If anyone is having a successful week, it’s the creators of Grey Unicorn.
Grey Unicorn is a Philadelphia based media company founded by Temple grad student Christopher Fernando. It is clear that skill and creativity on their trailer for “I Want It, Bad,” is what has truly drawn in the viewers — all 27,000 viewers in under a week, to be exact. A number of such magnitude is quite substantial, especially due to how new Grey Unicorn is.
While “I Want It, Bad” is a film that will appeal to college students, it has also appealed to the older female demographic. According to Fernando, women aged 25 to 43 were some of the first people to enjoy the trailer on YouTube.
As shown in the trailer, it’s not your typical love story. The film displays what the main characters go through after their fling is over.
The start of the trailer draws people in by showing one thing that easily keeps people’s attention: blood. Whether we want to admit it or not, it is always interesting to be shown two normal looking people seeming to just have been through the worst time of their lives.
The viewer can’t help but wonder exactly what has happened to Johnny and Jackie, the main characters. By adding “Crevices Melt” by The Merced River to the trailer, it is quickly given a very indie and personal touch.
The story behind how “I Want It, Bad” was created is quite casual.
“The fact that this is a movie, was an accident,” Fernando said.
The point of the film was to be a short horror movie, but as the scenes were filmed, it grew into a feature of an hour and twenty minutes. In Fernando’s words, the film is “a supernatural movie about ordinary people in distress.”
This is accurately portrayed by the scenes within the trailer, as we are shown two people that would seem to be perfectly normal, dealing with abnormal situations not only externally, but internally as well.
When asked about the success of the video, the first thing Fernando had to say was that the video looks “really sexy.” He added that the trailer is confusing and weird, which draws people in, and makes them want to see more.
He also paid tribute to Charles Bouril of Columbia College, Chicago’s YouTube creator.
“Charles had this beautiful image that he chose and cut this beautiful trailer,” Fernando said.
He also mentioned that the crew, made up of younger film majors, could be described as an awesome team.
Christopher also can’t help but discuss his respect for Temple University.
“Temple is my Galapagos,” he said. “I’ve been safe from predators of the real world and I’m around all of these amazing influences.”
He went on to say that the school’s purpose is more about art and personal filmmaking than it is about the industry, and that he is thankful that he is able to create things while sticking to that philosophy.
In the next few years, Christopher still sees himself with Grey Unicorn.
”Accidentally making a feature has allowed me to feel like I can do this,” he said.
He confidently believes that he can continue to make films about contemporary myths, which are, in his words, “the regular world in a mythological way.”
If there is one thing Fernando positively knows, it is that he wants to keep his current team and be able to make films, no matter what.
While the characters in the movie were dealt some unfortunate cards, they were able to deal with things, and that made them hopeful. Fernando said that is the message he wants people to walk away from the movie with — to always have hope.
Sabrina Iglesias can be reached at sabrina.iglesias@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment