Former journalist and brand integration strategist Darralynn Hutson, has turned what could have been disaster into opportunity and together with partner Mike G. Negri has established Chapter 3 TV, a new online network based in Detroit and New York. Hutson’s first film, a documentary on Langston Hughes, met with great success. Chapter 3 TV offers original program content in five-minute webisodes exclusively geared toward African American women between 18 to 45. Here’s what Hutson told rolling out about the project. –roz edward
What was the impetus for creating the show?
The governor of Michigan after taking office immediately capped the state’s tax incentive program for filmmakers and it really stalled the film industry [in Michigan]. I was working at [Maxar Digital Studio] at the time, and about two weeks into his plan he started saying, “we don’t have any money and we probably won’t,” so I thought I should start looking for another job. But I didn’t really want to work for anybody else. … I had developed partnerships with corporate brands … so I said, ‘Hey I’m starting a small company and I’d liked to pitch something to you,” and that’s kind of how the company was started.
How did you get the show off the ground?
The very first show is called “The Girls Bathroom.” [The show is] about four teenage girls who make a pact and meet in the girls’ bathroom at school before the first period. That particular show was originally created for Upscale magazine … I was talking with Bernard Bronner [of Bronner Bros. Inc.] about creating a Web show, and he said, “We want to go after a younger audience and we are about to enter the digital realm.”
Please tell us about your program content.
I already knew which four girls I wanted to use in the show, I’d met them at another event in Detroit. I asked them to write out their own characters, and three of the four mentioned molestation in their write-ups
We made that the root of the topic. One of the girls is molested and the other girls find out what happened. They form a pact and they do something about it. … They also commit to being better by their senior year and they hold each other accountable.
Why the bathroom?
We were able to integrate a lot of black hair care and makeup products in that way. We wanted them to be able to access those things. And the reason for the bathroom in the school is because we were launching around September and wanted it to be centered around school. … We are going to end season one around Halloween.
