Sex, Vlogs, and Kidnappings
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, Crime
In this dark comedy web series, a young 20-something fed up with her and her friend's hit or miss sex life starts a vlog in order to give helpful advice on how people can improve their bedroom skills. But, things get weird when the men she references in her vlogs start mysteriously disappearing.
Sex, Vlogs, and Kidnappings
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, Crime
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,259 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
133 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
In this dark comedy web series, a young 20-something fed up with her and her friend's hit or miss sex life starts a vlog in order to give helpful advice on how people can improve their bedroom skills. But, things get weird when the men she references in her vlogs start mysteriously disappearing.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
ABOUT THE STORY
SEX, VLOGS, AND KIDNAPPINGS is a five-episode dark comedy web series about a girl named Patricia who decides to start a vlog in order to give advice on how people can improve their sex lives. Fed up with her own hit or miss sex life and tired of hearing the sad, weird, and genuinely awful stories from her friend's sex life, Patricia starts to realize that there are many problems at play: lack of communication, fear of getting things wrong, and well... men. Setting out to correct the wrongs of the world, Patricia decides to start the vlog in order to show both men and women how they can serve each other better in the bedroom. By using examples from her and her friend's personal life, she is actually able to segue into sound advice on how to improve one's interactions with their sexual partners. And, everything is going perfectly until the guy she slept with goes missing... and then a guy her friend slept with goes missing.. and well.. you get it.
As things get away from Patricia quicker and quicker, she is going to have to decide what's real and what's fake and what's helpful and unhelpful if she really wants to improve people's lives both on and off the vlog screen.
WHERE THIS IDEA CAME FROM // WHY NOW?
I have always been a sex advocate. Sex is one of the most intimate expressions of love, pleasure, and who we are as humans. It's a natural human desire. It has always fascinated me how something so natural and pleasurable could be demonized in our society. Sure, we should always practice safe sex and be careful of who we choose as partners for a myriad of reasons in regards to physical and emotional safety, but we should also not be demonized, particularly women, for desiring joy from our sexual encounters.
In addition to that, I've found myself speaking to many people about sex, and because the topic has been taboo for so long, people are afraid to talk about it with their sex partners! Because of this, many women are left unsatisfied in the bedroom and many men are left to believe that they are doing a good job. I believe if we talked to each other more and figured out the needs and desires of our partners, everyone involved could have more exciting, life-changing experiences! WE SHOULD ALL BE HAVING WAYYY MORE FUN IN THE BEDROOM!
And, because our society becomes more and more liberated by the day, this is the most perfect time to create a show like this, as it pushes us to try to understand each other better. Let's make the bedroom more pleasurable, more liberating, and more freeing -- let's all release ourselves from the shackles of MEDIOCRITY!
But wait... where did the KIDNAPPING aspect come from?: Well, I always love a good genre-bend (more on this below), but I also wanted to explore the different ways sexual trauma can take effect and what it can cause people to do. And, sometimes, bad things happen to good people which just causes more bad things. Sex is just as much a mental and emotional experience as it is a physical one and I want to explore the good, bad, and funny of that.
WHO IS MAKING THIS THING?
WHY ME?
KYLA SYLVERS: ACTRESS, WRITER, PRODUCER, & DIRECTOR
As a woman, I have found myself stifled in many situations, but as a Black woman, it's even worse. Black women are often over-sexualized and fetishized throughout both the media and everyday life. People have assumed I was sexually active since middle school (I was not) and grown men used this as reasoning to both flirt with me and demean me. I have also been fetishized by men of other races, been called a tease for telling men I had no sexual attraction to that I didn't want to have sex with them, and much, much more.
This series is finally allowing me to explore sex and intimacy in my own way without someone telling me who I can and cannot be. I, along with so many women around me, deserve to be free of the shackles of "sex taboos" and step into the role of liberated sex goddesses! Lol.
