead at the upcoming 12-24 months, what would you like to accomplish in the next year or two? Shawnelle: Career-wise, in the next couple of years we hope to be celebrating the sell of our first screenplay and shopping other projects around. We’d also be looking to show our directing talents via live action films. On the personal front, I’d like to be safe, secure and enjoying life. With God on our side, the possibilities are infinite. Shawnee: In the next year or two, we’re looking to finish our feature screenplay currently titled A Star is Reborn and possibly look into writing children’s books. We would also like to shoot a short project within the next year or so and continue to share our work with people online and off. As long as we’re happy and healthy, I think we can do it!

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