LOCAL STUDIO
Pictured: Paul Jenkins and Sarah Boyd; Above: On set of Star Trek
come and go – but a good creator can nurture an idea into something more. His vision with brainchild META Studios is to create projects based around accountability, transparency, communication, and integrity. Right now, the studio is working virtually; technology being one of many reasons why cross- media production is the here-and-now, because anyone can film year-round anywhere nowadays. “The film industry does not have to be in LA or NY anymore…Atlanta could be the third leg, and become the center of cross-media production,” he says. “There’s a struggle between existing media corporations that aren’t designed to work together. For cross-media to succeed, it must come from a central location and a single person who knows how to bring it together. We need to be asking ourselves in Georgia: If not now, when? If not here, where? If not me, who?” He told former Gov. Nathan Deal as much several years ago, after meeting Deal’s daughter at Georgia State University where he spoke on a panel (literally called “Will Georgia be the third leg of a creative stool?”). He was asked by the former Governor to head up Georgia’s Advisory Committee on Digital/Interactive Entertainment in 2015. The goal was to educate the General Assembly on the evolution of digital and interactive technology. His pitch? Cross-media, of course. “The advisory was incredible and had a great output of deliverables, including the increase for tax credits,” Jenkins says. “In order to build a viable and sustainable independent film business, we need risk takers like myself, Ozzie Areu, the folks at Picture It Productions, and many others – people with an entrepreneurial spirit and a modicum of experience – to make things happen. I want to see things happen in Georgia.” What will it take? “It’s about having a standard of professional excellence. We need that expectation and we
need the industry here to be more confident.” Jenkins says. “In the end, your work and personal ethic becomes talent. Get it right, do it over and over, be diligent, make it great, fix it, finish what you started. And be a decent person, that doesn’t hurt, either.” META aims to not only offer expertise for cross- media production, but to educate others on how to do it successfully and to champion those in the industry. GHR wrapped up the interview asking Jenkins, “What’s a day in your life like?” His 10-day recap included helping re-write and shoot New Axanar (a fan film Star Trek project), working on a week-long script for a new form of digital storytelling he’s crafting (think interactive digital comics), and developing a screenplay for a client. “If you work until 4 a.m. for 20 days in row to get what you need, then you do it. That’s what I do,” he says. “Don’t ever tell me something can’t be done; because I’ve probably either done it, or I’m about to go do it…People come to me because I like to say yes to a challenge. I work to make it happen. “People like us at META, we exist as an opportunity for the entire creative community,” he continues. “We all need to build the concept up in order to succeed; that’s the trick – everyone needs to clap their hands and hope for success among the creative community because it’ll be a trickle-down of work, growth, teaching, and learning.” META Studios in Atlanta, Ga., works directly in the creation of nearly all existing media, using potent storytelling to build evergreen brands, while providing valuable and unique consulting services to assist in the development and understanding of everyone’s story. The team values the growth of the creative community and the mentoring and teaching of others as we all learn together. Visit metastudios.com and engage via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photo by Aaron Romano
“META is an acronym: Media is what we do, it’s our core capability. “Education is what we want to do for the industry; technology is what sets us apart; and advancement: we’re growing the creative community here in Georgia,” Jenkins explains. “We want to help people. It’s part of our model: Nurture talent and hold it to a higher standard of excellence.” While he originally rolled his eyes over the buzz word “transmedia”, Jenkins has been doing all of it for a long time (comics, animation, video games, film, etc.). If you ask him what makes Georgia a prime opportunity for cross-media production today, he’ll tell you it’s because projects can be created from start to finish in one place. “[Cross-media] is what everyone needs, but no one’s doing it,” he says. “The story is everything, but the storyteller is everything – we need people who know how to do this. That’s a passion here at META, to build up the storyteller.” Throughout his 25-plus year career, Jenkins has learned his passion lies in the value of the story and nurturing the creators behind it. As he points out, ideas
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