FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION©
1) WHO IS OUR CLIENT BASE?
Major Hollywood studios, film producers and directors, television commercial producers, video game developers, nonprofits, and those in various fields of entertainment, media, and technology who seek solutions in their collaborations with, screen representation of, and hiring of racially and culturally diverse Deaf clients.
Many directors may have limited experience with Deaf people & Deaf culture but are open to learn and invest in creating or infusing tv shows and films with that are inclusive of visibly diverse Deaf casts such as Black Deaf, POC Deaf, and disabled actors/ producers/directors and also as well as hire the same demographic for behind the scenes positions.
2) WHY WAS DEAFTALENT® MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT CONSULTING (DTMEC) CREATED?
We are the first entertainment and media agency staffed with majority of Deaf consultants being Black Deaf, with a LGBTQ woman as the CEO. You will not find another agency that has a higher number of Black Deaf consultants anywhere else- we have the largest, bar none.
We know the BIPOC Deaf community and, as a liaison for that, we can consult and serve you in your efforts to have diverse and authentic Deaf cultural representation. These days, several Hollywood studios are asking how they can do well in understanding and filming Deaf people as the racially and culturally diverse people we are, thus avoiding whitewashing which can create problems for a show/film. We have strong LGBTQ and female representation as well.
3) WHAT DO WE DO?
We EDUCATE and ADVISE/CONSULT with studio executives, producers, video game developers, television commercial campaigns, nonprofit organizations, etc. on how to have authentic representation of marginalized racially and culturally diverse Deaf characters and/or crew members on their projects.
We also consult on how to best film ASL and/or Black American Sign Language (BASL) so that the actors’ literal words that are translated by their signing hands isn’t omitted on the tv/film screen or out of focus (which is embarrassing—it’s akin to having the movie audio having static every time a hearing character is speaking) We may send people to monitor the tv or film script on set as ASL dialogue is happening on the screen during filming.
We educate studios on the importance of hiring more than a single ASL interpreter and especially those that fit culturally close with the character, as well as on how to communicate with Deaf professionals directly on set. We consult on how ASL interpreters work, what they are and are not responsible for, and what lag time means, how it shows up during meetings. An example of this is when we brought a team of interpreters to Sundance January 2020, we explained to a coordinator of Sundance Institute Accessibility how to best position space for the interpreters to have easier transition switching.
We consult with video game developers testing out motion capture technology to develop Black Deaf video game characters whose ASL and facial expressions are clear, accurate, and authentic to the Deaf character being a natural singer or the hearing character being new to ASL. This was done with the recent Miles Morales Spider-Man character for PlayStation 5 and the Black Deaf girl character in that same video game using ASL as her predominant language.
We provide solutions to ensure full accessibility for and cultural visibility of Black Deaf and POC Deaf people in media, entertainment, and technology on creative projects. We can assist with the education process derived from the lived experiences and expertise of racially and culturally diverse Black, POC, LGBT, and/or women consultants on staff. Most recent, Jade has given advice to a BlackDeaf and one Jewish LGBT filmmakers currently working on a powerful documentary focusing on segregation of BlackDeaf people on how to increase media visibility for fundraising purpose in Georgia.
4) HOW DO WE BEGIN TO USE YOUR SERVICES? WHO DO I GET IN TOUCH WITH IF I WANTED TO PROPOSE A POTENTIAL COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH DTMEC?
Contact CEO, Jade Bryan, at
Info@DeafTalent-Entertainment.com to schedule a consult with an access fee.
5) WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE DEAF TALENT® HASHTAG AND TRADEMARK?
The hashtag is a very effective viral tool that facilitates greater visibility of Black Deaf Talent and POC Deaf Talent in media, entertainment, and technology. Those looking to hire from a racially and culturally rich pool of Deaf Talent® will have a much easier time locating their work online.
6) HOW DO YOU KNOW HOLLYWOOD WANTS TO HIRE A DIVERSE POOL OF DEAF TALENT®?
On September 8, 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went to media and announced new representation and inclusion standards for a film to qualify for eligibility for the Best Picture category by the 96th Oscars in 2024. These sets of rules are Hollywood’s response to criticism that their Oscars are not racially diverse enough and do not allow for marginalized talent to be hired in front of and behind the camera.
Over the years, Hollywood have been contacting Black Deaf talents like Jade Bryan to find how they may facilitate greater accessibility and better hiring practices that don’t present just White Deaf characters on the tv or film screen, but shows a racially and culturally diverse existence where it reflects more of today’s reality. The outside world reality is that Deafness includes Black people and People of Color. Studio sets have asked Deaf employees where they may find ASL interpreters of color to hire on set because they realize that there are vibrant cultural stories to put on screen.
7) WHAT MAKES DTMEC A GREAT CONTACT FOR INCREASING ACCESSIBILITY?
Our consultants have lived experiences as Deaf people from racially and culturally rich backgrounds and/or as advocates and activists for many years. The fight for accessibility has made us advocate for and cheer for the underdog in media, entertainment, and technology. We believe change and diversity are due now.
