How It's Made: Producing Vogue shoots and Converse commercials with Jamie Dolan

January 11, 2022

Year after year, New Year's resolution lists are filled to the brim of what could only be described as career aspirations. For Jamie Dolan, a producer with a long list of credits under his belt, his career didn't rely on a spur of a moment, last-minute New Years' resolution but rather was mediated in a vulnerable moment due to a lack of control. From there, DIY videos, student films, and personal projects have aided in the steps that have led up to his career now. But how does one go from making video projects in a high school classroom to producing Vogue Videos set in Paris? Jamie tells the story eloquently by saying, "I just felt that my creative taste, my execution, really pushed me towards that world and then I started pursuing other projects in the New York scene and the indie world and just getting out there and meeting people. Eventually, I like getting involved in some bigger films and learning what it means to be a producer."

And for some, the question of "what does a producer do?" still might ring loudly in the back of one's mind. For some producers, it is a lot of paperwork, or over-seeing financial budgeting, overseeing the creative, or drawing shot-lists and decks on-off time. But overall, it's being the glue and assembling the people and creativity behind each project in music, television, shoots, and movies to make the magic happen. For the young producer, he remembers it inspiring a "go big or go home" mentality. "You gotta do everything yourself, not rely on anyone. So when I figured out that's what producing was, you'll go to wit's end to make something happen, I was like, 'oh wow, I do that in my everyday life.' So that's pretty on-brand with me, but I'm very much a creative producer and I love being in the position to support other creatives." Jamie mentions.

Text by Tiana Randall
Narration by Jamie Dolan
Photos courtesy of Jamie Dolan

Jamie speaks on his day-to-day by stating "In terms of day-to-day, it varies. If I'm on a specific project, especially in the video world, it's just getting everything together, making sure that I'm supporting the new director as best as possible, and hiring all of the right people that contribute and understand the vision that we're trying to achieve. So it varies, but it's always in the realm of lining everything up from A to Z and making sure things are on track to resulting in the smoothest possible shoot and making sure that we achieve exactly what we want."

It is often seen that producers are this some sort-of recluse and exclusive all-knowing beings that have the solution and money for every project that falls into their peripheral. And oftentimes, it's perceived that they are celebrities making an investment on a project that usually have no oversee. However, in our interview with Dolan, it became evident that his drive and microcosm of inventiveness and imagination destroy all allegations that represent an industry of nepotism, connections, and quick cash grabs. But yet lies a young creative looking to expand a industry and create projects that have the big budgets and the name of big brands, but the heart of high school classroom video projects.

From Vogue videos to converse commercials, Jamie Dolan sits down with office to explain the process behind some of his favorite projects.

Louie Lopez Converse Skate Commercial

How it was made:

A friend of mine, a fellow producer named Adam Maffe, reached out to me and was like, okay, I have this good friend that I've worked with over the years and he has this converse project for Louie Lopez, one of the great young skaters alive right now. He asked me if I would wanna produce a mini film yet intended to be a commercial for Louie Lopez. Myself being a young skater for many years, like sponsored at one point, I love skate culture and grew up in New York, so I was super pumped about that. We just came together and put our film brain, so how can we do this properly and then went forward doing that. Then on the day, we just brought together all of Louie's friends and fellow pro skaters and just shot this mini-movie for his shoes.

It was tricky because it was live-action with these shoes that are intended to come to life. So we had to wire and rig these shoes to be walking for VFX purposes. It was so nontraditional too because, in this skate world, these kids just don't give a crap. So it's like, everyone's onset, drinking as if they're having a skate day. It's just like really trying to get them to focus and shoot a video, so it was a lot of fun. It was nontraditional in any manner, but it was a blast.

Well, it was, it was interesting in that regard because the director Bryan, who did this video, came from a background writing on an animated show for Tyler, the creator. So he was very savvy in that space. He was like, okay, we need this to happen. I know exactly how I want it to look on screen and Adam, a producer was like, you guys need to figure out how to make that happen. In the easiest way possible that it'll result in spending the least amount of money in post-production to get it right. So that's where we had to get creative in terms of the execution versus the creation of it. So, you know, we got down and dirty, we managed to rig these shoes off of a fishing line.

Then we would have to be on each side of the camera, holding it, walking it with it on a rig. So a lot of our execution was figuring out how to get creative in terms of making it work rather than like the creation of it, but like making it work and look good, whereas like, it actually would sell. When you rewatch the video, you see these shoes bounce in there and they're not at the shoe itself. It's the shoe, so I felt that it was very tricky to support the ultimate creativity of it and make it look good and not be cheesy.

