Before I saw the self-proclaimed “Best Rapper Alive’s” new ultraviolet tattoos (via Global Grind and Lil Wayne HQ), I had no idea that it was possible for an individual to acquire tattoos with ultraviolet properties.
Very cool.
Feel free to check out the images of Lil Wayne’s ultraviolet star tattoos below, and more information on Lil Wayne can be found here:
In a recent MTV interview, “Tron Legacy” director, Joseph Kosinski confirmed that the score for his highly-anticipated remake film will be produced by my favorite house/electronic duo — Daft Punk.
What’s more, Kosinski also confirmed that the highly-innovative musicians will be starring in “Tron Legacy” and praised the artists in the following statements (via inthemix):
“This is a film where there was a lot of interest from different electronic bands that I follow, to work on the film. I felt it was important, just as the first film was so forward-thinking visually and Wendy Carlos’ music was so innovative, I felt we had to do the same thing here… I set up a meeting with Daft Punk.
These guys take “Tron” very seriously. Obviously, “Tron” was a huge influence on them. It was almost like they were interviewing me to make sure that I was going to hold up to the “Tron” legacy. But the more we talked, we realized that creatively, we were totally synced up.”
“I’ve been working on it with them for over a year and a half. I don’t know of a movie where you’re working on the soundtrack months before you start filming. The level of integration between the music and the film is incredibly strong.”
At first I wanted to see “Tron Legacy” for the visual content of the film alone.
Now that I know that the movie score has been produced by Daft Punk, I can’t wait to see the parallels between the visuals and the music in the movie, and I’m also sure the soundtrack will have a lot of replay value.
The trailer to “Tron Legacy” can be found below (via Clevver Movies) and more information on “Tron Legacy”, Joseph Kosinski and on Daft Punk can be found at these URLs:
Below, I’ve included a funny tribute to Chinese New Year, which is also a cover of recording artist, Lady Gaga’s“Poker Face” by Malaysia’s own, Bobby Gaga (via ChinaSmack).
Below, I’ve featured a promotional video produced by Hypebeast and Adidas and which was directed by Kellen Dengler.
The video features recording artist, Snoop Dogg marching throughout New York City with Star Wars antagonist, Darth Vader and a small contingent of Stormtroopers.
This video was produced to help promote the new Star Wars Adidas sneakers, which will be released soon.
I’m huge fan of all of George Lucas’ work and I thought it was really cool to see three iconic brands — Snoop Dogg, Adidas and Star Wars collaborating in this way.
“In the hood, we call him Dark Vader.”
More information on Adidas, Kellen Dengler, Star Wars and on Snoop Dogg can be found here:
Below, I’ve included a fascinating presentation on one of the most beneficial and powerful prohormones known to modern science — Vitamin D.
At this point in history, the evidence which suggests that there are seemingly countless health benefits associated with the consumption of vitamin D is almost overwhelming.
More information on this great nutrient can be found via this blog, here: ajani.ca/blog/?p=569.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Davin Black for my black and white photographic essay on Toronto’s entire Hip-Hop scene — Project T Dot and also for Hip-Hop Canada, even though his talents as a visual artist transcend the realms of Hip-Hop, Rock and other musical genres.
Davin Black has worn many different hats within the worlds of the arts and entertainment over the course of his professional life, and he has most recently found success as a versatile music video director, as part of the esteemed and Canadian-based 235 Films production company.
Having worked with artists such as Dru, Arkells, Solitair, Theory Of A Deadman, The Saint Alvia Cartel and Stereos, Black is an award-winning and versatile visionary who will soon be a household name in Canada, in the U.S. and abroad.
When did you first realize that world of film and video was for you and how would you compare and contrast when you first fell in love with the industry that you’re a part of and your perspective on the industry as of today?
I had been doing my own thing with a band for many years, traveling around and acquiring life experience and eventually I decided it was time to do something different.
I had to find something that I knew I would enjoy, because I had always lived my life doing what I had wanted to do – trying to remain happy.
So, I saw this industry as an industry that I would be able to excel within, but I also saw it as something that I would enjoy being a part of.
In contrast, I would say, when you start out and you’re young and you’re really hungry, your expectations are huge and you should keep them huge.
But, what I’ve learned is that you really have to put your time in and learn about your craft, before you can reach your expectations in terms of what you can achieve.
Now, would you be able to summarize the creative process between the point where a client approaches you to shoot a commercial or a music video or whatever it may be and the point wherein the video is actually produced?
A commercial involves a client coming to me with their own creative vision, which they would in turn like for me, the director, to make into a reality for them.
In a music video, I am expected to come up with the creative. The clients are artist themselves and they want to see something cool.
“We want you to do this video and we would like to develop an idea with you.“
I think that approach works the best and it allows me to work closely with the group or band to create an accurate representation of them, coupled with my interpretation of who they are.
In other cases, a record label may already have a specific image in mind already for their marketing purposes. In this case it is more like a commercial.
Sometimes people send music out to me and they essentially say, “show me what you got” and I may end up being up against x amount of other directors.
It’s great that you get to collaborate with so many different artists and get to know them as artists – from their own perspectives, because I don’t think you can accurately depict musicians through music videos without getting to really know them and their music.
Anyway, how would you describe your style of video and who are some of the other film/video directors or visual artists (in general) that have influenced you the most?
Everyone I’ve been around has influenced my style. We all influence one another.
In terms of how I would describe my style, that’s a tough question for me, because I view myself as being diverse.
I think my style is unpredictable.
You don’t know what you’re going to get. If one project is different from the next, then I’m happy. When I feel that I’m doing something in a repetitive pattern, I’m not nearly as happy. I’d rather try and move forward rather than back.