BONUS: I'm an award-winning filmmaker! I am a proven artist who has had my work screened at OVER 50 VIRTUAL CINEMAS, MULTIPLE FESTIVALS, and I was recently FEATURED IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE IN AN ARTICLE ABOUT BRINGING LITERAL BLACK GIRL MAGIC TO THE SCREEN. I have also bent genres before as my last film was a supernatural horror-thriller, and I have other genre-bending projects in development. You can read the ESSENCE ARTICLE and WATCH OUR PROJECTS here: https://linktr.ee/melaninandmagicproductions
MORE ABOUT MY TEAM
SHANNON N BROWN: Shannon N. Brown is a filmmaker, writer, director & producer. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and an alumna of Fisk University where she obtained a BA in English. Shannon developed her love of media arts at an early age. She began her media career in 2014 with the establishment of her YouTube channel and photography and videography courses. Upon deciding to follow her passion of film/tv production with pursuing a Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard University, Shannon's credits include sound mixing, and script supervising for several films such as "The Problem With Erin", "Seeking Equanimity", "Pieces", "Kindred Spirits" and "Lady" which she wrote, produced, directed, and edited. Her production company Black Film Queen Studios founded in 2019, uplifts and connects Black women filmmakers and produces films written, directed, and produced by Black women. Upon finishing her Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard in 2020, with honors, Shannon has accomplished achievements such as being a finalist for the Home Depot & African American Film Critics Association 72- Hour Film Challenge, internships with EICOP HBCU In LA, and Allied Global Marketing. She has also written for the award-winning web series "Adultin Series", and has worked with filmmakers named by the Diversity In Cannes as Top Ten Filmmakers of the Decade. Currently, Shannon is an intern with CBS Documentary Studios and is a Junior Producer for Martin Agency.
DANAE GRANDISON: Danae Grandison is a writer, director, and producer born in Kingston, Jamaica. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a Masters in Directing and her third short film. There she studied with Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris. Grandison has produced award-winning short films, branded content, and music videos. Grandison is currently in development with Unspoken as her first feature-length film. She participated in the 2019 inaugural Australian International Screen Forum’s Women in Screen Workshop and her screenplay was a finalist at Anchorage International Film festival. Grandison is a member of NYWIFT, IFP turned Gotham, JAFTA (Jamaica Film and TV Association), and IEFTA.
INSPIRATION
This series is a mash-up of SEARCH PARTY, SEX EDUCATION, EASY A, and INSECURE. A little bit of dark-comedy that reflects the current state of our world (SEARCH PARTY), a little bit of educating people about sex via the lens of actual sexual experiences (SEX EDUCATION), a little bit of vlogging (EASY A), and a little bit of Black women friendship and exploring life (INSECURE).
TIMELINE
We are shooting this summer, starting the second weekend in July, and we plan to release the series in late Fall.
CROWDFUNDING NOW? WHY? HOW WILL YOU BE SAFE?
Many artists have been out of work due to COVID and many people on our growing team are ecstatic about this project and want to start getting back to work. Contributing to this campaign not only allows us to create the art we love, but to pay the artists a wage in order to create what they love. So many of us lost wages during COVID, so being able to get paid again is also something that will be beautiful and super helpful.
IMPORTANT NOTES: We will only be hiring vaccinated people for our production and will require proof of vaccination and negative COVID tests before arriving to set. Our producer, Shannon, is also a trained COVID compliance officer, so we will have hand sanitizer, wipes, and more.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
YOUR SUPPORT! :) We are a passionate group of storytellers who simply need people who are as passionate about us and this story as we are! If that is you, we would love a contribution from you! You can contribute $10.. $20.. whatever you have! But, if you can spare $50 or more, we would love that! :)
WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING
PAYING OUR CAST AND CREW
RENTING EQUIPMENT
RENTING LOCATIONS
FEEDING OUR CAST AND CREW
PAYING OUR POST-PRODUCTION TEAM
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS: SOCIAL MEDIA PROMO, TRAILER CREATOR, & GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR POSTER
POST-PRODUCTION: EDITOR, COLORIST, SOUND DESIGNER, COMPOSER
INSURANCE, PROPS, TRANSPORTATION OF EQUIPMENT, HARD DRIVE, SPECIFIC COSTUME NEEDS, ETC.
FOLLOW US!
Instagram: @melaninandmagicproductions
Facebook: Melanin & Magic Productions
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Paying The Producers
Costs $2,000
The producers make the web series happen. Without them, nothing gets made.
Paying the cast
Costs $1,750
We have to pay our actors to perform. They give their all on set.
Paying Crew
Costs $4,775
We can't shoot without our crew. DP, sound, gaffer, AD, Assistant camera, script supervisor, etc.
Equipment Rental
Costs $2,000
We need specific equipment in order to shoot something of quality.
Craft Services
Costs $1,000
We need to feed our cast and crew because it's right, but it's also good for the soul!
Miscellaneous
Costs $650
All other costs. Insurance, COVID-related items, props, promo posters, trailer creation, etc.
Share this update!
