Mad World 2.0 | Creating Art During A World Wide Pandemic

Jul 5

During the beginning of the Corona Virus pandemic, I made a memorable piece of work that flooded viewers with emotions and tears. I directed and filmed dancers wearing masks in an empty-haunting setting during the stay-at-home orders in Denver, CO.

This is the story of how it all came together and the reaction it received.

How I Lost $40k In A Week

During the spring of 2020, I told my roommate, “I don’t think this pandemic thing is going to affect me”.

The next week I lost $40,000.

Another slap in the face was when a large outdoor company, GearJunkie, decided to cancel the position of their director of video…

A job I had turned down three times only to finally decide to say yes.

I had two interviews with them and it was down to three of us…..but the pandemic happened and that ship sailed away.

I was defeated.

I moved out to Denver in 2018 with no work lined up, but I had a plan.

That first year I made $10,000 freelancing and another $7,000 delivering food and bartending weddings.

Don’t ask me how I made it work—I just did it miraculously.

2020 was going to be a big year for me.

I had made $36,000 in 2019 and at the beginning of 2020, I had signed one contract for $42,000 for the year.

I estimated I’d make $80,000…

But instead, I filed for unemployment and moved across the country to move in with my sister.

During those last few weeks in Denver, I decided to document the empty streets of Denver during the stay-at-home orders.

But I didn’t want to make a video with just (amazing) drone footage—I wanted to make people feel something.

I wanted a video with a long shelf life that told a story.

A story of not only what I was going through, but something everyone during this time could relate to.

Within this video journal, I'll include:

The full Mad World video.
The Instagram excerpt overviewing the project at that time.
Behind-the-scenes footage.
Press related links.
Commentary from the community on how this video hit their soul.

Instagram Excerpt

Here’s the caption from my Instagram Post:

Dancing in a Mad World is an artistic way to document the emptiness that has been in Denver for the last month and a half.

I’ve seen so many cool montage videos of empty cities, but there was no story.

This is a story of finding beauty during the chaos, the light in the darkness.

I feel like I am at my best when I’ve been defeated the most. I wanted to reflect that in this video.

This is a story of how during mad times art succeeded.

I feel like I am at my best when I’ve been defeated the most. I wanted to reflect that in this video.

During tough times comes great art.

We’ll remember these times for the rest of our lives but I wanted to have something to show how I viewed the Covid-19 Pandemic.

This project brought a group of strangers, who each had their talent and passion, to create something that I hope will deeply impact you all.

I hope this is unlike anything you’ve seen.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this project! You were all amazing to work with.

Conclusion

This video was received on an emotional level like no other video I’ve made before.

So many people said they found it inspiring and beautiful. Lots of people admitted they cried.

It was after this project that I realized that my best work has stemmed from me stepping outside my comfort zone.

I did so many things for the first time in this video:

Directed other creatives and shooters to make my vision come alive.
Choreographed dancers (whom I was meeting for the first time).
Successfully pitched a bunch of strangers into getting involved.
Made the news.
Sold footage to Youtube.

Still, to this day people mention this video to me or introduce me as “the guy who made that emotional video during Covid”

Someone recently told me:

“The comeback is always greater than the setback”

That perfectly describes what happened to me. Just as my business was taking off I get slapped in the face by a worldwide pandemic causing my business to come to a screeching halt.

Instead of being defeated I rose and created one of the best pieces of content I’ve ever made. It’s something that will have a long shelf life and is something I will always be proud of.

Don’t forget……

“During tough times comes great art”