That essentially means that every single project that you’re involved in will look unique and that each group or artists that you work with will be reflected uniquely and accurately, regardless of the nature of the projects. That’s a great style to have.
In any case, in terms of your career, what has been one of the most difficult challenges that you’ve had to overcome? – whether it was an aspect of the industry or a specific occurrence that you struggled to get over, career-wise.
Really, I haven’t had anything to struggle over beside myself.
The opportunities are out there; there are experienced people out there.
If you are focused and dedicated and you really want it, you can do it here, in Toronto.
I’m my own worst enemy.
Any obstacles that I’ve faced career-wise have been in my head and I think the same can be said about anyone in this industry and we all have the ability to get past those obstacles.
Finally, since this interview will be used for Project T Dot –- my documentary on Toronto ‘s Hip-Hop scene, how did you first get involved in Toronto’s Hip-Hop scene and what role does the film/video director play in Toronto Hip-Hop?
I got into the Toronto Hip-Hop scene mainly through the music video industry.
I was always into the underground music scene and I got to know pretty much everyone in the community and I found that everyone was really cool and humble.
The scene is made up of artists and no one here’s head is too big and it’s great working with a number of people within the community.
Video production plays a huge role in Toronto’s Hip-Hop scene because it’s how the artist is portrayed visually on Television, Youtube, etc.
And again, when you get to collaborate with artists beforehand, everything tends to go well.
Below, I’ve included the Black-directed music videos for “Make A Move” by recording artist, Solitair as well as “Money In My Pocket” by P Reign, “Blonde Kryptonite” by The Saint Alvia Cartel, “Pullin Punches” by Arkells and “Stay With Me (Always)” by Dru.
I’ve also featured images that I recently captured of Davin, as well as some still images from his music videos.
More information on Davin Black and on 235 Films can be found at these URLs:
“A.D.” is a recently-produced computer-animated horror/adventure film which was directed by sci-fi filmmaker, Ben Hibon — the creative genius behind “Codehunters”, and which was written by Haylar Garcia and produced by Bernie Goldmann — the producer behind “300″.
Also, the animation and production value of “A.D. will be amazing, if the full-length version is anything like the trailer.
Based on Goldmann’s past work as a producer for “300″ — a movie that I really enjoyed and respected at a visual level, I’m definitely looking forward to watching A.D. in its entirety.
The trailer for “A.D.” can be watched below (and via Abort Magazine) and more information on the movie, Ben Hibon, Haylar Garcia and on Bernie Goldmann is available at these URLs:
The Hubble Space Telescope recently captured some images of an X-shaped debris pattern traveling at a high speed and which astronomers have estimated to have a nucleus that is about 460 feet in width.
The nucleus of the previously mentioned object is outside of a substantial dust halo which has been separated from a trail of dust.
The behavior of this particular terrestrial object has never been observed before, and both NASA and ESA believe that it is the product of a powerful collision between two comets.
The unnamed bi-product of the hypothetical collision was estimated to be traveling at a speed of approximately 11,000 miles per hour, between January 25th and January 29th.
Feel free to check out NASA and ESA’s latest discovery, below (and via Gizmodo).
More information on NASA, ESA and on the Hubble Space Telescope can be found at these URLs:
Recently, DJ Green Lantern aka “The Evil Genius” and Styles P aka “The Ghost” — two of my favorite Hip-Hop recording artists, have collaborated on an album entitled “The Green Ghost Project” together.
Styles P, whose one of the founding members of The Lox and of D-Block, has been one of my favorite rappers since the Lox were a part of Diddy’sBad Boy Entertainment, circa 1997.
DJ Green Lantern — Eminem’s former DJ and Nas’ current DJ, is not only one of the most talented live Hip-Hop DJs in the world, but his skills as a producer are brilliant and it can even be claimed that he is one of Hip-Hop’s great producers — a producer of the same caliber as the Dr. Dres, the RZAs and the Kanye Wests of the musical genre.
The album art work for “The Green Ghost Project”, which was produced in a comic book style, has been featured below (and via Nah Right), along with one of my portraits of DJ Green Lantern, which was also produced by visual artist, Wong of Soulimage Designs in a comic book style.
As a huge comic book fan, I could not help but love “The Green Ghost Project’s” art work when I first came across it and I’m hoping that this style of illustration will be employed in future projects by the two icons.
The inevitably unorthodox album and the collaboration between P and “The Evil Genius” has been described by Styles P as “a different display of talent. We got together and brainstormed about it and it came out crazy!”
I’m definitely looking forward to hearing what this collaboration album by two of Hip-Hop’s most talented and perhaps underrated veterans has to offer, when it’s released tomorrow morning.
More information on Styles P, DJ Green Lantern and on “The Green Ghost Project” can be found at these URLs:
I recently came across a great black and white short film, directed by Canadian filmmaker, Arev Manoukian and produced by Stellar Scene Pictures, entitled “Nuit Blanche”.
“Nuit Blanche” recently won a $100,000 grand prize at the “Life’s Good Film Festival Grande Finale”, last week in Toronto.
I thought the cinematography in “Nuit Blanche” was nothing short of incredible and reminiscent of great black and white films, such as “Casablanca” or “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?”, while incorporating very modern and cool slow motion film techniques and post-production.
I also appreciated the choice of music that Manoukian and his associates at Stellar Scene Pictures made, as far as this particular short film is concerned.
I would love to see Manoukian direct a major motion picture one day.
Below, I’ve included “Nuit Blanche” (via 1LoveT.O.) and more information on Arev Manoukian and on LG’s “Life’s Good Film Festival” can be found here:
