MY ROLE: creative director, content producer, marketing strategist
Featuring "The Influencer" Biobele Braide, MD.
SPLIT | A Spotlight on Dual-Identities
I am constantly inspired by the world and believe that creative ideas unfold before our eyes—across industries, people, and even time.
The SPLIT Series is proof of this.
From the start of my time at the Icahn School of Medicine, I came to realize quickly that students here are more than future doctors. They are dynamic and multi-faceted—many of whom even possess dual-identities. During my first connection meetings with these students, I learned that some were olympians, musicians, change makers, photographers, and so much more.
From these conversations, I knew I had to highlight these students' stories in a meaningful way. And although I made a few initial attempts to do so, it never quite caught fire. But one thing about me: I am tenacious and firmly stand behind my vision.
Fast-forward to a scene of me perusing the internet-of-things one weekend. I came across"Relentless"— a new Forbes series that followed "young achievers" during their day. I was immediately enthralled by the first video I saw with Karim Abouelnaga, Founder of Practice Makes Perfect.
I knew this was the way. This was the vision. "SPLIT" was coming together.
In the next budget cycle in 2019, I formally pitched the video web series idea and got moving. I started with a graduating medical student and playwright Sylvia Khoury and debuted her video in March 2020—right before the pandemic. Obviously, as a result of the world being on fire, priorities had to shift drastically, and I was unable to create additional videos to continue the series for a while.
But, like many during this time, I was glad to have this moment to pause on life and projects, because it gave me time to reflect. If I was being honest, although I was content with this first video and grateful for the experience with Sylvia, it was not fully aligned with the vision I had for this series.
Let's add another jump cut to this narrative, and we find ourselves in winter 2021; with another budget cycle at hand and another opportunity to reconnect with this series. I was excited and on fire. After a second round of pitches and approvals, I immediately assembled my team and talent. I wanted to do this right, and like Neo at the end of "The Matrix," I was finally seeing what needed to be done and how. I set up interviews with the three students I wanted to feature first. I created the production timelines to include set locations, voice over scheduling, and any guest appearances that needed to happen. I started storyboarding the vision for each scene which included trying out some trending transitions that my friend and renowned videographer, Chuy Guttierrez was willing and beyond able to capture.
The series, now in its' renaissance, (a Beyoncé nod), has officially debuted in the last quarter of 2022. I created a microsite, MoreThanDocs.co, where the videos and the students' stories will live. And lastly, I collaborated with the social media team to ensure a strategy to promote the videos, the microsite, and the accompanying hashtag.
I am extremely proud of this series for a number of reasons. The main one being what Kevin Ashton wrote in his book How to Fly a Horse: "Creation is a long journey, where most turns are wrong and most ends are dead. The most important thing creators do is work. The most important thing they don't do is quit." Full circle to what brought me to this moment à la Forbes and Abouelnaga: relentless behavior is sometimes very necessary and practice, indeed makes perfect.
Featuring "The Actor" Anna Stacy, MD.
Featuring "The Changemaker" Jenn Dias.
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