My first interactions with the amazing collective known as MPLS.tv was landing a video for one of the Rhymesayers by the name of Toki Wright. Toki and I (along with Zeke and Cloud from MPLS.tv) met up for the first time to discuss what we wanted to do for a video called "By The Time I Get To Arizona 2010" we hammered through the particulars and found ourselves talking MMA and pro wrastlin'. I knew at that moment that Toki and I would be working together for a good while.

Fast forward to now. March 2012, roughly 2 years since that first meeting. Toki and I have made a few more videos (with a bunch on the way) and that brings us to the video I refer to as "Ode." Toki first told me that he was going to do a song about Max from Pi while I was out in California working on Transformers 3. As soon as he said that it was a tribute to Max's madness, I was drawn in. I believe my words were "When do we shoot this thing." It took a little while for our schedules to line up so we could get it done. But it is here now and I couldn't be more happy with it. The way Toki moves through emotion in this video is great, and the emotion and power coming from his eyes during the midpoint is priceless.

As for the graphs and charts, those are just things I found or made on the fly to compliment the song. I particularly like the shot where it cuts from the graphic to Toki doing the hand gun against his temple.

This video was a pretty easy setup for us. We got this super cool location (ahem, my basement). I brought down some really cool grip (The back light and some very cool modular small lights with a nice throw.) and we just went to work doing a ton of takes to get different emotions out of Toki. The overall effect is well... Just that, effective. Of course it wouldn't be a "Pi" if it wasn't black and white so we made sure to light for a more noir feel with some very static shots and harsh lighting.

Overall I am super happy with this video and hope that everyone who watches it is as well (happy enough to share and hell, even to comment on this blog post.)

Thanks for reading, and keep watching
-Dunn

Ceewhy "Get Like Me"

Roughly a year ago I held my first Twitter Competition for a new artist who I had never worked with before to get a video directed by me. All they had to do was get me the most @ replies in a certain span of time. The winner of that contest was a scrappy MC from STP named Ceewhy.

The first time we met to talk about the eventual concept for Get Like Me. We just blerted out things we thought would be cool. Like laser guns, James Bond, and a dope ride. We then talked about video games and comic books for a while (which if you know me. Those are 2 of my favorite things.) The funny thing about that meeting is that the song was still in a construction phase and only had the beat. So we sat there and came up with these cool ideas without lyrics. After thinking about that peculiar style of treatment making. An idea hit me that we should do the video without a single rap shot and make this a really cool short film. Ceewhy agreed and I was thrilled.

So we went to work; giving all the characters back stories and motivation the way you would in a feature or short. Ceewhy took to the Trotter character immediately and i started to get a series of phone calls sometimes x2 daily about how Trotter might do this or that. That whole process went on for a couple of months as I finished up my work on Transformers 3 and other film/ music video projects.

When casting time came around we knew we wanted to put in a couple of really cool cameos and I feel we got that with Toki Wright (@mrwrighttc) and Toussaint Morrison (@2santmorrison). They both came in and killed it as the Urban Tactical Camo Unit Detective and as Marcus Noreat.

The funny thing about this video is that it is the first time I had just to much story to tell and not enough song. I had to request Ceewhy extend the song by roughly 40 seconds so that we could have all the time we needed to do VFX and the final gun fight (which still ended up super truncated.)

The VFX in this were a lot of fun to do. I got to work a lot with 2d tracking in Mocha, as well as the Making the various forms of laser disruption and disintegration. All VFX in this were done in 2d and oddly enough most assets were created in After Effects then Comped with Nuke. I might put up a couple shot breakdowns later for the VFX inclined who read this.

I think my favorite shot in the whole video is the little cameo that Blu the dog makes right in the beginning of the video. He is so cute and sat so perfect for the spider dolly shot (which is a homemade skateboard spider dolly D.I.Y. for the win)

In the end this video is one of my more ambitious to date and I am very happy with how everything turned out and how it is being received. Please feel free to leave comments about what you thought of the video or any questions you have about my process in making this video.

Thanks for Reading, and keep watching
-Dunners

Here are all my stereoscopic pictures taken with my evo 3d. I will add more as time goes on. but enjoy this first gallery. I had to post covnert the .mpo files into anaglyph pairs in photoshop for those nerds who are wondering.

you will have to click the image x2 to see it full sized. feel free to show these to anyone you know or download them...

-Adam

Here are the bench seats that I made when I was back home in MPLS

Eli animating a living statue... from Adam J Dunn on Vimeo.

Eli animating another living statue from Adam J Dunn on Vimeo.

Me and pickle sleeping. Using portable  photoshop on my evo

Call one of the nasty boys

The year started off with the biggest and most rewarding motion graphics project of my life. A kinetic text music video for Lazlo Supreme. The song originally was going to be beep beep but after much talking and discussion about visuals we decided on the song "Featherlighter." The video started on 1/1/2010 and work was completed by 1/31/2010. It was a crazy month filled with hard work and learning. Just for the record this music video was planned and completed 7 months before the F*** Y** video by the very talented Ceelo Green. (we still released before that video, but hey thought i would put that out there and end the discussions once and for all.)

After completion of "Featherlighter" Toussaint and I decided to try and make a music video with no premise and give ourselves the span of 2 hours to shoot it; coincidentally this was the time frame where the now infamous Kid Fresh stole all my passwords and leaked "Featherlighter" for 2 hours. That video of course was Civil War (one of my personal favorites, but least viewed of the group thus far)

As stated earlier "Kid Fresh" came into being early in 2010 as a funny device to preview "Featherlighter". We had no idea that it would grow legs and run on its own into a full out persona which is present in the first 2 videos I have directed for 2011 (Chrysler 300, and Walk Through The Wall.)

