BALTIMORE — Before celebrity podcasts filled streaming platforms and social media feeds, a group of creators from Baltimore was already building a digital talk show from a basement with a camera, a vision and a belief that the internet would change media forever.
Almost two decades later, that story is taking center stage at Forest Park High School's auditorium, with a new documentary made to honor the creators and hosts behind ISeeColorLive TV. The film traces their impact while recognizing their role as early innovators in online broadcasting and what many now know as podcasting.
For today's audiences, podcast success is measured by downloads, subscribers and viral moments. But the question of who helped lay the foundation for the medium isn't always as easy to answer.
However, the IseeColorLive team believes their story deserves to be part of that conversation.
"We decided to start a little webcasting show," creator Paul Franklin recalled. "My partner and I, Jermaine Johnson, wanted to try to stream live and get some new voices out there."
That vision came to life in 2008 inside Franklin's basement.
"We started in Paul's house," recalled host Saundra "SassyScribe" Harris. "Shout out to his wife for opening up her home to virtual strangers to come in every week and film."
Saundra's on-air experience prepared her for blog talk radio, which is another platform she credits directly for laying the foundation for podcasting.
With the space secured and a talented cast assembled, there was just one obstacle left — finding the show's voice.
At the very beginning, the hosts relied on a more scripted TV approach.
"We started with a teleprompter and it was not good for us," said Theresa "Lady Raven" Scott, host of Rant and Rave. "So [Paul] said, 'We're going to cut that out and y'all just talk.'"
That decision transformed the show.
From sports and politics to relationships and culture, conversations became authentic, unscripted and driven by the personalities around the table.
"It was just a synergy that we had," Scott said. "I loved the fact that Paul allowed us the autonomy to bring our personalities out."
Long before livestreaming became commonplace and social media platforms dominated digital media, Franklin believed the internet itself could become the audience.
"I knew the power of the internet, even if the mainstream hadn't picked up on it yet," he said.
That belief is at the heart of the new documentary, produced by Lamonte "The Ozone" Odum and hosted by Harris and Scott. The film looks back on the team's work and argues that ISeeColorLive TV helped establish a blueprint for today's creator-driven podcast and webcast industry.
"I'm really excited because we are really pioneers of this genre," Odum said. "I wasn't getting paid. I wasn't making any money doing it. I just did it because I loved it."
For Franklin, the documentary is about more than nostalgia.
"Because if you don't celebrate yourself, nobody else will," he said.
And while the media landscape has changed dramatically since those early broadcasts, Franklin still believes the team's innovative spirit would've competed with today's biggest digital creators.
"If we were 20 years younger," he said with a smile, "we'd turn this thing on its head. I promise you we would."
The world premiere of the ISeeColorLive.TV Documentary is Friday July 24th at Forrest Park High School. After the debut, it will be available at iseecolorlive.net.