So the director and Louie grew up together and they always wanted to work together and do something creative together. Bryan comes from again, a TV, film background, so he was like, "Okay, you know, all these commercials for shoes we've seen are boring," and then he was like "How could we make a movie out of this? " So his idea that we discussed with it was really to make this a fun film taking place in the neighborhood that Louie grew up in and incorporating all his real friends and his parents. So I think it was just a play on an old thrasher video. But with the narrative, there wasn't any particular stemming of how this video turned out to be. It was more so just the roots of wanting to break traditional commercials and storytelling.

Vogue Spend 24Hrs Off With Ashley Park

How it was made

So this one was a project in collaboration with Vogue and Vita bird called '24 hours off with Ashley Park.' Ashley Park is one of the stars in the Netflix show, 'Emily In Paris,' so this project was interesting. My friend Miranda Kahn, founder of MIRMADE, hit me up and was like "There's this Vogue project that needs to happen in Paris. Paris is in lockdown. We obviously can't go there and do it. Do you know anyone in Paris that can make this happen? And if you do, we'll take the job and you run it from the states in alliance with a company in Paris." So I was like, "yes, I know people." So I called my friends, Ruben Amar and Lola, and immediately they were into it.

They're both directors, writers, creatives, and have their own production company. This is similar to a lot of the stuff I do, I feel like I always get high to break the traditional way of doing things. So in the past, Vogue has been very traditional and cookie-cutter with how they've done these 24 hours off and they've come off feeling very interview-y and just not as enticing to young people. So they wanted us to break that and make it more cinematic and appealing to young people. So the idea with hiring Ruben and Lola is they're film people and I was like, they could bring something very cinematic and real to this and make it not feel like an interview on this actress's day off.

I was in New York watching and overseeing through a live feed, basically a zoom run through a live feed while they were on set producing the project. It was very fascinating because when you see the result of this video, it feels like a little short film. It's very cinematic, very beautifully shot. Very interesting. At the same time, I was sour, not to be, Paris producing it because of the lockdown. It was a beautiful experience to be able to bring a project to life internationally while not even being there.

I produced the video, so I was overseeing every aspect of production and making sure that we were not only delivering cinematically, as we pitched the client. but that we were delivering enough coverage of the product. That was a big thing with the client and making sure that we did it in a way that also did not come off cheesy and felt like we naturally implemented it [the product] versus being like, 'oh, here is this product that I use every day.' Instead, finding a way to do it in a smooth mannerism which would sell. So a lot of my job day was making sure that everything was delivering how we wanted and making sure that we were gonna have something that was appealing and felt real. So I was very big eyes on that and then in pre-production, I was overseeing everything, and post-production overseeing everything in. Then we ended, we did part of the edit and postproduction in Paris and then the rest in the US.

The project ended up going on for at least a month because when we initially got the green light on producing the project, It was like configuring dates in which we would be able to shoot in Paris. But, this was in May of this year and I believe Paris came off of lockdown on May 18th. I think the only day we were able to shoot was May 18th, literally right in the heat of it. We knew that if we wanted them to do it, we had to figure it out quickly, which was tough because it was just times were a little bit slower and there was less crew available.

So it was very much a struggle of getting it off the ground. Then by the time we finished filming it, we had to put it through a team and edit and then had to go through so many different phases of making sure it landed exactly how we all wanted it. Vogue and Vito were very collaborative with us and the director. So it didn't feel like the client was just like, 'I want exactly what I want or don't care about your vision.' They very much respected us as producers and Lola as a director. So they gave us a lot of free-range and delivered different versions that felt good to us. So we did get the opportunity to spend a little bit more time than we may have normally on any other commercial because these things are a quick turnaround. We had a little bit more time to play with it, so it was with me for at least a month, a month and a half.

Kid Cudi X SZA Cadillac Campaign

How it was made:

Originally that [Kid Cudi X SZA for Cadillac] ended up being a shoot. That project happened this summer, late August. So I was living in New York all summer with the same friend of mine, Miranda Kahn. It was a collaboration. They were collaborating with a bunch of different artists and doing shoots to promote the car.

So yeah, I was in New York and she called me, she's like "We have this project that is most likely starring Kid Cudi and SZA" and asks if I wanna produce it. She said I'd have to go to LA tomorrow. I was like "Oh hell yeah." So I went out there and this was not only a non-traditional process, but also a non-traditional shooting experience. So working with multiple different parties, there was the client, which was Cadillac as well as the influencer team, which was the middle bridging gap between us producers and Cadillac. Their responsibility was to one, secure the talent, and then two deliver on all promotional advertising.

