We recently connected with Shaquille Roberts and have shared our conversation below.
Shaquille, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Recently I shot the pilot for my series, The Other Wife. After I quit a toxic boss and work environment, I went on a 21-day fast. Doing that fast helped me get closer to God and learn more about myself. Coming out of the fast, I wrote the pilot loosely based on different things that I learned about myself. Each character has a personality trait that came from what I discovered about me. After writing the pilot in 2021, I prayed to God and said, if I can get a hospital location and a funeral home location to film in, I’ll shoot the entire thing. After that, another local filmmaker, Wade Simmons, reached out to me expressing his support for me and my work. Turns out, he worked at a funeral home and was able to connect me with the owner of Higgins Family Funeral home, where we shot the funeral scene.
Next, I contacted Rush hospital to get a quote from them, the quote was $10,000. Completely out of my budget. I contacted a friend who worked at a medical school and she pulled some strings to get us a shoot day at Medway Institute. Now that those hard locations were out of the way, I was able to book other locations.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I started as a journalist in High School and going into college, I wanted to learn a different form of writing. I decided on Scriptwriting. Going into college, my major was film, so I learned the entire process from idea to post production. I got a chance to Direct and discovered a passion for it. It wasn’t until I got out of college and couldn’t find an industry job, that I started producing my own films. I got tired of waiting for opportunities.
Today, I run a video production company called PYNC Studios. PYNC Studios stands for Perspectives You Never C. It refers to the lack of diverse imaging of black people in Film and Television. PYNC Studios presents a unique portrayal of black families, friendships, relationships, careers, and everyday life. Our mission is to fill the screen with a new perspective and diversify the depiction of black people in Film & Television.
What We Offer:
Consulting
Securing Crew
Securing Cast
Location Scouting
Production Documents (Budget, Scheduling, Call sheets, etc…)
Securing permits
Coordinating Production Meetings
Social Media Advertising
I am most proud of the festivals that have acknowledged our works and the awards we have received. We are currently working to expand to our own studio that will serve the independent film community in Chicago.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish that I would have known about how important it is to network. I would have connected more with my peers in college. Now that I am in the film industry, I see how important it is to know people. This really is an industry about who you know. I have been provided with many resources from networking. Film is a collaborative art, you need other people. Now I attend film events, festivals, screening, panels, trainings, workshops, etc…
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to create my own world and share it with others. Seeing your film/show on the screen is very rewarding. Being an independent filmmaker is not easy and there are so many ups and down but seeing it all come together at the end makes it all worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pyncstudios.com/
- Instagram: @shaquille_pync
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pyncstudios/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTGWE7BGiitMb3GPB3jed1g