Dilaudid

Pre-production began in June of 2017 but it was pretty slow going because other projects kept popping up. I knew I wanted to incorporate dance again but I wanted something edgier and more urban than the surreal "pinkness" of Monster. I was immediately out of my element so, the first person to be brought on board was the incredibly talented dancer and choreographer, Maria Kolotun. Basically I needed someone who actually knew what they were doing instead of me trying to do it myself and being a way-to-self-assured jerk as usual.

Needless to say, Maria brought the whole production to life. In what felt like no time at all she captured the essence of the song, the mood, and the energy I was hoping for. 

From the start I knew I wanted to work with "my leading lady" again so I begged Sharice Russel to once again lend her mighty talents to the production. Luckily, she doesn't hate me so she said yes and I was almost there. All that was left was for me to find a ridiculously talented male lead who could also freestyle like no other. Once again Maria came to the rescue and leveraged her massive network and found Mr. Tray Roundtree - one of the most talented dancer's I've ever met.

In no time at all we were off to the races - rehearsing, location scouting, finalizing equipment, and scrambling to find a fog machine (Evan Zissimopulos has the craziest fog machine hookup ever). Once again Mr. Barrett Nicol lent his massive brain, incredible talent, dashing good looks, and some of his personal lights to the production. Location scouting with Barrett and the ever-present and ever useful Production Specialist, Jon Pedorche was one of my favorite memories during the entire pre production process. 

From there, the shoot is a blur: One day and two nights in "not the safest" part of Downtown LA went by without a hitch. Well, the cops did show up on the second night, I told Jon to flee the scene with our two leads in his car... but other than that, it was one of the smoothest production I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. We all came away with a video we're very proud of, closer friendships, and the knowledge that Tray and his pants don't travel in the same vehicle (don't ask...)
 

"Officer, there's something you need to know... I am a professional dancer." - Tray Roundtree, Oct. 19, 2017

Photos courtesy of the talented Christine Sohail (She basically does everything on these shoots).