We had the good fortune of connecting with Tina McCoy Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Tina, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always been an artist. It’s what comes naturally to me. I grew up writing, singing in with my church choir, and painting in my spare time. I had friends, but I spent a lot of time alone just creating with whatever I could get my hands on. Then I joined band and played clarinet, and started doing theatre. I’ve just always been drawn to the arts, so I figured, why not make a career of it.
Now as a filmmaker, I feel like my artistic process is more complex. There’s a lot of admin work to be done before the art. Lately, our company has been producing more films, and after the script is done, comes the planning. You have to pick locations and make lighting plots just to plan how you want the film to look. I’m still getting to use my creative muscle, but it’s bizarre how much time I spend in my office as opposed to outside just shooting.
What should our readers know about your business?
I’m co-founder of Brayvhouse (Brave-house). We’re a production company in Atlanta that specializes in narrative film, as well as corporate videos, industrial, and content creation/ads for small businesses. I believe what sets us apart from others is that, when it comes to partnering with businesses, we like to merge branding and narrative filmmaking. We use our ability of storytelling to make sure people know who these businesses are, where they come from, and why they do what they do.
I’m most excited about all the new connections we’ve made in the last year. There’s so many cool people we’re getting to collaborate with in the coming months and I’m just ecstatic to gain a new perspective and help other creatives bring their vision to life.
Since moving to Atlanta, I’ve been meeting people that I didn’t know would be important to my growth as an artist/business owner. There are people in my life that I started out hanging at parties with, and now we work on each other’s productions, so the growth was effortless and sort of fun.
The only challenges we’ve faced as a business is that not everyone understands/respects freelancers efforts and will run off with your check. There’s a few unpaid invoices in my square that will remain there so that I can remember not to send the work until the invoice is paid. haha.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is that you can’t do things alone. Well, you can, but they’re a lot harder. It’s ok to ask (the right people) for help.
What I want the world to know about our business/brand is that we love the work we do. Let us know when you’re ready to work with us, and we’ll show up, tools (camera) in hand.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My best friend just visited and we went on a food tour! I love food, especially ramen, so I took her to Jinya Ramen. We also ate Egusi at Little Lagos on Buford Hwy in Atlanta. If I were to create a proper itinerary, I’d be sure we went to Controllerise on Monday. It’s an event for people that like anime, video games, and live (lofi) beats. Through the week, I’d be sure to take her to Shakespeare’s Tavern for dinner and a play, go to Vickery Creek in Roswell for a nature hike, and thrift at Rag-o-rama. I have some favorite bars in the city too. Joystick is always a fave. It’s a game bar on Edgewood ave that has good bar snacks and a frozen blackberry bramble. We just shot a short film there and they were so cool about all the commotion. Ormsby’s is cool if you like bocce ball and board games. I’m sure I’m all over the place, but so are all of my favorite spots in Atlanta. Haha. You can mostly find me enjoying theatre or grabbing a meal though.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I don’t know where to begin. Everyone in my community has always been so supportive. Haha. My P-Hill family for sure. My parents and siblings. All the McCoys, my friends from The RIGHT Right one. They know who they are. My friends from the U of Mississippi, the Greenwalds, and especially my partner Kaleb. Nothing would get done if I didn’t have any one of these people’s encouragements. It takes a village to raise you.
Also, last year, my friend Amber lent me a copy of The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho that completely changed my view of the world inside me and I think it’s an important piece of literature for creatives. For ANYONE really. It just helped me to realize that the power to achieve comes from within. 90% of my creative fuel came from those last few chapters of the book. I’ll probably read it again.
Website: brayvhouse.com
Instagram: instagram.com/loovetinaa or instagram.com/brayvhouse
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/brayvhouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitchellmediateam/
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Brayvhouse?si=i0I26HKwZrImzDEU
Image Credits
All photo cred to Terence Rushin, Deja Samuel, and Lance Parker