Cita's World

Cita's World is a video music show that aired on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in the United States. It was the first show to feature a virtual reality black stereotypical character as the hostess named Cita. Cita's World was the brainchild of Curtis A. Gadson, B.E.T. Senior VP of Programming at that time, & Corey Turner, concept designer and director. They came up with the idea sitting poolside one day laughing about how funny it would be to have a virtual character who could say almost anything...and get away with it! The show was ahead of its time technologically using advanced visual effects techniques that are now standard practice on feature films such as Avatar for onset capture and visualization.

Most people don't know that the show actually moved production locations 3 times. The first 2 years the show was produced and shot in BET's headquarters in Washington, DC. The third year the show was moved to Harlem in BET's newly rented space. The Cita's World set and technical infrastructure literally sat next to the 106 & Park set. The fourth and final year the show was moved to Burbank, CA. The show was also given a major overhaul. New optical tracking motion capture to acquire Kali Troy's performances, its own dedicated stage for the blue screen set, and a remodeled and designed Cita. The show would benefit from the relocation to Los Angeles with staff that was already proficient in visual effects workflows and techniques.

Overview

Jam Zone

It was co-developed, produced and sometimes written by Tracye Z. Kinzer. The show ran from 1999 to 2002 in television. The show was originally named Jam Zone when it was created in 1997, which was just a wall paper video show until 1999, when Cita emerged into the homes of millions.

Format

In between videos, Cita would talk to the viewers, answer viewer mail and offer her unadulterated opinions on current events, celebrities and more. The voice and motion of the Cita character was performed by Kittie. From Washington, D.C. to New York City to Hollywood, Ca., the shows content came from producer Tracye Kinzer, who assigned her writers Cliff McBean, Monica "Monie Mon" Dyson, and Angela Yarborough topics as well as allowing them to generate their own ideas to create great entertainment.

Spinoff Media

Due to the popularity of the show, BET published "Cita's World",^[1] which addresses the deluge of emails and letters sent to the show.

References

External links

• Cita's World at the Internet Movie Database