After that Preview I hooked up with the amazing people of MPLS.TV (which is you havent looked them up from all my tweets. Get on that shit now. They are doing game changing work over there) From which I was introduced to and starting a continuing working relationship as well as friendship with Toki Wright of the Rhymesayers. From that I directed my most successful video of the year in "By The Time I get To Arizona 2010" receiving national exposure and comments from people that i wish to someday work with  such as Talib Kweli.

Getting to the midpoint of the year I worked with Lazlo Supreme again on the video for " What Makes You Happy" and big video filled with an ensemble cast of very cool people. This video was the first time I got to work with Aquilo studios ( an amazing soundstage and production studio) This video was a big step for me in terms of turning the video around as I left to go work in LA while I was still editing the video and proved to me that I could in fact be a director for indie groups in MPLS and be out in LA working (something which is becoming a mainstay for me now [thanks JB for everything])

After What Makes you Happy I journeyed out to LA to work in the industry on the stereoscopic conversion of the first 3 shrek films. This was a great experience which brought me back to my beginnings in the vfx field surrounded by my friends working hard and having a ton of fun (icings, JIA!!!!, Jenkins, Dude Party! a ton more things)

I returned from LA in September to a semi-quiet (from a release perspective) end of the year. I worked on 2 music videos which will be coming out in the early part of 2011 as stated before those are Chrysler 300 and Walk Through the Wall for Toussaint Morrison.

2010 was an a amazing year for me on all levels of my working and personal life. I celebrated my first full year of being married (Mara you keep me sane which is no small task and I am thankful for you every single moment of everyday) a multitiude of Music Videos (meriting multiple nominations for the TC Hip Hop Awards in January) my first work in the feature film VFX industry and progression of pipeline and workflow for my feature film Burial Ground. Overall an amazing year. But...

2011 will be bigger. There are already 2 videos in the can waiting to get out and on to your ipod/ipad/laptop/galazy tab/heart and brain. I am going to be working With Botzy from Culture Cry Wolf on an amazing music video. I will work with Homeless Ryan K from Mnemosyne, I will be doing another big video with my guy Toki Wright. Then there are new videos for Toussaint Morrison, Lazlo Supreme, The Blend. Hopefully there will be even more than that before we hit mid-year. So thats the music video side of things.

But thats not all. My forever in post long awaited ( for some, angrily for others) feature film directorial debut Burial Ground will be out in 2011. Thus allowing me to start the planning stages of the next feature film or mayhaps a web series. (I have been writing a ton) All the while bouncing back and forth from MPLS to Cali to work on BIG feature films that come out this year (cant tell you what they are or i will be killed)

So thats that thus far. So in the end thank you to everyone who has viewed, laughed, hated, loved, or that meh about the videos I brought the world this year. I appreciate that you would look at my work in a digital sea (like tron) filled with other things to watch. So thank you again and good luck to everyone in the endevors in 2011 and hopefully you stay tuned to whats going with me.

-Adam

Last Night Prof, Lazlo Supreme, Mnemosyne, K.Raydio and Mike Dreams  took care of Business... Also I debuted some music videos I directed/edited and did visual effects on.

I have never seen the Varsity completely sold out before in my life. I have been there as a director debuting videos before yesterday. I have been there as a videographer doing concert films before. Basically I have been there a ton. Last night that place was filled to the brim and it was awesome!

I think the highlight of the night for me as a fan, was seeing the Midwestern version of the drake and friends track "Forever" I call it this only because it featured Ryan K from Mnemosyne, Just Riley (also from Mnemosyne), Mike Dreams, Toussaint Morrison and the rest of the group Lazlo Supreme playing the instruments. The track was full of energy and the beat was out of control. Rumor has it that it was just a preview of what is to come with a couple more artists joining the fray.

The 2 music videos that "previewed" last night were both for Toussaint Morrison off his upcoming Mixtape. The tracks  "Chrysler 300" and "Walk Through The Wall" went over like gangbusters. Now I can't speak for other directors/editors/ vfx artists out there but when I hear a crowd of 800 erupt in frenzy over seeing a cardboard robot dancing in a laundry mat I cant help but be elated. The same could be said for the women in the balcony who gasped when the love interest in "Chrysler 300" turns out to be a vampire.

The scary thing here is that I didnt know how these music videos would go over with a PROF crowd. But after seeing them gravitate towards the videos and cheer like mad (Walk Through The Wall especially) I was relieved and knew that we were doing all the right things visually and musically. We just need to figure out a way to get them into the eyes and computers of more people out there. So when these Videos drop we will be looking into more avenues than before for getting them into your brain. But as always if you see anything that was directed by me and love it. Do me and the group that it is for a solid and send a mass email, text, tweet, etc.  Post that thing to the Facebook wall of every friend you got.  Reactivate your Friendster account and tell those 2 people who wont let it die that they need to see this shit.

In the end I want to say Thank-You for coming out the show last night I know all the artists loved the crowd; who couldnt they were electric. Lastly from me a Huge thanks for watching the music videos everyone involved worked very hard on making a mini-film for the viewers and it just feels fucking awesome to have a massive crowd get into them on the scale that you did last night.

-Dunn

Now with the announcement that boxes is coming to the ipad i am going to have access to even more content.

My verdict on the ipad is get one if you are looking for something in-between your smart phone and laptop (main) not a net book. I have left my laptop at home on days when all i need todo is email and write reviews/scripts etc and it feels great to not have to lug my giant 17in hack book pro around. So in short and in long iPad rules the roost

.peace
Dunn