Before I moved to NYC from Florida, I began helping my friend Kyle produce content for a show series he had. The idea is a mens, lifestyle driven show centered around fashion, health and food. We used Sarasota as a back drop for the first few episodes but we see the show being filmed is major markets around the country. The last couple of trips I've made back to Florida, we've created a couple of smaller, less produced episodes. Who knows, we may be looking for funding for this idea in the future.
Mississippi to Motivation
A few years ago, I was having drinks at the Ritz-Carlton and from a distance, I see former McDonalds All-American and Mississippi native, Jerod Ward. I quickly introduced myself as he and his wife walked by. I told him I was from Jackson and that I played basketball at St. Joseph. Jerod graduated from Clinton High School (a neighboring city to Jackson) in 1994 and attended the University of Michigan that fall as the best high school player in the country.
Jerod and I stayed in touch over the next few years and even worked on a video project together. Most recently, we teamed up again to produce his speaking demo reel. Jerod is currently a basketball analyst for ESPN and a motivational speaker, sharing his story of overcoming adversity.
It's been an absolute pleasure connecting with Jerod and building a new relationship with another Mississippi native.
Behind the Scenes with Emily Ratajkowski
All of the work featured here on McFadden Creative has been produced/shot/edited by me. However, I make most my of living as a video editor and some times videographer for other agencies and companies. I was recently hired by VMGROUPE to shoot the behind the scenes for DL 1961's new campaign featuring Emily Ratajkowski. We filmed at The Plaza Hotel inside of the penthouses. It was a pretty fun shoot. I didn't edit this final video but I shot all the b-roll with the exception of the wide 360 shot. One of my goals upon coming to NYC was to work in fashion. Now, after this shoot, I can say that I've done that in a big way.
Shoe Shows and Concert Series with Chopsticks and Stilettos
Marissa and I are back at it again (while it's still warm). NYC is really happening right now between all the events and warm summer days, its time to make the most of these dog days of summer.
First off, we visited the "Shoe-rendez-vous" hosted by M4D3 Shoes. The evening was in invite only event for bloggers and influencers to get their hands on products from the shoe brand. It was a fantastic evening and I met some really great people.
For the second video, we visited the South Street Seaport District for their Summer Concert Series. This was a great event in what I think is an overlooked area of the city. The Seaport District is very historical, pretty and has a lot to offer in terms of restaurants and bars. Marissa earned her rights as a food host in this episode. She stuffed herself with crab rolls, doughnut grill cheese, beer and two servings of ice cream. I think we really hit our stride with this video. I think its our best yet.
Complete Women in Las Vegas
My dear friend Jada and her girlfriends took it upon themselves to organize their equivalent of a TED talk for their closest associates and friends. Jada, Veleta and Svetlana are all upping the stakes in their professional careers and these talk were the stepping stone to doing so. They each gave 20 minute talks about the respective topics. Jada's talk was "Confidence from Your Closet", Veleta, "Do it again! How to Take a set back and make it your Comeback" and Svetlana's, "Wisdom of the Heart". The evening was a roller coaster of emotions not only for these three women but for the 60+ women who were in attendance. I'm truly glad I was able to be a part of such a special event. This video is a pre-show behind the scenes of the night leading up to the talks.
Ethnic Origin Company
One of the things that makes my life rich are my relationships with friends. My friends come from many different backgrounds and they all do very different things for a living. My friend Petra has been running an online business for worldly home decor goods for a couple of years. She recently opened a retail store, really a retail experience because once you step foot in. you'll feel like you've been transported to a far corner of the world. Her insight, knowledge and passion for these goods are infectious. I really enjoyed interviewing her because I got to know her a little better. Enjoy!
New York Said Book Release Party
It's been exciting to watch the growth of Amon's brainchild, "New York Said", over the past few years. The idea has evolved from not only a book series but into a podcast, videos and even a community of people who just love to hear the stories of others.
I'm always excited about the book launches because of the array of people it brings out. I never know who I'm going to meet or who I'm going to see that I haven't seen in years. I'm also always excited about the parties because I get to be a fly on the wall and document the night. At this point in my life, I can't help but to make a video about everything I do. So here's my video of this years launch party.
Sharing, Learning and Exploring
My dear friend E.J. Porter reached out to me a couple of months ago asking if I would be able to share some time with him and his teenage mentee, A.J., who's interested in video. He said they would be visiting NYC and if I could teach him a few things about video production. I said absolutely but I had to figure out and plan a small shoot that I could have him assist on. I decided to plan a shoot with the incredibly funny and beautiful Marissa of "Chopsticks and Stilettos".
Marissa and I have been working together for a couple of years on her vlog but we hadn't yet told her story of who she is and how everything came together for her, so I figured this would be a great time to do so. The plan was to shoot in SoHo, get an heartfelt interview and to shoot some lifestyle shots. Here's the BTS of the video shoot.
