Order
the Video Now
The idea
for the Tell Me Who I Am video series was
created in 1991. Over the years many people have helped to
make it a reality. Here are some of them.
The Journey Begins:
| Creator & Executive
Producer |
Darryl Grayson |
| Writer/Producer |
Butch Berry |
| Writer |
Wayne
French |
| Director |
James A. Simon |
| Casting/Voice Director |
Kris
Zimmerman |
| Background Music |
Kenny Blank |
| Theme Song |
Thomas View |
| Educational Consultants |
Asa Hilliard,Ed.D. Lisa Delpit,Ed.D. Bernida
Thompson,Ed.D. Lanita Grayson-Logan, M.S.Ed. Janice Hale,
Ph.D., Karyn Barra, M.S. |
Cast Of Voices:
10 Questions
We put ten questions to
Darryl Grayson, the executive producer of Tell Me Who I Am
and the president of Positive Communications, Inc.
10
Questions is a feature where we ask someone involved in the
creation of Tell Me Who I Am ten questions. Readers may
send in questions via email. If your question is used, you will
receive a free T-shirt. Next 10 Questions interviewee:
Funzi, the Fuzzwuzz. Email your questions to: info@kidpositive.net
1)
What made you want to create Tell Me Who I Am?
Darryl
Grayson: I wanted to do something positive for children by
combining entertainment and education. I wasn’t sure what, but
one day as I was walking through Blockbuster with my daughter,
Nia, we rented a series of educational videos called Tell Me
Why. Then it clicked: Tell Me Who I Am, a video
series to teach kids who they are from a historical perspective
by using real ancestral role models. We then spent years
developing the concept and script for the first episode.
2) Who is your favorite character? (from Tyson Smith, Gardena,
California)
DG:
I don’t really have a favorite. I like them all.
3) Do you have a family?
DG: Yes.
I have a wife, Shawn, and three daughters: Nia - 14, Kinaya - 5
and Kita - 4.
4) Just what is a "fuzzwuzz" anyway?
(from Allan Brathway, Washington, DC)
DG:
Well, I’m not quite sure. Funzi has an interesting history.
Several people have contributed to his creation. It started with
my wife, Shawn. I asked her to draw different animals who could
possibly fulfill the character’s role. Then Jay Hudson, an
artist, took from several ideas she had and drew a bunch of
other ideas. We ended up with—believe it or not—a
caterpillar! Then we stood him upright, gave him some dreads, a
necklace and a headband. He originally had these tentacles all
over his body. But Jim, our director of animation, explained how
difficult it would be to animate the tentacles, so we lost
those. Butch, our writer/producer shaped him up a bit and came
up with the idea to make his dreads magical. Then Jim smoothed
him out, changed his facial structure and put on some finishing
touches, and the current Funzi is what we ended up with. So what
is he? A fuzzwuzz. He’s Nia’s pet, given to her by her
father, Jamal. He has the information-storage capacity of a
high-powered computer. But he’s still young and just coming to
understand the value of this great gift.
5) Have you always wanted to be a producer?
DG:
No. I never wanted to be a producer in the strict sense of the
word. I wanted to be a creator, a teacher, someone who helps
children learn, develop and have fun all at the same time.
Professionally, I’ve always wanted to be involved in creating
images through media that impact people’s lives. If that
requires being a producer, so be it.
6) You created some of the songs in the show,
did you ever want to be a musician?
DG:
Not hardly. I just wanted to define the content of the message
being delivered. So I wrote some of the original lyrics along
with my wife, Shawn, our vice president, Thomas View and another
KidPositive team member, Condi Foster. Then they put music to
the words. Thomas and a team of producers both here in
Washington, DC and in Los Angeles helped us further develop the
songs, identify vocal performers and produce the final songs. We’re
going to do a version of The Mighty Dogon song that is
not currently on the video. The music on this version has more
of a working-song chant feel to it as opposed to the urban rap
version.
7) Where would you like to go if you had a
Timeship? (from Tiffany Berry, Baltimore,
Maryland)
DG: I
would go to ancient Egypt. I am fascinated by the depth of
knowledge from that time period. I would also go even further
back to pre-historic times with the dinosaurs. Finally, I would
go back to the 1960’s because I think that was such an
important time in our history, an important transformation in
cultural values.
8) Who do you like better Imhotep-Left or
Imhotep-Right? (from Hope Spencer, London,
England)
DG:
Definitely Imhotep-Left. I’m a logic-type guy.
9) Will Tell
Me Who I Am be in video stores soon?
DG: We
are trying now to get it in all stores where videos are sold. We
have to work through the perception by video buyers at the major
retailers that only major feature movies and popular TV shows
make for successful home video sales at retail. But we are
pleased that many of the African American book stores have led
the way in retail sales. Consumers should make sure Tell Me Who
I Am is available wherever they spend their dollars.
10) When
will we see the next episode?
DG:
We are currently working on the next three episodes. The next
one will be out in early 2000.
