AG Rojas, represented by Park Pictures, directed this music video for Kamasi Washington’s latest single “Street Fighter Mas” from Washington’s new album Heaven and Earth. Rojas dives into Washington’s psychedelic modern jazz world, pairing the musician’s larger-than-life instrumentation with a visual narrative pitting Kamasi against his nemesis in a round of the classic video game Street Fighter.
The video begins with our “hero,” Kamasi himself, setting out on a journey to find a worthy Street Fighter opponent, and ends with an epic battle against his newfound rival, Combo Fiend. The album Heaven and Earth was released on June 22.
CreditsProduction Park Pictures AG Rojas, director; Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Dinah Rodriguez, exec producers; Jeremy Hartman, line producer; Rina Yang, DP; Kyle David, production designer; Aliceand Louie Clothing, styling; Tatiana Valentin, costume designer. Editorial Exile Zaldy Lopez, editor. VFX a52 Color The Mill Gregory Resse, colorist. Special Thanks Banch Abegaze + Alex Fisch
The Best Work You May Never See: United Sense of America, Directing Duo rubberband. Hunt Down Assault Weapons In “The Fawn”
This PSA titled “The Fawn” is from United Sense of America, a bipartisan coalition whose mission is to turn common sense and common ground into public policy. “The Fawn” was concepted and created by production company SMUGGLER in partnership with New York-based agency American Haiku and Austin-based agency Preacher. Written by American Haiku ECD Thom Glover and directed by the SMUGGLER duo rubberband., the film was designed as a common sense rallying cry aimed at the hunting community, questioning the need for assault weapons--in hunting and beyond that in our society generally. In light of the recent tragic high school shooting in Georgia, this message takes on a poignant urgency and underscores the need to craft progressive reform policy. The film, painful and seemingly unavoidable, forces the viewer to imagine someone else’s finger on the trigger and something else as its target. A voiceover initially seems to be talking about a fawn who is in plain view. But instead the VO turns out to be referring to the weapon which will claim the animal’s life. While the scene itself is graphic, the messaging is matter of fact. United Sense of America contends there simply is no defensible reason or excuse for assault weapons being necessary for sports hunting--and certainly not in mainstream society which includes our children’s schools. Glover said, “Every line in the film came from online discussions and conversations. Hunters are no different from the rest of us; the way people buy assault weapons is the same as the way they buy a refrigerator. We have to find a way to challenge this situation that doesn’t paint all gun owners as monsters, because they’re not.” [video width="1920" height="1080"... Read More