Meet Jamall McMillan of McMillan-Smith Visual Enterprises in Kennesaw

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamall McMillan.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started drawing and painting when I was two years old and from an early age, I had a deep passion for the arts. At the age of 5, I had a vision for making the largest arts-based corporation in the world. After that, I became fascinated with everything in the arts ranging from architecture, computer graphics, to film. My parents were both artists so you could say that it’s in my genetics but I was the first of my entire family to push for a future career in the arts. They made sure that I went to the top schools for art and design and consistently pushed me to get better. Since Elementary school, I won multiple awards for my art, participated in a variety of exhibitions, and even sold my art.
One thing that has always pushed me is that I’m very competitive. I want to be the best at everything that I do. Growing up, fine art was the primary focus of what I did as I had a desire to become the greatest artist in the world. I’ve always known that was subjective but it motivated me to always strive to get better. Since I was always in a top school for the arts, I was surrounded by a ton of amazing artists that really made me want to get better. I had a slight (very slight but many would say huge) ego. I tended to move around so much after my mom remarried so it was difficult to make friends at times but my art always got me a lot of attention and eventually, when I transferred high schools in 9th grade I found myself in a place that really helped to give me some direction. I ended up going to Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Ga and my art teach Danny Campbell really took me under his wing right off the bat. My first day there he had me show my portfolio from my previous school and draw a still life so I could demonstrate my capabilities. As everyone stood around me, I started to gain a level of confidence in myself that I’ve carried to this day. He was working to develop his own business and one day challenged me and a group of friends that I had made during my time there to develop our own business.

Thus, at that very moment, the vision for MS Visual Enterprises (MSVE) was laid out. The dream of a five year old boy now had a name. At that time, I barely knew anything about business. My dad Lamar Smith forced me one day, literally forced me to write out my articles of incorporation based on his own business model. He started mentoring me in business and helped me to lay a stronger foundation for what we wanted to do. I started small with making logos for various clients. However, I had no clue how to use any computer programs, so I ended up drawing out everything.

It wasn’t until college that things really started to take off. I had been freelancing for years under the name of MSVE but it wasn’t an actual credited business. So in 2010, we actually filed and secured our name and established the business properly. It was a great feeling to finally say that I was a true business owner. Also in college, the second division of the company was established. While sitting in my Intro to World Religions class, I created our first clothing line called Unwavering Faith™, a faith-based clothing line with over 100 items. It started with just a simple logo concept and has grown into something more. In college, I took a variety of courses ranging from drawing and painting to acting for theatre to graphic design (I finally learned how to use all of the programs I avoided) to religious studies which had a greater impact on what we’re doing presently with the company.

After graduation, I had to really focus on what I wanted to do and my desire has always been to never have to work for anyone but to create a corporation that would present opportunities in the various art disciplines for others. I eventually started working on film sets as a background extra and since I love to talk, I would network with many directors and producers and actors who poured a wealth of knowledge into me. Ava Duvernay was the first director who really took the time to speak to me on the set of Selma and inspired me to really start making my own movies since I had a passion for directing.

Once I got an agent, Tonya Hensley of TDH Talent, I started to dive more into developing content. Only problem I didn’t have the patience for screenwriting. After a lot of prayer and waiting, I met two people David Buller and Colton Duke who have become a producer and screenwriter, respectively. We started working our first feature film which tipped off our flagship company EnVz Productions. The first film was called Back to One and centered around a dancer with the foundation of the Prodigal Son narrative in the Bible. After the first day of filming, we were hooked. We didn’t have a budget or anything so I shot the entire feature film on my iPhone 6s Plus. I didn’t know anything about angles or directing but we made it work and I eventually started getting a grasp for it all. Immediately after finishing that film, we started work on our second film Sustained, which we have received a distribution deal and is now available on Amazon Prime. Sustained also was the first film that we released because I was so much of a perfectionist that I felt Back to One wouldn’t of been a great introduction into what we were able to do. When we did Sustained’s premiere, we were nervous because no one hadn’t seen anything that we had done yet so there was no telling how people would receive it. However, we had a packed out house and a standing ovation at the end. After that, people were practically begging us to continue to make projects and we had a ton of submissions from actors who wanted to work with us. Since that premiere, we have created nearly ten films, 3 of them being features. Our most recent feature film that we were hired to develop was a reboot of the first feature film that I was cast in called When A Woman Loves A Man by Kei Laguins. This was the first time that I was hired to create a film for someone else. It was great because I got to work with a brand new cast and she gave me creative control to revamp the story to make it fresh and add a new spin to it. That film has also received distribution and is on Amazon Prime.