So basically capturing everything made in terms of the role at when the shoot was done. So they were heavily involved with talent. So for the first time, I wasn't responsible for the talent per se. It was a huge lift off my shoulders, there's just so much that comes with it. So it was in LA, we're supposed to do a video, turn into a photoshoot and they're like "Okay, SZA has her photographer, but we need a photographer for Kid Cudi. He's very selective." right off the top and I had one person that is perfect.

It was my friend, Bryan Allen Lamb. He's been a celebrity street photographer for many years and just knows how to truly capture people. I pitched him to the team and they loved him. In terms of the day of shooting, it was interesting, we had the whole Cadillac team there, the whole influencer team, and Kid Cudi. It was a two-day shoot and each day was so different because of different personalities. They were both amazing and so kind, but some people are just more private and quiet, others were super giddy and loved it, but it was very not a traditional experience. What they wanted to do as well was like "It needs to be commercial to sell the car, but at the same time, we want it to look cool, represent, and feel like these artists."

If you look at the result, you could see Kid Cudi's is super laid back and chill. He even wears his chain in it. Then with SZA, the lighting change is completely different. The photographers were so different and had such different approaches. Brian was more street straightforward the photographer who shot SZA's was super colorful. The location was already preset, Cadillac and the influencer team were sent to this location, and it's a very famous location in LA. It's the 'Bat Cave;. It was super cool because the entire ceiling, had all these LED lights and you could do whatever. Everything was broken out that deck and It was structured based on angles of the car that needed to be shown. So we had to come up with a shot list.

It was so weird because technically the photographer was a director and it was a photoshoot, but it felt like it was treated just like a video shoot. Everything was shot listed, everything was broken, it was all structured like a video, but it was a photoshoot. So we had to come up with different creative ideas in which we would capture certain angles of the car so it would look cool and good. So that took a lot of time going back and forth with the director, myself, the client and making sure that we walked through everything and it worked and didn't look the same in every single photo. So that was very hard to achieve. Even the wet down, we decided to do a wet down on the floor. It changed the shoot and made it so much better.

Day By Day Podcast

How it was made

I co-created it [the podcast] with a former collaborator of mine. We started it at the very beginning of COVID, which was March, and had this idea to create something that wasn't as depressing as everything that was happening in the news. We needed to figure out something to keep people sane, happy and give them a space to express how they're feeling. So we reached out to all of our writer and filmmaker friends, and we're like "Look, we have this idea for a podcast, a series of stories inspired by the world we're living through but needs to end with a positive twist."

We didn't want to ignore what's happening, we wanted to speak about those things, but we just needed to make sure it ends positively. I had 50/50, feedback. Some people were like "I'm in, I just don't feel good and I'm in no space to wanna do anything." Others were like "Tthis could help me a lot, I want to be creative and I wanna fight through these times." So we were like "Okay, it's happening now." We collected a bunch of scripts, had $0, but we were like, 'we could do this based on relationships we had with talent.' Knowing that we're both creative people, we ran with it and we were like 'since we have no money for advertising or anything, we need to be dishing these out quickly and a lot of them to get attention.'

So we were doing two a week and the process beyond it is insane because we would have to collect the scripts the week of, just because we didn't have time. So we would collect two scripts a week and figure out how to cast them. We were aiming for celebrity talent because we didn't have money to advertise or promote. We needed to get the word out there as best as possible and quickly. Once we cast them, we'd have to have the actors record and we weren't in a position to be sending any sort of recording devices to people. So we came up with a technique for the actors to record from their iPhone in a closet, following this very specific recording guide that our sound designer had put together and actors record, deliver us to audio, then we would have to edit the audio together.

Then our sound designer would come in and would sound design the entire space that I lived in and sound mix everything for it to sound proper from like a laptop. Then we would hire a composer to compose the episode from their house based on all that. They'd be released every Wednesday and Friday. We usually had two days if that could put that all together at the level we were doing it, which when you go back and listen to 'em, they sound like they were recorded at a professional studio.

so the first few, like the first two episodes we were really like, we just needed to utilize who we had in our immediate corner and a friend of mine, this guy, Allan Mindel, I hit him up and I was just like, "Hey, we're doing this podcast, If you have any talent ideas as time goes on, let me know.: He was like "What do you think about Julia Fox?" I was like, "Oh, I love Julia Fox, she's great. She was just coming off 'Uncut Gems' ". Then he's like "she would love to write one." I was like "oh yeah, I didn't even know she's a writer. Then he's like, would you let her write one? I was like, ah, of course!"

