Meet Patrick Ladonis of iamPLS Productions in Old Fourth Ward

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Ladonis.

Patrick, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My first real experience with filmmaking came over 20 years ago when I caught the attention of the director, Joel Schumacher, who was in Canton, MS, on-location filming the John Grisham novel turned film, A Time To Kill. It was a real like movie experience for me. The story plays out like a scene from a movie, a young teen going to get his driver’s license spotted by a Hollywood director, and the rest is history. Although my role was a small one, there was an impression left on me, that would bring me to where I am today as creative.

The small role was a contract role, which provided me a trailer with my name on the door as well as an exclusive interview with Dan Rather of then CBS news series, 48 Hours. The experience of seeing what a director does, understanding the role of a grip, was at the time a crash course in filmmaking 101 for me. I would carry that passion with me when I began my education at Tougaloo College. I relied on watching films by Spike Lee and understanding what “guerrilla filmmaking was. During this time, I was also an avid horror film fanatic and loved the work of Wes Craven. Nightmare on Elm Street remains one of my all-time favorite horror films. Hence my first film on campus was a horror film titled, “When Evil Awakes.” It was on-the-job training to make the film. I wrote, produced, and cast this small picture with a budget of $250 provided by my mom and aunt. Later, I would get help from my classmates to put on a red carpet premiere on campus.

As campy as the film may have been, it was something about seeing how audiences responded, that I really hoped I would be able to do one day again. Fast forward to 2017. I had not picked up a pen to write or a camera to film since my college days. Knowing what could happen to a dream differed, I sought out film-related projects to participate in to see if I still had the creative gene left. I entered the AT&T 48 Hour film competition, and it reignited that passion in filmmaking. In this competition, I had to write a script, film and then edit within 48 hours with a group of total strangers. I wrote this script titled “Alternative Facts,” a dark comedy about three friends named Nancy, Bernie, and James, who spend an entire day chasing fake news believing them all to be real. Our team won, and it was sort of another confirmation that I never lost the creative gene because it had been there the entire time.

In September 2017, I felt ready to tackle something on a larger scale (no pun intended) but I wanted to create a digital series. I created SCALES. Using the experiences from my youth, and from my professional experiences, I began putting a team together to bring the story of SCALES to life. Little did I know, that It would truly be the catalyst of understanding what determination and a full-circle moment could be. During this time, Ava Duvernay had been leading the charge to hire women of color to be in the director’s chair more, and that became a charge that I wanted to see happen as well. I hired Shirley Norman, who direct season 1, SCALES represented a type of diversity and understanding that I felt needed to not only represent that message in front of the camera but behind it as well. I then connected with film editor Zain Jiwani and Director of Photography, Jacob Ross. Imagine the beauty of a team that was comprised of an African-American female director, a Film editor who was Indian and Pakistani descent, and a Jewish Cinematographer. We were the A-team!

In February 2018, SCALES season 1 was filmed over two weekends! 12-14 hours days and 60 pages later, a show was complete. Reflecting on my college experience, I knew I wanted a premiere. I needed to see if I could create magic with an audience again and see how well it resonates with people. As a member of The Gathering Spot, I immediately begin working on planning the premiere from head to toe. I reached out to my friend Natassia, who served as our Assistant Director, and Public Relations person to help plan the event. Needless to say, we drew out a crowd of 300 that included many of my college buddies who drove hundreds of miles to show their support. I felt as if I was reliving my college days all over again. The premiere was a success! I moved to Atlanta in 2000, and the music industry was the center of all here. SCALES includes some of the best independent artists out there. Many were from Atlanta and that raw talent is seen and heard throughout the series.

In 2019, the magic returned as a second season for SCALES would prove that I wasn’t a one-hit-wonder/creative. The series would have its red carpet premiere, live entertainment, and move audiences in their seats as they continued to follow the journeys of these interesting characters that I created. SCALES has received several awards, and it received a pre-nomination for 46th Daytime Emmy Awards, a selection into the Charlotte Black Film & Music Awards, a nomination for the Indie Series Awards, and so much more. This journey continues and I’ve placed my feet on solid ground and looking forward to staying the course as I prepare to bring season 3 to everyone.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been smooth with a few speed bumps along the way. The largest challenge for a small production company is the challenge of financing. It’s a gamble to get people to invest, especially since it’s a chance that the return on investment could below. For season 1, I financed about 80% of the series, and for season 2, funds were raised through crowdfunding, donations, etc. It can feel weird asking strangers for money to invest in your work. Well, it used to, but now I’ve gotten more comfortable in who I am as an artist and what SCALES represents. I no longer feel that I don’t have a seat at the table. Instead, I know I do and I’m bringing my own chair.

Please tell us about iamPLS Productions.
iamPLS Productions is a small independent company that produces the SCALES series. I’m most proud that we have completed two seasons, gained over 1100 subscribers, and almost 100,000 views. I am also proud that my series has been licensed to two streaming services with a huge audience. SCALES is streaming on The On Channel, which is led by Emmy-nominated actor Brian J. White who also starred in the OWN series Ambitions. SCALES has also been licensed to REVRY, which is one of the largest LGBTQ+ global streaming platforms, which is available in over 100 million homes. Those two opportunities I am very proud of for the SCALES brand and my company. My company is different because it’s small and I understand the challenges of working with small budgets, therefore if I’m consulting another creative, I’m considerate of fees, and everything else that comes with getting a project off the ground.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I would say watching the daytime soaps with my grandmother. Spending time with her and hearing her get so caught up in her “stories” made me so happy. I think it’s probably where I got my passion for storytelling and creating things to excite and move audiences.

Pricing:

• SCRIPT Consulting 75$ per script

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iampls.com
• Phone: 4044418099
• Instagram: IG:iampatrickladonis
• Twitter: @SCALESSeries
• Other: http://youtube.com/c/SCALESthewebseries

Image Credit:
Photos by: Leah Photophraphy, Zain Jiwani, Cameron Dickson, and Patrick Ladonis

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