When Alphonzo Wesson III looks through his lens, he sees potential. It's a gift that has served the film director well since his childhood in Chicago's roughest neighborhoods, helping him envision and shape a career behind the camera. It has also propelled him into a new multimedia enterprise.

        During the last half of 2001, Mr. Wesson joined with the owners of On Location Multimedia Inc. to form ZoMotion, a company that pairs On Location's technical capabilities with Mr. Wesson's vision and directorial expertise.

        “About a year and a half ago, On Location was at a crossroads,” said Therese Anne Matthews, who owns the multimedia firm with her husband, Tim. “We had been in existence about nine years and decided to take our firm to the next level.”

        The couple invested in high-definition camera and editing equipment and decided to hire a few new professionals — the best they could find. Since Procter & Gamble Co. was selling its Redna Productions, the Matthews ended up talking to one of Redna's directors. That man was Mr. Wesson, who had filmed a variety of ads for P&G as well as produced two documentaries on his own.

        “We had a meeting of the minds and of the hearts,” Ms. Matthews said. “We wanted to form a relationship with somebody who was extremely respected and capable. It was strategic growth.”

REEL LIFE

Alphonzo Wesson III has directed two seasons of MTV's The Real World and has filmed commercials for McDonald's Restaurants, LensCrafters, Abbott Laboratories and Procter & Gamble Co.   Mr. Wesson produced a documentary, We Are Not Vanishing, about the founder of the black family reunion, Dorothy Height. His latest dramatic film, Open the Sky, chronicles his own rise out of the ghettos of Chicago. The film earned two 2001 Regional Emmys.   On Location provides a full range of multimedia services, from graphics to filming and editing to Web-based design.   Although its major services are in advertising and marketing, ZoMotion Productions offers event lighting and staging, production training and diversity training.   The company is located at 19 Broadcast Plaza, Suite 203, 635 W. Seventh Street in downtown Cincinnati. Contact ZoMotion at 241-2227.

        Mr. Wesson is 51 percent owner of ZoMotion — which takes its name from one of Mr. Wesson's nicknames, “Zo.” On Location owns the remaining 49 percent.

        “We operate together, adding Alphonzo's directorial skills, leadership and creativity to On Location's capabilities,” Ms. Matthews said.

        For Mr. Wesson, who last summer headed to Chicago to film episodes of The Real Worldfor MTV, the formation of ZoMotion was a reason to return here.

        “I had opportunities and offers to not come back to Cincinnati,” the director said. “I came back because I felt I could make a difference. I had driven through the streets and seen the anger, despair and hostility, the feeling that there was nothing stable.”

        But the view through Mr. Wesson's lens showed potential for inner-city Cincinnati, if enough leaders were willing to invest in its future. He decided to be one of those leaders, giving ZoMotion the role of a change agent in the community.

        “I get a national contract from BET (Black Entertainment Television), and I bring it back to Cincinnati. Young kids I work with need to see an African-American male at the helm,” he said. “Directors are magical people, calling the shots and running the ship. I shoot in the community so people can see it and maybe believe.

        “True power is not manipulating people and circumstances to achieve your goals. It's empowering other people to realize their dreams. I seek that power.”

        A high school dropout, Mr. Wesson believed God was calling him to make the most of his talents. So he began the process of self-education, inhaling philosophy and reading everything he could “borrow” from bookstores about film directing.

        But there was the matter of breaking into the advertising business.

        “The challenges are obvious, working in a medium where, heretofore, African-Americans were not given a great deal of access,” he said. “Of the 40,000 to 50,000 directors in this field, I am one of maybe 15 to 20 African-Americans I know who could legitimately show you a reel of their work and have ads on it. African-Americans hold a miniscule amount of creative positions in advertising agencies.”

        The director said he deals with racism with humor and a great deal of patience. But where his work is unknown, he senses that potential clients are often uneasy about the product he'll provide them.

        “They wonder: "What music will he put in it? Is he capable? Does he understand the culture and the goals we're trying to reach?”'

        Companies such as P&G, LensCrafters and Abbott Labs have learned to rely on Mr. Wesson's skills and sensitivities. They are also learning to appreciate his passion for reaching out to young people from the inner city who are looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. His staff now includes several young people from inner-city neighborhoods who are honing film-related crafts under his tutelage.

        “Alphonzo is an extraordinarily passionate individual who has a way of communicating his beliefs, especially to the young, in a way that brings that passion to them,” said John Pepper, chairman of P&G. “He also has great professional competence, is very entrepreneurial and creative.”

        Said Mr. Wesson: “I'm looking for somebody who has a willingness to work, to apply themselves and to do better. I reserve a swift kick for those who think life owes them something.”

        Ms. Matthews said Mr. Wesson was critical to their production excellence, “but one of the things that attracted us to him was not just his capabilities but his heart. He's become a beacon of light.”

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