Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Barnes
Hi Paul, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born and raised in Washington DC I attended the Duke Ellington School For The Arts for high school, I was in the second ever graduating class. I Studied Vocal Music and Theater, which certainly did not prepare me for the 13 years I served in the military, travelling the world, But it prepared me for the 6 plays I performed in and around the Washington DC Area; during my senior year of High School.
After 13 years in the military I returned to Washington DC where I worked as a music producer for several years, before relocating to Frederick, MD. In addition to working fulltime for the government and part time as a photographer, I was finally able to transition to being a photographer full time, Doing weddings and events in Frederick MD for several years. Videography had always been a part of my photography business. I was offered an opportunity to film and produce a Civil War Reality show and I jumped at the opportunity to work with great people and hone my skills and expand my expertise.
After losing my spouse, I moved to Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Working for the government in Harrisburg, I was still being a filmmaker part time, Working with Miayo Management on a web series, while actively contributing to local productions and The Lewis Riley Variety show. I ultimately decided I needed to attend Film school and I looked at all the available opportunities worldwide and settled on the International Academy of Film and Televisión (IAFT) in Lapu Lapu in the Philippines. I was not able to finish Film School due the the pandemic, but I still call the Philippines along with Minneapolis home.
The Pandemic brought me home to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where I was able to secure a management position in Security and when the opportunity came to transfer to Minneapolis, I jumped at the chance. I was ready to move and in 2023 I became a resident of Minnesota.
The Clint Initiative Podcast was born in July of 2023 and eight episodes were filmed at the Minnehaha Recording studios in Minneapolis. I had to return to the Philippines, in November, for a family emergency. While in the Philippines I edited and prepped those eight episodes, When I returned, we retooled and relaunched the show in May of 2024 and we now do a weekly live broadcast.
With my Cohosts, Clint, Jamel and Katie, we provide a platform for emerging talent and a place to create and air our films, streaming Content and music.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Living in the Philippines and America is not easy and not cheap, but it helps that in 2023 I was able to retire and collect my social security and focus on the show Full time.
I still have long COVID and have to safeguard my health, but so far I’ve been able to persevere and do the things necessary to grow and show to where it is. So far I have not had any symptoms from Long COVID and I’m hoping that continues.
With any new endeavor financing is always a challenge and by keeping those costs as low as they can be kept that has been the most challenging part. Financing for now is provided by my company Cycle Forward Films, which is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but we are finally opening a Minneapolis location in August of 2024. We are digging in for the long haul.
I was a part of the creative community of Harrisburg Pennsylvania and I am hopeful that I can be a part of the creative community of Minneapolis. From the Twin Cities Film festival, To the Minneapolis Swim Week show, to the The 6th Annual Black Attire Event presented by IamMoody and Recently the Synergy Fashion show presented by Penash, my creative Minneapolis journey has only just begun.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Working With Clint, Katie and Jamel, our goal is to provide film and streaming content along with music to the world. I consider what we do to be an elevated form of Guerilla Filmmaking. For one thing we do the weekly podcast where talent is presented by simply showing up. You get to be a part of the show and then you join our roster of talent.
We don’t audition and we never will audition. I got the idea from listening to Minnesota public radio and an interview with JD Steele the director of the Mill City Singers, a professional choir where there are no auditions you just need to show up. One day I will attend one of their rehearsals and be a part of that choir as well, I still love the experience of singing with a choir.
We are currently filming a holiday film, while doing the sketch show which is a streaming show and we still do our weekly podcast to update our audience and to fundraise.
August through October we will focus on filming and releasing as much as we can starting with two films, Holiday High: Home 4 The Holidays and Straw as well as filming the trailers for several of our productions.
We Currently broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, we are gearing up now to start broadcasting on ROKU and Fire TV. So we are filming as much content as we can during the warm weather to edit and present with our launch on ROKU and Fire TV.
With our music, we are preparing to go into the studio and produce and EP of original songs and to provide our own soundtrack to our show and our productions.
Last, but certainly not least, While in Harrisburg i did a staged reading our a Play I wrote called DateLine. Using the information gathered from the staged reading, I will be doing another staged reading soon. Having our own space will certainly help with that..
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Podcasts are certainly a fixture in our society now with few barriers to entry. To survive you have to be unique and find your audience ,which takes time and consistency. So far with our weekly live broadcast we are moving in the right direction and growing our audience.
With film and streaming content, the advances in technology and the delivery platforms, the opportunity to capitalize on all of that with inventive and fresh content is only growing bigger with each passing year.
We use an Equity Crowd Funding model, so that when we are successful our audience will share in that success in a tangible way. Crowd Funding is also an option, but we believe Equity Crowd Funding gives our audience an opportunity to be a part of our growth and our success, will also become their success.
They are our Founders and Our Inner Circle and they get to preview everything we produce and have a direct input on not only making us better, but improving our content for a wider audience and with Equity Crowd funding whatever they contribute that will be paid back, not just with Superior entertainment, but also with a direct financial benefit.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclintinitiative/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovingPhilippines
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@theclintpodcast?si=_i7LzJvFaz2sKxQS