Currently, we have made major changes to what we’re doing with the business. EnVz Productions will now be a subsidiary of what is known as EnVz Studios. We are building separate divisions to focus on creating content for different genres and brands and were in development and starting production of 5 new films, 3 of them being shorts and two features, RELENTLESS and SUSTAINED 2: JUSTIFIED. Due to the body of work that we have had we have received interest from producers and investors who are looking to push capital into the business so we can make movies for theatrical and television release.

We have grown to the point that we have a full board of directors and Presidents who run the current divisions of the business; Film/TV Production, Vision Graphics, Jamall Rashaud Art, Unwavering Faith™ and our newest division, the literary arts, which will be releasing our first magazine Infinite Vision Magazine, spearheaded by Maria Rochelle. My parents Sandra McMillan-Smith and Lamar Smith are the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Executive Officer respectively. We are gearing up for a new film premiere later this year and going into our two features starting in the first quarter of next year along with having our second MSVE Expo which will highlight everything that we are doing with the business for the future. Its amazing that a vision given by God to a five year old boy is becoming a full reality at the age of 31. We have achieved a lot but are still pushing for the full manifestation of it all.

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 definitely been tough but worth it. The biggest struggle that we have had to face is knowing what we wanted to do and how to do it. For so many years, we dealt with setbacks because we didn’t know what we wanted to do with the things we were trying to establish. Once we really developed a plan and found people that knew how to do the things we aspired to do, that gave just us the course correction that we needed.

McMillan-Smith Visual Enterprises LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What is amazing about MSVE is that it is a corporation that focuses on the arts in a way to provide opportunities for others. Yes, it is a for-profit business but our primary focus has always been to create an avenue for people to use their gifts and talents in whatever discipline of the arts that they so desire. The company is broken down as such:

Visionex Graphics: Graphics design, corporate branding, illustrations
Jamall Rashaud Arts: My fine arts company that manages the buying and curation of my work
EnVz Studios: Film and Television division of the company along with our newest business Starmaker Studios, a one-stop shop for actors and business professionals in which we offer a variety of services such as headshots, demo reels, commercial reels, etc.
Keyera Publishing: Literary division which produces Infinite Visions Magazine and our books
Unwavering Faith™:Faith based clothing line with over 100 items.

What I am most proud with this business revolves around the people that have come together to make this vision a reality and continue to utilize their gifts and talents to make it more than what I could’ve ever imagined. What sets us apart is our passion and vision. We have no limitations and love helping people to see their dreams become a reality and to provide avenues to do what they love.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far would have to be the premiere of Sustained. Again we had no idea how it would be received and it was truly a journey to even get to that point. It took us a year to shoot the movie and I was editing the whole thing myself. That movie is a true testament of what happens when you give God your best and leave the rest up to Him. That film has opened up so many doors for so many people and helped to truly launch our production company. Hearing people laugh, yell, and cry made all of that hard work worth it. People came up after the premiere and said that the movie changed their life. That meant more and continues to mean more to me than any amount of money we could make from the film.

Pricing:

• Clothing line: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/unwaveringfaith/
• Art Work: ranges from 500-5000
• We also produce short films and other projects based on various budgets

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thejrm.com
• Email: jamall.mcmillan@msve.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamallrashaud/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamall.mcmillan
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamallrashaud
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/envzstudios/

Image Credit:
©2019 Starmaker Studio’s (Talent development division of EnVz Studios) Photographer: Jamila Dyon Smith

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