Today we’d like to introduce Marvens Jean-Baptiste, Future Pirate King.
Marvens, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Haiti. I moved to Miami when I was eight. I was always fascinated by cartoons. I was a religious follower of Cartoon Network, Nick, and Disney. I was always curious about how they made the cartoons move or what the actors had to do beforehand. I was young, so I never knew what to call it. After trying to appease my family and going the college route, I decided to stop midway and become a flight attendant. Even then, I wasn’t too happy.
And always talked about writing and creating scripts. And one of my close friends, Zoe told me to just stop talking about it and start. So I did. I wrote and decided I’ll figure out what to do after. Initially, I thought to become a novelist, but I wanted my novels to translate well into film. So I decided to learn to write film first as writing a novel is very hard and I want to take my time with it. Learning how to write scripts turned into learning how to film with a camera, to learning how to edit, to learning different set positions.
Basically, I’ve bitten off a bit more than I could chew, but I love every minute because I’m learning to do exactly what I always wondered about as a kid since cartoons and such took such a big part of it. I want to grasp the basics of every position on a set, so when I write or direct, I can know what everyone is supposed to be doing. My goal is to ultimately create very interesting and versatile content, such as musicals, silent films, anime, etc. I ultimately want to be the King of the Pirates. Which is a goal in my favorite anime of One Piece translates to the freest person on the planet. That is all that I am chasing.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No road is ever a smooth one. But I would say the biggest obstacle I’ve faced is just people actually wanting to work. In the digital age, it’s hard to find people who truly have the work ethic and patience to see something develop. Nothing happens overnight. I’ve found people want instant gratification, or they just aren’t really as dedicated to learning.
Another thing I’ve found is at least in the south Florida film society is that most groups tend to stick to themselves and aren’t willing to really collaborate and diversify their skill sets. So it makes it difficult when you’re new and trying to work. With that being said, I believe that most obstacles can be conquered with unyielding perseverance. Everyday there will he obstacles. The greatest one is finding a way to keep the passion every day, especially when there are no results to show for your hard work. That’s where a strong mind and belief in yourself is needed. A friend of mine once told me, “you can work for someone else and work hard to make them money, or you can work for yourself and work hard to make you money; either way it’s going to take the same amount of work.” And that always resonated with me. If I’m going to be waking up at 6 am everyday, it may as well be to make my dreams come true. What’s the worst that could happen right?
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I specialize in writing. I can write pretty much any kind of content you need. Commercial. Music video, skit, short. You name it, you can write it. And my proudest achievement now is just the fact that I’m working and putting my work out there. I guess what sets me apart is my unwavering will to achieve my goal and my willingness to learn. I have a one-track mind. To become the Pirate King.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I guess I would be described as quirky, eccentric, weird. My best friend, Bradley calls me an enigma all the time. I was very into a lot of shows, comic books, novels. I read constantly. My mind was never on earth. It was always in my imagination because I was using it 24/7. Becoming the pirate king is something that started from my imagination. But it’s something that I’m actually trying to live in real life simply because being free to adventure through life sounds fun.
Contact Info:
- Email: mjean149@gmail.com
- Instagram: @m.h._larsen
Image Credit:
@btsfilms
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