The entire shoot and day went perfectly. I think we all had a blast and learned a little. The next day, E.J., A.J., and I sat down to edit the video. I showed A.J. around Adobe Premiere, showed him some pointers and things I use most often. I answered a lot of his questions. Watching someone edit a video isn't the most exciting thing so we wrapped our editing session and I finished editing the video the next morning. Here's the final video for Marissa's story.
After shooting the video, we found ourselves at the Nike store in SoHo. It's five floors of Nike goodness. The fifth floor is rightfully dedicated to Mike where there's a basketball court. It's been a couple of years since I picked up the rock. I had to see if I still had it. I do. What can I say, I was born with it.
Interviewed by New York Said
I was recently interviewed by Amon Focus on his New York Said podcast. We covered a lot of topics from work to house parties. It'll hopefully entertain and inform.
2017 Social Occasion Collection
As Spring comes to an end and Summer approaches, dreams of spending time at the beach is at an all time high. Just a couple of weeks ago, I got to get some early beach time in at Coney Island to shoot a lifestyle fashion video for Faviana. Although it wasn't sunny, the overcast day was perfect for our shoot. Overcast days are like a big, beautiful soft box of light. Shooting fashion videos is beginning to be one of my favorite things to create. Here's what Faviana is calling the "Social Occasion Collection".
Bushwick Collective Block Party
Just two years ago, I went to my first Bushwick Collective Block Party. It was great seeing the street art scene transform a community. At the same time, I met, Ramone, owner of Lot45. I got him to speak on camera about the days festivities and I put together a video that he and his team loved. Ever since then, he and Lot45 became friends and clients of mine. Fast forward to this year where we created another video based on the same event.
Eat Your Art: An Alternative Cinco de Mayo
Lot45 and Abby Hertz have put together another great food and cultural event. This time they produced a Frida Kahlo themed Cinco de Mayo party.
Empire Closing Party: The Last Interview
Over the years, Amon Focus has produced a diverse range of media projects. He's created web series, travels videos, podcast and books just to name a few. Howl Happening recently debuted an interview Amon created with Arturo Vega, famed artist who created the Ramones logo. Sadly, shortly after Amon shot the interview, Arturo passed away. Amon sat on the interview for fours years until now. The interview was shown on the last night of "Empire: An Arturo Retrospective". Here's the video recap of the night.
Working for Weedmaps, Happy 420
The great thing about freelancing is that you get to work within a variety of different companies and industries. The legal marijuana industry has been quite controversial to say the least. Here in the northeast, medical marijuana is now legal. Thus creating an entire culture and industry around it.
Fall of last year, I began working in the legal marijuana industry for a California based tech/media company called Weedmaps. Weedmaps is essentially an app that lets you find the nearest doctor or dispensary. In addition to the app, they've built a media company that produces video content around the culture and businesses within their network.
I currently shoot doctor and dispensary tours. For once, I don't get to edit what I shoot. The editing team in California handles the edits. Weedmaps is sill in the process of selling more videos here as the industry begins to take off. Here are a few of the videos I've shot thus far.
Faviana
Getting to work in fashion was a goal upon moving to NYC. I've gotten to work on a few different fashion projects since I've been here. Through a random connection, I was introduced to the team at Faviana to shoot a behind the scenes/lifestyle film for their spring 2017 collection. After that went well, I was asked to help create the brand story by interviewing the family that runs Faviana. It was inspiring to hear the story of how they've built this small but large company.
Lust: Erotic Emersive Dinner Party
I have to admit, this is probably one of the few videos I'm nervous about sharing, simply because of the nature of the content. However, as a creative and a storyteller, I have to remember that the stories I document aren't about me but about the people and the culture I'm featuring. Plus, Lust made the NY Times so I'm in good company by getting the scoop.
Lust's creator, Abby Hertz, gave me an excellent interview and some context into how this event came to be. NSFW but totally enjoyable at home.
Art Exhibitions
The one thing I've fallen in love with this city for is it's array of art shows, openings, and exhibitions. Any given night of the week there's something creative going on. It's challenging to not overly suffer from FOMO. I've been fortunate and lucky enough to catch wind of a few of these parties. I often hear that "the best camera, is the one you have" so I've done my best to document a few these via my iPhone. These are little iPhone films of a few of these art shows.
Karen SRQ/NYC
In an attempt to make up for lost time due to my site being down, I want to post about some of the projects I've created over the past few months. This video was interesting because it takes place in New York and Florida. It's the story of my dear friend, Karen. Karen is a documentary photographer living in FL but also working in NY. I've known Karen for quite some time so I've seen her and her work grow over the years. Enjoy her inspiring story.
American Fox at Coachella
I've never been but I my dear friend Karlenn will be in attendance as a vendor with her brand American Fox. American Fox is a "rock 'n' roll lifestyle brand with boho chic flair".
McFadden Creative is back
I finally figured it out with a little focus and desperation