So Julia ended up writing one of our first episodes and at the time was just like, again, coming off on her, such a good opening, she was a good person to have been involved in the opening of it. It took a long while for it to take off and we are featuring a lot of very great, talented people with huge platforms. Every episode highlighted the charity and we were raising money for whatever was happening in that current moment. So we very much tried to be in good timing with what was most likely necessary during these times.

It was very discouraging at first. because we were five, six episodes in and we're like, wow, these episodes are pretty powerful. They're all talking about what's happening in the world and also inspiring people while highlighting charities. It sounds like it's a beautiful escape and it's meant to help people and it's like, nobody cares. Then we got an episode with Camila Mendes and Lucas Hedges, which people responded well to, obviously they're both such incredible and respected actors. The numbers started turning around and people were like, I'm curious, what is this?

The biggest turning point for us was I think it was the following episode of two or so episodes after was an episode with Josephine Langford. It was a 15, 20-minute long script of her just speaking about mental health and not being okay. It is okay to speak about not being okay and we know that she was as big as she was international. Sometimes we always tried to get the episodes out at night, by 8:00 PM because it took so long, but for this one, we couldn't and we didn't get it done until 5:00 AM. Then it really kind of caught on, but it bracketed us into this young demographic, which all these girls are 14 to 18, just sobbing and being like,"oh my God, that's my favorite actress" but they didn't understand at first what it was.

They were just like "wait, my favorite actress is speaking about how she feels right now and I feel the same way and this is so important." So I think people were just like, oh, but they didn't know what was happening. Then they started to dive in and then they're like "oh wait, why are all these other actors I like in it too." From that point is where things changed.

Art

Pamela Sneed’s Speaking Tongue opens at Dashwood Projects

November 15, 2024

Pamela Sneed’s latest exhibition, Speaking Tongue, will be on view at Dashwood Projects from November 20 to December 21. The show features twenty watercolor and ink paintings inspired by her recent trip to Kenya, where she was deeply moved by the elegance of giraffes, the landscapes, and the energy of Nairobi.

Blending her background as a poet and visual artist, Sneed’s work reflects on themes of identity, nature, and connection. Her paintings capture the beauty and spirit of the animals she encountered, alongside reflections on her own experiences as part of the African diaspora.

This exhibition marks Sneed’s first solo show with Dashwood Projects and will be accompanied by a new book, also titled Speaking Tongue, to be released in December.

By Enzo Holdt
Artworks by Pamela Sneed

Art

Tiebreaker - Alvin Armstrong

November 15, 2024

There is a moment of silence right before the play. Just before the racket strikes the ball as it hangs weightless in the air, breathless and charged. It’s the fleeting yet decisive instant that can alter the course of the match, determining who wins and who loses.

Alvin Armstrong depicts this crucial moment in his new exhibition Tiebreaker, symbolizing the risks and rewards of competition. It’s an implication of something else at stake, where athletes push not only their bodies, but their spirits to the absolute limit.

The dynamic figures embody the strength, grace, and agility juxtaposed by the vibrant color palette evoking not just the joy of competition but the charged energy of the court.

Tiebreaker is opening Thursday, November 16th at Anna Zorina Gallery.

By Rea Brayshaw
Artworks by Alvin Armstrong

Art

The Things People Are Ashamed To Take Photos Of: The Photography and Films of Yuhan Cheng

Yuhan’s latest exhibition of photo and video work titled 窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里 takes its namesake from what could’ve been a mundane encounter. A month after moving to New York City from Chengdu, China, they stumbled across an abandoned fish tank left curbside. It reminded them of “the rotating fish in a tank that faded into the background of their mother’s home in Chengdu”, a thread connecting childhood familiarity that transformed into a symbol of greater significance in adulthood. A tank is a world within a world; a microcosm secluded from the broader chaos of the outside. Since then Yuhan has captured the other kinds of “fish tanks” closest to them in their photography and short films. Not literal ones necessarily– but intimate confined spaces in Chengdu and NYC where time stands still.

In the midst of taking snapshots of loved ones, Yuhan decided to turn their tender but examining lens on themselves. They realized shooting self-portraits unraveled a deeper understanding of their own nonbinary gender and queer sexuality. Yuhan admits in one of their short films “I hide from looking at my own body.” Yet, in the seclusion of their room which doubles as a dark room, Yuhan began to develop their first nude photos chronicling the subtle wounds; bitten cuticles, bruises, and scrapes they’ve accumulated involuntarily, once again documenting the things people choose to hide.

