We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Morgan Clae. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Morgan below.
Hi Morgan, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
It’s never ceases to blow my mid how your harshest critics are the ones who could never do what you are doing. The people with the most hateful opinions of my art are 99.99% of the time the same people who have been working on their “debut project for the past ten years”. You have to remember you are good at what you are good at for a reason, that the people who are your harshest critics are the ones who can’t do what you’re doing themselves, and at the end of the day my art is for those who f*ck with it – no one else.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a queer BIPOC film director and music producer who wants to make feature length musicals. I am currently writing my first one that showcases queer black and brown characters. This past year and a half I have focused heavily on growing my community through the use of social media and have truly found who my art is for through that. I love all things anime, gaming and food. I have some other exciting announcements coming soon I can’t wait to share with the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
These three things have been the most important for my journey: 1) you can learn anything you set your mind to, 2) creativity is 10% “idea” and 90% following through and 3) when you find your community, your art will thrive.
When I decided to actually pursue music production, I made 5 beats a day for 6 months. I have learned when you put the time in, you have no choice but to get better. This was also my approach to social media – I decided in January of 2022 I was done waiting for doors to be opened for me and I was no longer waiting for opportunities to come my way. It was time to build my own house. And now, I’ve truly found my community for my art and know why and who I am creating for. Be yourself, put in the time, and things will fall into place.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
In this day in age, unless you have lots of money at your disposal you are every part of your operation. But – it’s also never been easier to “do everything yourself”. Resources such as Canva, CapCut, Splice and many others are huge in getting you started in whatever you need.
However, nothing will EVER replace the value in finding your “team” of collaborators. I have thrived because I have been blessed with people in my life who are not only amazing people but also have such varied and high performing skill sets. Specifically with film, my friends Lolly (who is an actual wizard amazing at all things styling, production design, choreography, movement coaching, etc.), Grant (this man is so unbelievably talented with all things camera and lighting, directing as well!) and I have worked together on so many projects that at this point we are able to work so quickly with tiny tiny budgets to make amazing things.
Be the best you can, but always seek out those who make you better. Establish language you understand with your chosen creatives, create safe creative spaces, and always do so in kindness.
Contact Info:
- Website: Morganclae.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/morganclae
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MorganClae
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morganclae?lang=en&is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=mobile&sender_web_id=7267401406515824170