About This Team
KYLA SYLVERS
Kyla Sylvers is an actress, writer, and producer who currently resides in NYC. A true nerd who is originally from Chicago, Kyla has found her voice while being in New York. In 2017, she co-founded Melanin & Magic Productions in the hopes of putting black women’s voices at the forefront of their narrative. So far, the company has done just that. Kyla has an award-winning short, The Black Banshee, which she co-starred in, produced, and wrote. The short was recently chosen as part of the Emerging Black Filmmakers Collection with Full Spectrum Features and other collaborators and has been distributed at over 50 virtual cinemas across the country. The project was also featured in ESSENCE MAGAZINE where it was part of an article that discussed bringing literal Black Girl Magic to the screen. She also co-produced and starred in the acclaimed short film, The Way Out. In addition, she wrote, produced, and co-starred in the well-received YouTube web series, Finding Our Way.
With all of these projects, Kyla is bending genres, taking risks, and making stories her way. Up next is the supernatural horror-thriller TV series, The Black Banshee, which was recently an ISA Fast Track finalist. She also has a half-hour sci-fi comedy, a fantasy series that was a Sundance and Macro TV pilot semi-finalist, and a feature-length sci-fi comedy about our education system. She’s excited to keep expanding and subverting the expectation of what black women can do in this business and this world. The nerd in her would be proud.
DANAE GRANDISON
Danae Grandison writer, director, and producer born in Kingston, Jamaica. She graduated from School of Visual Arts with a Masters in Directing and her third short film. Here she studied with Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris. Grandison has produced award-winning short films, branded content, and music videos. Grandison is currently in development with Unspoken as her first feature-length film. She participated in the 2019 inaugural Australian International Screen Forum’s Women in Screen Workshop; the screenplay was a finalist at the Anchorage International Film festival. Grandison is a member of NYWIFT, IFP turned Gotham, JAFTA (Jamaica Film and TV Association) and IEFTA.
SHANNON N. BROWN
Shannon N. Brown is a filmmaker, writer, director & producer. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois and an alumna of Fisk University, where she obtained a Bachelor's of Arts in English. Upon deciding to follow her passion of film/tv production with pursuing a Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard University, Shannon's credits include sound mixing, and script supervising for several films such as "The Problem With Erin" ,"Seeking Equanimity", "Pieces", "Kindred Spirits" and "Lady" which she wrote, produced, directed, and edited. Upon finishing her Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard in 2020, with honors, Shannon has accomplished achievements such as being a finalist for the Home Depot & African American Film Critics Association 72- Hour Film Challenge, internships with EICOP HBCU In LA, and Allied Global Marketing. She has also written for the award-winning web series "Adultin Series", and has worked with filmmakers named by the Diversity In Cannes as Top Ten Filmmakers of the Decade. Currently, Shannon is an intern with CBS Documentary Studios and is a Junior Producer for Martin Agency.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
ABOUT THE STORY
SEX, VLOGS, AND KIDNAPPINGS is a five-episode dark comedy web series about a girl named Patricia who decides to start a vlog in order to give advice on how people can improve their sex lives. Fed up with her own hit or miss sex life and tired of hearing the sad, weird, and genuinely awful stories from her friend's sex life, Patricia starts to realize that there are many problems at play: lack of communication, fear of getting things wrong, and well... men. Setting out to correct the wrongs of the world, Patricia decides to start the vlog in order to show both men and women how they can serve each other better in the bedroom. By using examples from her and her friend's personal life, she is actually able to segue into sound advice on how to improve one's interactions with their sexual partners. And, everything is going perfectly until the guy she slept with goes missing... and then a guy her friend slept with goes missing.. and well.. you get it.
As things get away from Patricia quicker and quicker, she is going to have to decide what's real and what's fake and what's helpful and unhelpful if she really wants to improve people's lives both on and off the vlog screen.
WHERE THIS IDEA CAME FROM // WHY NOW?
I have always been a sex advocate. Sex is one of the most intimate expressions of love, pleasure, and who we are as humans. It's a natural human desire. It has always fascinated me how something so natural and pleasurable could be demonized in our society. Sure, we should always practice safe sex and be careful of who we choose as partners for a myriad of reasons in regards to physical and emotional safety, but we should also not be demonized, particularly women, for desiring joy from our sexual encounters.
In addition to that, I've found myself speaking to many people about sex, and because the topic has been taboo for so long, people are afraid to talk about it with their sex partners! Because of this, many women are left unsatisfied in the bedroom and many men are left to believe that they are doing a good job. I believe if we talked to each other more and figured out the needs and desires of our partners, everyone involved could have more exciting, life-changing experiences! WE SHOULD ALL BE HAVING WAYYY MORE FUN IN THE BEDROOM!
And, because our society becomes more and more liberated by the day, this is the most perfect time to create a show like this, as it pushes us to try to understand each other better. Let's make the bedroom more pleasurable, more liberating, and more freeing -- let's all release ourselves from the shackles of MEDIOCRITY!
But wait... where did the KIDNAPPING aspect come from?: Well, I always love a good genre-bend (more on this below), but I also wanted to explore the different ways sexual trauma can take effect and what it can cause people to do. And, sometimes, bad things happen to good people which just causes more bad things. Sex is just as much a mental and emotional experience as it is a physical one and I want to explore the good, bad, and funny of that.
WHO IS MAKING THIS THING?
WHY ME?
KYLA SYLVERS: ACTRESS, WRITER, PRODUCER, & DIRECTOR
As a woman, I have found myself stifled in many situations, but as a Black woman, it's even worse. Black women are often over-sexualized and fetishized throughout both the media and everyday life. People have assumed I was sexually active since middle school (I was not) and grown men used this as reasoning to both flirt with me and demean me. I have also been fetishized by men of other races, been called a tease for telling men I had no sexual attraction to that I didn't want to have sex with them, and much, much more.
This series is finally allowing me to explore sex and intimacy in my own way without someone telling me who I can and cannot be. I, along with so many women around me, deserve to be free of the shackles of "sex taboos" and step into the role of liberated sex goddesses! Lol.
BONUS: I'm an award-winning filmmaker! I am a proven artist who has had my work screened at OVER 50 VIRTUAL CINEMAS, MULTIPLE FESTIVALS, and I was recently FEATURED IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE IN AN ARTICLE ABOUT BRINGING LITERAL BLACK GIRL MAGIC TO THE SCREEN. I have also bent genres before as my last film was a supernatural horror-thriller, and I have other genre-bending projects in development. You can read the ESSENCE ARTICLE and WATCH OUR PROJECTS here: https://linktr.ee/melaninandmagicproductions
MORE ABOUT MY TEAM
SHANNON N BROWN: Shannon N. Brown is a filmmaker, writer, director & producer. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and an alumna of Fisk University where she obtained a BA in English. Shannon developed her love of media arts at an early age. She began her media career in 2014 with the establishment of her YouTube channel and photography and videography courses. Upon deciding to follow her passion of film/tv production with pursuing a Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard University, Shannon's credits include sound mixing, and script supervising for several films such as "The Problem With Erin", "Seeking Equanimity", "Pieces", "Kindred Spirits" and "Lady" which she wrote, produced, directed, and edited. Her production company Black Film Queen Studios founded in 2019, uplifts and connects Black women filmmakers and produces films written, directed, and produced by Black women. Upon finishing her Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard in 2020, with honors, Shannon has accomplished achievements such as being a finalist for the Home Depot & African American Film Critics Association 72- Hour Film Challenge, internships with EICOP HBCU In LA, and Allied Global Marketing. She has also written for the award-winning web series "Adultin Series", and has worked with filmmakers named by the Diversity In Cannes as Top Ten Filmmakers of the Decade. Currently, Shannon is an intern with CBS Documentary Studios and is a Junior Producer for Martin Agency.
DANAE GRANDISON: Danae Grandison is a writer, director, and producer born in Kingston, Jamaica. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a Masters in Directing and her third short film. There she studied with Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris. Grandison has produced award-winning short films, branded content, and music videos. Grandison is currently in development with Unspoken as her first feature-length film. She participated in the 2019 inaugural Australian International Screen Forum’s Women in Screen Workshop and her screenplay was a finalist at Anchorage International Film festival. Grandison is a member of NYWIFT, IFP turned Gotham, JAFTA (Jamaica Film and TV Association), and IEFTA.
INSPIRATION
This series is a mash-up of SEARCH PARTY, SEX EDUCATION, EASY A, and INSECURE. A little bit of dark-comedy that reflects the current state of our world (SEARCH PARTY), a little bit of educating people about sex via the lens of actual sexual experiences (SEX EDUCATION), a little bit of vlogging (EASY A), and a little bit of Black women friendship and exploring life (INSECURE).
TIMELINE
We are shooting this summer, starting the second weekend in July, and we plan to release the series in late Fall.
CROWDFUNDING NOW? WHY? HOW WILL YOU BE SAFE?
Many artists have been out of work due to COVID and many people on our growing team are ecstatic about this project and want to start getting back to work. Contributing to this campaign not only allows us to create the art we love, but to pay the artists a wage in order to create what they love. So many of us lost wages during COVID, so being able to get paid again is also something that will be beautiful and super helpful.
