THE I'M HERE WITH DREAMERS SERIES COVER Q AND A.
The Dreamers Series Featuring CEOs of KII Digital Assets, Who Influenced the
Music Matters Section in imherewithmag.com. Stay tuned for their cover reveal premiering at our event Nov. 20th at Junction YYC 1-5 pm.
Through our visual storytelling, we strive to inspire and spark curiosity. - KII
KII (“K-Two”), was founded by the dynamic duo, Angelina Payne, and Kyle Curran.
“We share a passion for film making and storytelling, and offer expertise in different areas of production as well as digital marketing. Our mission is to assist others with their mission, by curating a heavily trusted brand identity while reducing marketing overheads. Believe us when we say, there were many fits, ups and downs, and growing pains, but our commitment to providing the absolute top-quality remained un-wavered.
We are so humbled about how far we have progressed in our journey in just Two short years, and look forward to where we will be Two years from now. ”
Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Kyle, is an experienced industry professional, with over 10 years spent within IATSE. He is now bringing his talents to entrepreneurs and artists looking to create a successful brand identity. Having worked on many promotional, and commercial video production projects throughout his career, which also includes big name productions such as: The Revenant, The Last of Us, Game of Thrones, Fargo, and Prey, he has acquired a vast amount of film making knowledge to apply towards KII projects.
Angelina, is a creative director and marketing strategist who has partnered with Kyle, on many visual based projects since 2021. A long time Calgary resident, Angelina has a deep love and connection towards the urban culture that has been curated within the city. She has a very unique and harmonious approach to life, which really shows in her work.
Kyle Curran by KII
“Currently, KII is actively seeking investors in order to launch the next phase of the company which focuses on the creation of camera cars, which will be accessible to rent to all productions within the scope of Alberta or neighboring film capitals. This is a very lucrative venture with the potential to heal our economy tremendously, so we encourage any inquiries about the next phase of our plan.
To end, We want to thank every single person that has accompanied us on this journey thus far. Your cooperation means the world to us and we could not have come this far without your belief and trust in our work. We honestly cannot wait to see what the future has in store for all of us”. - KII
Q AND A INTERVIEW WITH ANGELINA PAYNE
In 2022 Angelina wears many hats as a; Director, Creative Director, Content Writer, Marketing Manager, Talent Manager, Project Coordinator, Networking Guru, Entrepreneur and Founder of a
Digital Assets company, ‘KII,’. The most important title she holds however, is being a Mom to her son.
Photos April 2022 and Oct 2022. Nash, Quinn, Angelina, Nav, Jill Maria, Tony, Lesia Bear with Douglas Vermeeren.
We met Angelina back in April of 2022 all supporting our May cover star Quinn Teechma before her big Miss Canada pageant. We made quick friends with the smart charismatic and serious CEO of KII. She came to our last Issue's event at Junction YYC with Leah Vergara by Armand M. Flores and Kevin Costner by Darren Ballingall as the covers.
Angelina being her open minded but always respectful self, felt there is a need for musicians to be featured in the media and magazines more in Calgary. Through many conversation she shared how she could help us and bring her talent to our pages. Her clients rely on her to help them as her Talent Manager to be seen and create content for them, so she felt a print magazine like ours had value.
We hope you enjoy this inspired Music Matters edition of I'm Here With and a new section to be held in our pages for years to come! Thank you ever so to Angelina Payne and Kyle for their support and showcasing their artists with us for you in our 9th issue.
The magazine and KII have started their own reality series about helping their clients in Calgary with imherewithmag.com. Stay tuned for her on socials, follow her at, KII and her personal page Angelina YYC.
Photo by Darren Ballingall in Calgary @volumatic. Wearing Kylie Cosmetics Lips.
The Dreamers Series
Q & A
What was your dream as a child to achieve in your life?
I can remember being as young as 5 years old, I was living in the New Delhi, India, with my grandparents at that time. My nickname was always ‘Diva’. Because I absolutely loved all things to do with entertainment. I participated in fashion shows because I absolutely loved ‘Indo-Western’ fashion. I also sang and danced Bhangra. I always knew I wanted to achieve some form of stardom as a child, whether it was on a runway, or on a stage singing in front of millions. Today, I still very much aspire to achieve great success within the entertainment industry.
Tell us the story of when you first took steps to start your dreams and career.
How did it happen?
