Tea for Creatives: Lande Yoosuf
Meet Lande Yoosuf, the founder of One Scribe Media, a New York City based company specializing in storytelling. Brooklyn-born and influenced by her Nigerian-American heritage, Lande began the journey into the entertainment industry while still in college, and has worked with Miramax Films, Lifetime Networks, ABCs 20/20 Primetime, MTV, VH1, and BET. Follow her on Twitter @OneScribeMedia for casting, production, writing, and other media needs!Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?
Creativity involves pushing yourself, going where no one dares to go. But not for the sake of being different and more so for being authentic to your own self. It’s key to remember that ideas are a commodity—but it’s each person’s different delivery that distinguishes us from one another.
Creativity inspires my career because I always find myself communicating with different types of people from all walks of life. But I thought there was a fixed template in which I had to relate to those people. Once I understood that being myself is the best way to connect to others as a Casting Director, Producer, Host, Consultant and Teacher, I realized that I was on to something. If I don’t believe that my services are unique, why would anyone else? They will just spend their money elsewhere.
How do you navigate the creative process?It all starts with an idea. Then the idea needs to be mapped out on paper—the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Presentation is key, I aim for professionalism as much as possible.
I leave the idea alone for a day or two, go back and then ask trusted mentors or friends for feedback. I revise according to the feedback that works best and then it’s time for execution! I read articles and books related to my idea along the way for extra pointers.
After execution, I use technology via social media, e-mail and text. Word of mouth is always great too. Then things start to have a ripple effect.
Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?
It’s usually my casting work that becomes difficult. Once you feel like you’ve done enormous outreach, contacted everyone and still hit a brick wall, it’s time to change gears. Sometimes that involves changing your approach and contacting different types of people to spread the word. It’s about communicating the opportunity in a way that appeals to the interests of those that are auditioning. And then you have to be aggressive in your follow up.
It’s the golden principle of try something one way, then recharging and doing it another way once you realize the initial method isn’t effective. That’s how life works on so many levels!
Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?Everything inspires me—good and bad. I have a bunch of figures that inspire me positively. As a matter of fact, my favorite genre of books are autobiographies. There are components of everyone’s story that fascinate me and help me understand the key elements of success. Negativity inspires because it identifies a problem which then encourages solution-oriented ideas.
“Life is too short”. It really is true. There’s nothing worse than an unfulfilled life.
The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for more conversations on creativity.
Tags: casting, casting calls, Creativitea, creativity, lande yoosuf, new york, one scribe media, Possibiliteas, production, tea for creatives
Eric Allen
| #
This was a great interview. I have learned so much reading this.
Tanya
| #
Talented woman! Nothing but success in her future!
Nurray Yoosuf
| #
Great interview.
Adeola Ajala
| #
What an amazing woman, seems like she is on the right path to success.
Sharon debruce barnes
| #
Enjoyed the interview