IMPORTANT NOTES: We will only be hiring vaccinated people for our production and will require proof of vaccination and negative COVID tests before arriving to set. Our producer, Shannon, is also a trained COVID compliance officer, so we will have hand sanitizer, wipes, and more.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
YOUR SUPPORT! :) We are a passionate group of storytellers who simply need people who are as passionate about us and this story as we are! If that is you, we would love a contribution from you! You can contribute $10.. $20.. whatever you have! But, if you can spare $50 or more, we would love that! :)
WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING
PAYING OUR CAST AND CREW
RENTING EQUIPMENT
RENTING LOCATIONS
FEEDING OUR CAST AND CREW
PAYING OUR POST-PRODUCTION TEAM
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS: SOCIAL MEDIA PROMO, TRAILER CREATOR, & GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR POSTER
POST-PRODUCTION: EDITOR, COLORIST, SOUND DESIGNER, COMPOSER
INSURANCE, PROPS, TRANSPORTATION OF EQUIPMENT, HARD DRIVE, SPECIFIC COSTUME NEEDS, ETC.
FOLLOW US!
Instagram: @melaninandmagicproductions
Facebook: Melanin & Magic Productions
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Paying The Producers
Costs $2,000
The producers make the web series happen. Without them, nothing gets made.
Paying the cast
Costs $1,750
We have to pay our actors to perform. They give their all on set.
Paying Crew
Costs $4,775
We can't shoot without our crew. DP, sound, gaffer, AD, Assistant camera, script supervisor, etc.
Equipment Rental
Costs $2,000
We need specific equipment in order to shoot something of quality.
Craft Services
Costs $1,000
We need to feed our cast and crew because it's right, but it's also good for the soul!
Miscellaneous
Costs $650
All other costs. Insurance, COVID-related items, props, promo posters, trailer creation, etc.
Share this update!
About This Team
KYLA SYLVERS
Kyla Sylvers is an actress, writer, and producer who currently resides in NYC. A true nerd who is originally from Chicago, Kyla has found her voice while being in New York. In 2017, she co-founded Melanin & Magic Productions in the hopes of putting black women’s voices at the forefront of their narrative. So far, the company has done just that. Kyla has an award-winning short, The Black Banshee, which she co-starred in, produced, and wrote. The short was recently chosen as part of the Emerging Black Filmmakers Collection with Full Spectrum Features and other collaborators and has been distributed at over 50 virtual cinemas across the country. The project was also featured in ESSENCE MAGAZINE where it was part of an article that discussed bringing literal Black Girl Magic to the screen. She also co-produced and starred in the acclaimed short film, The Way Out. In addition, she wrote, produced, and co-starred in the well-received YouTube web series, Finding Our Way.
With all of these projects, Kyla is bending genres, taking risks, and making stories her way. Up next is the supernatural horror-thriller TV series, The Black Banshee, which was recently an ISA Fast Track finalist. She also has a half-hour sci-fi comedy, a fantasy series that was a Sundance and Macro TV pilot semi-finalist, and a feature-length sci-fi comedy about our education system. She’s excited to keep expanding and subverting the expectation of what black women can do in this business and this world. The nerd in her would be proud.
DANAE GRANDISON
Danae Grandison writer, director, and producer born in Kingston, Jamaica. She graduated from School of Visual Arts with a Masters in Directing and her third short film. Here she studied with Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris. Grandison has produced award-winning short films, branded content, and music videos. Grandison is currently in development with Unspoken as her first feature-length film. She participated in the 2019 inaugural Australian International Screen Forum’s Women in Screen Workshop; the screenplay was a finalist at the Anchorage International Film festival. Grandison is a member of NYWIFT, IFP turned Gotham, JAFTA (Jamaica Film and TV Association) and IEFTA.
SHANNON N. BROWN
Shannon N. Brown is a filmmaker, writer, director & producer. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois and an alumna of Fisk University, where she obtained a Bachelor's of Arts in English. Upon deciding to follow her passion of film/tv production with pursuing a Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard University, Shannon's credits include sound mixing, and script supervising for several films such as "The Problem With Erin" ,"Seeking Equanimity", "Pieces", "Kindred Spirits" and "Lady" which she wrote, produced, directed, and edited. Upon finishing her Master's Of Fine Arts in Film at Howard in 2020, with honors, Shannon has accomplished achievements such as being a finalist for the Home Depot & African American Film Critics Association 72- Hour Film Challenge, internships with EICOP HBCU In LA, and Allied Global Marketing. She has also written for the award-winning web series "Adultin Series", and has worked with filmmakers named by the Diversity In Cannes as Top Ten Filmmakers of the Decade. Currently, Shannon is an intern with CBS Documentary Studios and is a Junior Producer for Martin Agency.