We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lou Blackmon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lou below.
Hi Lou, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Since the beginning of my career (and before), I have been constantly reminded that many of my ideas and personal interests, fall into a margin outside of the popular or mainstream opinion. I think that for many people born outside of the U.S., the inherent “handshake” that comes with the American Dream is one that asks us to leave some part of ourselves behind. This is not to say that assimilation is an inherently bad thing, but I think many immigrants feel left out of the national conversation when it comes to art and expression in media and entertainment. The immigrant experience is to feel like the odd one out many times and that’s where the company name comes from.
Lou, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a filmmaker and small business owner living and working in New York City. I began working as a freelance cinematographer in 2010 while still a student at Ithaca College. I started out working on Coca-Cola commercials and television promotional spots in Atlanta first as a production assistant and later a camera operator. Later, after graduating college I moved to New York City to continue pursuing work as a freelance filmmaker. In 2013 I founded my own production company, OddOneOut Productions, that specializes in both narrative and commercial work that aims to spotlight the work of artists from the margins: indigenous, black and other POC creatives, queer and disabled folk, and other artists from overlooked communities. Our flagship narrative work is “Call the Sandman”, a Sci-Fi short film with a predominantly POC cast, that my producing partners and I presented to several prospective producers and short film platforms was met with a lackluster response. But, when we presented the film to Gunpowder & Sky who curate Dust and Alter on Youtube (6.1 million subscribers collectively) we were met with such a wonderful enthusiasm. And based on our track record on the festival circuit, it seems that our ideas and oeuvre are more than “marketable”.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I think that in the film industry there are a lot of channels and opportunities that are closed off to many filmmakers that aren’t already connected into the industry and POC and people of other minority groups who don’t otherwise have an avenue in. While there are fellowships, grants, festivals and residencies that are available to the public, they do not account for so many creatives that live and thrive in these discounted margins. I have been working in the film industry for 15 years and I am still unsure of what these resources are or how to utilize them.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
We are OddOneOut. Our mission is, “We loves stories from the margins and strive to uplift the amazing voices of the people we meet everyday that are otherwise overlooked in the film and television indstury.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oddoneoutpro.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louciusblack/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddoneoutpro
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loublackmon/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/oddoneoutpro
- Youtube: https://vimeo.com/oddoneoutpro
- Other: https://vimeo.com/oddoneoutpro https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4974009/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_q_lou%2520blackmon