I didn’t realize it at the time that it was happening, but the first steps I took towards manifesting my dreams was during the lowest, most dark period of my adult life; after my divorce. I was only 25 years old, a single mom with a special needs son, and it was a devastating event for sure. I had left behind 90% of everything I ever owned, or had invested towards, with a very deep sense of ‘internal knowing’ that there was a much
greater purpose anticipated for my existence on this planet. I had an inner knowing that my courage, and sacrifice of comfort and habitual ways would help me achieve the ‘healthy’ version of myself I was always yearning for, mind, body, and soul. I needed to break away from generational curses and cycles that were taught to me as a child; watching my parents’ toxic behaviors towards one another and growing up with a very narcissistic mother.
All of that had to be reversed and reprogrammed within my mind. That meant leaving my financially comfortable life which at first felt like a mental weight (we call it guilt) for breaking up my family (a family that wasn’t operating in healthy manor), and the extreme stress of financial disparity and discomfort. At one point in 2020, I remember I was considered ‘homeless’. I was sleeping at my friends houses or in my car and had about $5 to my name a week if I was lucky. There wasn’t much support from my family which wasn’t something that was new to me by this age. At this time however, I learned how to be ‘happy’ without materialistic comforts, how to SURVIVE on the absolute bare minimum, and to start investing time into the skills I had which brought me joy. Every night I was restless, and hungry for something greater than what I was ever used to. Late at night, I would park my car behind SAIT, at the Jubilee Auditorium, and watch over downtown as I chain smoked cigarettes and wrote poetry under my online IG alias ‘The Late Night Poet’. I then started publishing unique photos of different downtown views and the downtown culture on my Instagram, which got picked up and re-posted several times by channels such as Urba, Daily Hive, and several other Local content channels with over 100 K Local Followings. A lot of people were not only seeing my work but enjoying it! I then realized I was still very much creative, and my eye for unique beauty could be capitalized on, not only financially, but spiritually. It brought me a lot of peace, knowing I had this power within myself to manifest literally anything I put my mind to.
This very period of absolute stress and hardship is honestly what reignited the passion that was once abundant within the little girl known as ‘Angelina’. When I think about it now, that’s when things really started to take shape and transition into what I am doing to date.
Now? I own a business with my loving partner, Kyle. Our business focuses on helping other businesses strive towards growth. Our company is called KII, and we create very high quality ‘Digital Assets’ such as DSLR photos and industry standard videos, along with assisting business owners with the process of digital marketing for those very assets we have created for their marketing campaigns. We have coordinated many film projects like music videos and automotive performance films.
We work with many musicians and assist them with creating their artist identity. It’s so much fun and I couldn’t ask for a better outcome.
How has COVID-1 effected your business and career?
COVID-19 affected my lively hood completely, after my divorce I moved back to Calgary and started working part time at a bar that ended up closing permanently in January 2020 because of financial struggles brought by the initial lock down. With lockdowns initiated, and the entire world on pause, there I was, a single mom, trying to rebuild my life without an income or the ability to obtain another similar job just to make ends meet. COVID wasn’t an easy time for most, but man…. were the hardships it brought necessary to my life today. I have such thick skin because of all these circumstances that were thrown at me… at such a young age too.
Where are you at now with your passion, dreams and life?
Now? I am exactly where I need to be. My business is starting to flourish, I have managed to deprogram a lot of toxic behaviors and thought patterns, I have a healthy relationship with my partner and my son, and even my ex-husband. Every single waking day I get to invest more of my time and brilliance towards my passions. I am at a good place spiritually, which is worth more than anything money could ever buy.
Share an encouraging quote from you to the imherewithmag.com fans about achieving your dreams.
“When you’re a very bright, high vibration soul, you will be targeted by people, thoughts or circumstances that will try to convince you that you are just like them, low vibration. Don’t ever believe them! Keep shedding your skin!! Take any and every single risk; leave that job, leave that partner, leave that group of friends, leave that mindset… leave it all.
Leave everything to manifest the version of yourself that you yearn to be. Nothing is impossible, and don’t ever let anyone else tell you otherwise.” – Angelina
What does it mean to be a photographer and creative director and media owner!
To me. being a photographer, a creative director, and a company owner means that I’ve won. I chose to choose ME. It means I own all my words, photos, and ideas. Those are mine to harness and flourish with and were always meant to be mine, if I was just willing to take the risks. Being not only a visible minority, but a woman in any industry? It’s a huge win for me, nobody can take my creative and insightful mind for their own personal identity or gain. It means I did the necessary internal and external work, to be able to even claim those titles! It means I got what I wanted, because I worked towards it.
