Another one! LA-based Creator JeanJacques (pronounced Jon-Jawk) joined Moose Mob and Tonia Boies on a journey to learn more about creating social suites. JeanJacques is a nonbinary Black Chicano filmmaker, writer, producer, and performer. Bring all that together and you've got yourself a TikTok titan. JeanJacques has attracted more than 51,000+ followers to her account, a wellspring of high-energy and optimistic tone through vlogs, comedy skits, and trend-style videos.
Over the summer, JeanJacques worked with Tongal Mentor April Merl to develop fun and engaging content for a fictional brand JeanJacques created themselves (You can start learning to make social suites with April right now). April is an editor and animator with over 20 years experience in film, television and media, working for clients like HBO, SYFY, Facebook, and TBS.
For this interview, we asked JeanJacques to talk to us about their process for developing their treatment for this project. Here's what they had to say!
What has inspired you to become a Creator?
My mom has always inspired me to be a creative individual. Growing up, she had me try a little bit of everything– painting, dancing, singing, and even calligraphy at one point. She was very encouraging (haha).
In high school and college, I fell in love with storytelling and social media. I loved the connection to networks of Creators that social media offers and how some of the most viral video content can be seen as just extremely short stories. From Vine to Instagram, and now TikTok, I always found myself creating elaborate stories out of the most simple posts. I realize how my mother's will for me to try out every art form has been really helpful to me. As a result, I'm willing to take on anything! I know with some love and time, I can conquer any new skill!
Where did your journey in media production begin?
In high school, I started filming little videos with friends as jokes to post on social media. The content reflected a weird mix of high school angst and early BuzzFeed news. I was already in love with storytelling, so I decided to go to school for Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Fullerton
What motivated you to apply to the Branded Content Mentorship Program?
Working as a freelance content creator/video producer has been something I've figured out to do along the way with trial and error. I started producing my own short films as a project with peers, eventually I transformed that into managing content for different platforms and building teams more focused on commercial content than filmmaking.
For me, the Branded Content Mentorship was the perfect way for me to transition from narrative filmmaking work to more social media and commercial-based content.
Can you give us an overview of your career? We’d love to know what a day in the life of JeanJacques is like.
My life has changed so much since starting this mentorship! When I first began, I was working freelance as a video producer and content creator. At that time, most of my work consisted of odd jobs that I earned from friends. I also did sponsored posts while I was producing short films as personal projects with friends. Now, I work full-time at a video production company as a production coordinator and social media manager. I switched my content creator gigs to more freelance influencer work, and I still do personal projects with friends- though at a much slower pace now.
Day to day, I start my mornings with my influencer/content creator hat (scheduling posts and replying to comments). Then, between 9am and 6pm, I work in the office coordinating productions and producing social content from brands. At home, I switch between my personal projects and influencer/content creator work. It's a lot, but I'm doing quite literally everything I wanted to try out in my 20's, so I'm appreciating what I have!
How did you develop your treatment for the Branded Content Mentorship Program? I’m curious to know how you approached ideation and development.
For this program, I wanted to pitch something that would be trendy, relatable, and representative of my personal experiences. At the time, Hearstoppers had recently premiered on Netflix, and many TikTokers gushed about how much we loved the bedroom designs. Perhaps I became invested because I was writing a script about dorm living at the time. Nonetheless, the show's rooms remind me of my wild college decorating skills.
That included throwing anything and everything onto the wall to show my personality. I used this really random wall putty my friend recommended. After we told two more friends about the wall putty, the store we’d gotten it from sold out of the product by the end of the week! Everyone loved how easily they could transform their rooms to fit their quirks. I thought that feeling was universal and tried to fit into social media trends by making this colorful, corny, and makes-fun-of-itself brand of wall putty, STICK-IT! It combined the fun energy of the bedroom decoration trends while solving the common problem: How do you decorate it in the first place?
Can you share any tips on how to translate a creative idea into a tangible deck that grabs readers' attention?
For me, I never start with a blank slate. An empty page isn’t encouraging. Even if I’m only starting with random ideas that I have texted myself, concept images, or just two colors I like seeing together, I put SOMETHING on the page that guides me in designing my pitch.
Then I use that brainstorm page to guide the entire design of the creative deck, and I allow myself to change my original guide when I need it. But I find that having the initial northstar is crucial. From there, I trust my instincts and put down what I think feels right. Get it down and don't stop too much. If I don't have one piece figured out all the way, I move on to the next and come back to it.
Getting the first draft is a big win! You just have to trust your instincts for grabbing attention and ask yourself honestly, “Would this grab my own attention?”
Did you source creative inspiration from any advertising campaigns?
I don't think one campaign comes to mind, but I feel like the general genre of exaggerated infomercials is always a big inspiration to me. These kinds of commercials are like the dad jokes of advertising. I definitely wanted one of my pieces to have that feeling. The more traditional product showcasing ideas were inspired by the Amazon review videos that I find most helpful. I opted for simple shots and instructions as opposed to flashy, high energy of social ads.
Who or what are some of your comedic influences?
I would say old school Buzzfeed videos, Mitu, PeroLike, really corny commercials, TikTok, and the television show, The Office (embarrassingly enough to say).
What television shows or movies have you watched lately?
Abbott Elementary on ABC, Good Trouble on Freeform, This Fool and Reservation Dogs on Hulu, Trying and Ted Lasso on AppleTV, and Fakes on Netflix. I could let 100+ more. I love TV.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned while participating in the Branded Content Mentorship Program?
I think the most valuable lesson I learned is to take control of my own projects and creative ideas. After the pitch, I had a team more experienced in video production take on more of the execution of the videos. Though I had worked with them before, this was the first time we were executing one of my own ideas instead as opposed to executing work for a client or a peer.
I couldn’t tell if my vision was coming across clearly to my team. We spent hours trying to make decisions as a team, which cost us a lot of time. The video I was most proud of was the one we filmed at the end of the day. For this shoot, I took total control because there were so many delays in our schedule. I think I was scared to lead the creative team because I didn't understand enough how to execute my vision, but at the end of the day, it was my vision that needed to be cared for. So now, I take a lead position, and if I don't know something I consult a trusted source on what is essential for me to know.