窗子外 Outside the Window, Inside the Tank 鱼缸里, debuted at FAR-NEAR Studio Hours a gallery in Chinatown focused on expanding the art world's view of Asia and Asian artists curated by Lulu Yao Gioiello. The event merged Yuhan’s works from the past three years, including 70 photographs, three short documentaries, and one installation. There was something uncanny about the gallery’s atmosphere – from the dollar store teal green curtains obscuring every window to the clusters of framed photos mimicking how photos of relatives are displayed in one’s childhood home, to the darkened lighting that was both disorienting and cozy. All these details were meticulously chosen to imitate the rooms depicted in Yuhan’s films and photography. In other words, the audience was invited to Yuhan’s “fishtank”, to share the odd balance of comfort and unease of being known intimately. We talked to Yuhan at Cafe Reggio to understand how their latest body of work came into being.

Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity.

Ora Margolis— Were any memories/childhood experiences you had in Chengdu important to how you've developed as an artist?

Yuhan Cheng— Growing up in Chengdu, especially in a military household, shaped and gave me a source of contention how I understood my identity. There was always a sense of conflict when it came to my body and feeling like I didn’t quite fit the expectations around me. This tension has been a driving force in my practice, pushing me to explore identity and belonging in my work.

Tell us a bit about your latest exhibition Outside the Window, Inside the Tank at Far. What headspace were you in when taking these photos?

YC— Outside the Window, Inside the Tank is about the fluidity of self; our bodies, our environments, and our identities. The idea of water as both a symbol of confinement and freedom is central to the photos and film that comprise the exhibit. This fluidity much like how I see my experience moving between Chengdu and New York, where similar feelings follow me no matter where I am. Water mirrors the body, the frame, and the room, which are all containers of the self.

Previously, you’ve said you wanted the exhibition space to look "like your room". How did you make that happen and why is your NYC room important to you?

YC— My room in NYC is an extension of my identity. It’s where I feel vulnerable and where I explore myself most openly. It’s a manifestation of my sense of self. I recreated certain elements in the exhibition—the green sheer curtains, the dollar store shower curtain with bubbles, and the center installation depicted a self-portrait deteriorating in water, reminiscent of a fish in a tank. This room, like any other room or container, magnifies the tension of self-exploration.

Has your idea or comfort with your gender identity and /sexuality changed since you’ve delved into photography?

YC— Yes. The process of photography and filming has been a mirror to my own understanding of self. Initially, I was exploring my friends’ identities through the lens, but slowly, it became a tool to confront and understand my own queerness and gender identity. The process of photographing my queer friends and then myself allowed me to come to terms with who I am.

How did you and Lulu Yao of FAR-NEAR Studio meet, and what makes her a good collaborator?

YC— We first connected when I reached out with my series Princess of Funan River. Lulu understood the struggles and complexities in the work and she invited me to expand on those ideas with her. Our collaboration has worked because Lulu truly resonates with the themes I’m drawn to, like fluidity, transformation, and the intimacy of navigating belonging.

After completing Fish Tank and Remnants of an Amateur Film, what kind of movie do you want to make next?

YC— Right now, I’m more focused on writing. I need to understand what I want to say before making another film. Writing helps me find clarity;it’s a crucial part of my process.

What kind of camera do you use and why?

YC— I use a Canon AE-1. I started with it and I still love it. It's small, spontaneous, easy to use, and light. It allows me to capture moments naturally without overthinking.

What's your biggest fear?

YC— Being disconnected from my sense of self, from others, and from the things I love.

When do you feel most like yourself?

YC— It’s during those fleeting moments when I complete a project. That feeling fades quickly, leaving me searching for the next project to reconnect with that sense of fulfillment.

How do you want people to feel when they interact with your art?

YC— I want them to feel whatever resonates with them. I don’t want to prescribe the experience; it should feel right for each person.

Your work focuses on the close knit communities that surround you or various metaphorical “fish tanks”. What communities do you feel closest to?
YC— The queer artist community, both in Chengdu and NYC, has been a source of comfort and understanding for me. There’s something about shared struggles and shared creative language that feels like home.

What's the biggest difference between living life as a queer artist in NYC and in Chengdu?

YC— In both NYC and Chengdu, I’m learning more about myself. NYC offers a sense of freedom, while Chengdu is home, a place of comfort and history. Neither place defines me but both are significant parts of my path.

What are your next moves/goals?

YC— I want to continue exploring both film and photography, expanding my narrative style and experimenting across mediums. During my show, I found new ways of seeing my photographs such as by adding a window screen between frames or letting a self-portrait fade and grow mold in water. These approaches allowed me to see my work not just as 2D images but as 3D objects.

I want to keep pushing the boundaries of how photo and film can interact, and I’m also interested in trying photojournalism. My focus remains on collaborating across mediums and continuing to accumulate experiences that I can translate into sincere honest work.