Today we’d like to introduce you to Rasheed Green.
Hi Rasheed, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My brother (R. Saeed Green) and I were always into expressing ourselves through entertainment. Eventually, we began focusing on film because it seemed to cover more parameters (visual, storytelling, audio, etc.) than other forms of entertainment. So, we began investing in film equipment… After learning the equipment and also studying cinematography, set design, lighting, sound, and everything else necessary, we started filming in out tint shop. We filed a science fiction short, which we though would take around two weeks. It ended up taking about two years. When we were finally done, the positive reviews started piling up We took it to Cannes in France and the big boys took notice, but we didn’t have a feature-length script. So we decided to work on a project that we could continuously build on and finance ourselves. We found Langley Cornwell and filmed a seven-minute comedy short and showed it at The Screening Room ATL. We had no idea what to expect. The people absolutely loved it. So, we made some adjustments and named it “The Urbans”.
Alright, 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 to where we are now was extremely tough. Besides financing, it took a lot of time writing, editing and producing the first six episodes of The Urbans. It was especially tough because we also ran a business full time – which is how we financed The Urbans. One of the things that was the most difficult was getting people to take our projects seriously. Not many quality performers are eager to jump on board with unproven writers/directors. But, after making sure that the first episode was polished and of a respectable standard, people began to take notice. Once actors realized that we weren’t going to embarrass them, they were much more willing to participate.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
First off, make sure you watch The Urbans – currently streaming on Tubi!
To answer your question, when it comes to the parts my brother (R. Saeed) and I play, we both write, direct and produce our films. But my brother is the only one of us two that acts in The Urbans. I, on the other hand, do nearly all of the editing for our projects up to this point. I am most proud of editing. When I upload the footage and sound, it’s all over the place. You have to sift through tons of footage to find what you like. And often, you find gems in the footage that wasn’t planned in the script. It’s so much gratification that comes from seeing the final product.
As far as what sets us apart, we’ve been told that we have a unique way of processing comedy. It’s not in your face. In the industry, it would be considered “Deadpan” comedy. It’s not ‘laugh out loud’ most of the time. It’s more of a ‘what the hell was that?’ type of comedy. And when you have two great comedians like Rodney Perry and Tyler Craig saying that your comedy is special, it does something to you. Even Clifton Powell loved the writing. He kept asking, “who wrote this stuff? This is my kind of comedy.”
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Atlanta is home for us. The love that the city has shown us – there’s nothing like it. We were raised in different parts of GA. And we’ve been here since high school. Also, our business is a fixture here. My heart will always be in the ‘A.’
The only thing I can think of that I don’t like about the city is that it rarely snows during the holidays! The city should try to snow more during the Christmas season. And, I guess more water would be a plus. Then again, I probably wouldn’t utilize it anyway.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tubitv.com/series/300009374/the-urbans?start=true
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greencompanypictures/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greencompanypictures/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/OeBw-s0jVvc
- Other: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8184302/