What are your interests outside of work? What do you do to keep happy?
For once, I can say nothing outside of my work interests me. Why? Because every single thing I enjoy (caring for others. fast cars, music, film, and pop culture) is incorporated into what I do for work. I get to manifest my dreams with people who I consider not only my colleagues but my friends. I even get to spend every single day with my son because I get to work from home. All of this is what keeps me happy and more than content.
As a woman of color tell us your experience with being in a male dominated industry
of media and film, management?
Oh man…. The experiences back then frustrated the peace of mind right out of me, but now, I look back and I find humor in it. I don’t’ laugh because it’s a joke, but because I allowed it to happen to me, out of the goodness of my heart. Karma always has my best interest because everything I do is out of pure love and support, so it’s all water under the bridge for me. Now, I know a lot of women will be able to relate to what I’m about to say, doesn’t matter the industry.
We can lie and say we do not live in a man’s world anymore; however, we still do ladies. Sorry. That statement doesn’t mean we aren’t working daily to be able to share that world though. I feel like myself, and millions of other women were or are constantly competing for equal treatment, or recognition from our powers of authority, like a boss, or an organization run primarily by men. We show up with the best and brightest ideas.
We have so much knowledge and a way with words. Our quality work ethic comes so naturally. We work so hard! We bring organic success to projects we partake in. Yet, here we are, working in the shadows, begging for the recognition or even just the financial compensation that we deserve. Having this 'go getter' attitude and energy, we get taken advantage of! I’ve experienced cases where I have done the work, and the man in the organization gets the credit or the reputation. Nobody looks at the colored women and says, “Wow, great job, you did this?” They automatically just assume it was the male presence providing the success factor into the project or endeavor. You know what I have to say to that? Forget that!” Why are we letting certain types of men capitalize on our work, our words, and our time invested? I found myself frequently thinking “Why am I being paid the least to babysit some of the most incompetent colleagues, who are also being paid double what I’m taking home?” Those colleagues happened to be men!
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of men out there that are absolute boss status because of how hard they work and how much respect they display towards the women who are helping them achieve milestones within their industry. I hold absolute respect for a lot of those men. But how about the men trying to achieve ‘boss status’ off the backs of ‘boss status’ Women? My experiences with several different male dominated industries has led me to find my independence. So thanks for the sub par experiences gentlemen, I needed it!
What needs to change for women in TV and Film?
We need more female-to-female collaborations. We need more women standing up for other women in the industry. We need more women intentionally trying to recruit other women into the industry. We need more women confiding in other women to help achieve collective success within the industry. That isn’t me saying the concept is nonexistent currently, because its very much existent. I’m just saying we need more of it. If you are a woman in the industry, why not target more women to recruit. In all departments! I want to see more ‘ALL-FEMALE’ Grip or Rigging crews even… That would be an amazing
statement.
1:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
Junction YYC - Food . Stage . Bar
Launch Party!! 🍾 Come celebrate with us! We are excited to reveal November's 'Musical' issue of I'm Here With Magazine, featuring Angelina's company, KII! We are even more excited to invite all of you to come celebrate this issue and the official launch of KII Visual Assets! A big thank you to the darling Naj Iren, with Junction Underground for the support .
We have created a showcase of urban art, musical performances, a unique bar menu and a special appearance from Kristen Scott Music.
TICKETS PURCHASED UPON ENTRY. #imherewithmag #kiivisualassets
Shoot by Darren Ballingall for imherewithmag.com Issue 9.
Angelina - I hold much gratitude for living within such a diverse and abundant city like Calgary. The amount of raw artistic talent within the city is almost overwhelming to try to comprehend, but I firmly believe Calgary’s music and arts culture is one that is worthy of investing further into. We are encouraging artists of all forms to come forward and share their talents and artistic journey with us.
You can get your copies of the magazines at Shopmade at CF Chinook upstairs and Daily Globe News Shop on 17th Ave SW Calgary.
Our mission with this segment is to introduce and showcase as many artists as we can to our community. With that being said, we are so incredibly thrilled to present readers with the first IHWM x KII collaborative issue.
We hope you enjoy these vibrant stories told by our artists of November.
Photos by KII Visual Assets and Darren Ballingall.
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