We have always existed. We have always fought to be respected, hired, and visible. “Black deaf people in the United States often have diverse backgrounds and experiences. Among Black deaf people, 8.6% also identified as other races. The percentage of those identifying as Latinx is 3.7%.”(Postsecondary Achievement of Black Deaf People in the United States - 2019-, p.3,Garberoglio, Stapleton, Palmer, Simms, Cawthon, Sales).
Only 38.2% of Black Deaf people are employed in the United States, yet a higher percentage of Black Deaf people have more higher education credentials than white Deaf people, in other words - we have more training and yet are the least selected. And the culprit is the lack of accessibility, racism, sexism, ableism that exists in both the Deaf world and the hearing world. Yet, we never stopped fighting for the underdogs by fighting for ourselves. If you are Deaf BIPOC, we will fight alongside with you.
8) I AM AN UPCOMING ACTOR, WHERE DO I APPLY FOR SPONSORSHIP TO USE THE #DEAFTALENT® HASHTAG TRADEMARK?
Please fill out the
form for consideration.
11) WHY DID THE CREATOR/OWNER OF #DEAFTALENT® TRADEMARK THE HASHTAG? SHOULDN’T IT BE FOR EVERYONE?
It was created for two reasons: to stop the casting of hearing actors/actresses for deaf roles and to help Hollywood and the casting directors locate quality actors and other talents in media and entertainment who happen to be Black Deaf or POC.
What makes us stand out is our push for greater exposure of Black Deaf and POC Deaf existence in tv film, the media, gaming, and so forth.
12) WHAT QUALITIES AND TALENTS DOES DTMEC SEEK IN PEOPLE BEFORE DTMEC GRANTS LICENSING TO USE #DEAFTALENT®?
We seek highly talented Black and POC actors, and creatives who are professional, passionate, and dedicated to their craft and who have an awareness that Black Deaf people matter, and POC Deaf people matter, and know that we belong in media, entertainment, and technology worlds.
13) WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY “BIPOC DEAF CREATIVES”?
BIPOC Deaf Creatives are talented Black, Indigenous, And Other People Of Color professionals who work in creative fields like project development, content strategy, design, media, scriptwriting, gaming, film & television, learning, marketing, promoting, and advertising. Some may not work in the field as their main occupation but still produce creative works on the side.
We specialize in collaborating with these talented individuals. We consider these creatives to be part of our community and friends in the United States and, as well as international.
14) I DON’T HAVE ANY SAMPLES OR IDEAS OF WHAT I WANT, CAN YOU HELP ME?
Yes, definitely. Part of our services is to do research and come up with ideas, images, and plans which we will always consult and share with you to gain your thoughts. Whether you come up with materials for us or empty-handed, we will make sure the end result is something you will be satisfied with. We charge either an one-and-one or group consulting fee per hour.
15) GREAT! WE WOULD LIKE TO COLLABORATE! WHAT DOES THE PROCESS INVOLVE?
Mostly, the project process goes as:
• Contact us and give us a summarization of the project matter for us to get started.
• Getting a proposal done and a 50% deposit will be paid upfront and we begin!
• Once you’re pleased with the results, the remaining 50% of the payment needs to be cleared at the end of the gig, handing over the files and other deliverables.
16) IS A DTMEC CONTRACT REQUIRED? DO WE PAY UPFRONT OR MAKE DEFERRED PAYMENTS TO USE YOUR CONSULTING SERVICES?
By choosing our services, you are entering a contract with DTMEC that outlines our services and agreed-upon fees for them along with an agreed-upon timeline.
17) WHAT IS THE FEE FOR A GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING?
It depends on the scale of the project itself. Our initial consulting fee for individuals is $250 and $500 to meet with the group per hour. We offer day rates and project packaging consulting for up to 8 hours.
18) DOES DTMEC INCLUDE NON-POC CLIENTS?
YES. Although our platform puts a greater emphasis on elevating the Black and POC community, DTMEC is welcoming and open for all ethnicity groups for the campaign of diversity and use of our consulting services.
19) WHY WAS DTMEC FOUNDED?
Deaf Talent® Media & Entertainment Consulting, a division of Jade Films and Entertainment, LLC, is founded to help companies navigate through transformative change during this age of "representation matters.” With hundreds of projects involved in parts of the entertainment ecosystem, we consult clients on accessibility and creative developments in the arenas of media, entertainment, and technology.
Our roster holds a deep wealth of knowledge of Deaf and Disabled experiences and viewpoints involving education, pop cultures, languages, such as American Sign Language and Black American Sign Language, (ASL & BASL), History, literature, design, space, art, fashion, music, and more.
20) IS DTMEC FOCUSED ON THE DEAF COMMUNITY ONLY? IS DTMEC OPEN TO ALL?
DTMEC believes in being equally accessible to all who seek our consulting service. Therefore, we serve both Hearing clients and Deaf clients.
21) HOW MAY WE JOIN DTMEC’S TEAM AND SUPPORT DTMEC’S MISSION TO EXPAND?
DTMEC launched on January 6, 2021, so please give us time. However, you may send your resume/inquiry to
info@deaftalent-entertainment.com and we will get back to you.
22) WHERE MAY I ANONYMOUSLY REPORT MISUSE OF YOUR HASHTAG?
You may report misuse or trademark infringement to:
trademark@jadefilm.com. Please include identifying information that help us quickly find the link or post.