Interview by Joshua Phillip
Rorschach Art Publication
rorschacharchives.blogspot.com
In this interview I talk with director, writer, producer, and cinematographer, Dan Melamid (DanTheMan). He is the son of conceptualist artist Alexander Melamid.
Dan has a unique, creative, and adaptive ability which has allowed him to gain a wide field of experience and knowledge. He is foundational in the visual expression connected with the music (videos) in the careers of hip hop artists Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and 50 Cent.
He worked closely with Prodigy and 50 and he was able, along with them, to translate their lyrics into a personal visual expression through the visual art form.
In this interview we focus on Prodigy’s MAC 10 HANDLES, a song which is produced by The Alchemist, and directed by Dan Melamid.
There is also featured below the
50 Cent video titled ‘Ryder Music’ which is directed by Dan and which is part of the many 50 Cent videos Dan directed for 50 Cent’s album The Massacre.
His other videos on Massacre include: “In My Hood”, “This Is 50”, “I’m Supposed to Die Tonight”, “Gatman and Robbin”(ft. Eminem), “Get in My Car”, “Ski Mask Way”, “A Baltimore Love Thing”,
“Gunz Come Out”, “Position of Power” “Build You Up”(ft. Jamie Foxx), “Outta Control”, “God Gave Me Style”,
and “So Amazing”(ft. Olivia).
website for Dan Melamid
www.danmelamid.com
Instagram Mobb Deep
mobbdeepqb
Instagram Prodigy Of Mobb Deep
prodigymobbdeep
Instagram Havoc Of Mobb Deep
mobbdeephavoc
Instagram Alchemist
alanthechemist
website for Alchemist
www.alcrecords.com
Instagram 50 Cent
50cent
TATE ARTIST INTERVIEW: VITALY KOMAR AND ALEXANDER MELAMIDwww.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/world-goes-pop/artist-interview/vitaly-komar-and-alexander-melamid
KOMAR AND MELAMID TATE BIOGRAPHYwww.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/world-goes-pop/artist-biography/komar-and-melamid
SAATCHI GALLERY ARTIST: VITALY KOMAR AND ALEXANDER MELAMIDwww.saatchigallery.com/artist/komar_and_melamid
Discuss in detail the concept behind Mac 10 Handles?
Mac 10 Handles was a video me and Prodigy did right after we got off of a
G Unit, 50 Cent, European tour. We really bonded and got close. Previous to that we worked on several videos that included Stuck To You, New York Shit, The Infamous ft 50 Cent, and actually a few others. So we already had quite a big working relationship but during this tour me and Prodigy really really bonded. Every city we were in, we would do the tourist thing while most of the other rappers stayed in hotels. When we got back, it was close to Halloween and Alchemist and P (Prodigy) had played me the album that included Mac 10 Handle, the track to the album, and you know, P always, uh, Prodigy always had inclines to do horror, horror movies etc, so he was really adamant about a horror theme. The real reason the video went so viral, quote unquote, at the time, was really because of the cusp of groundbreaking technology. This technology was the ability to use film cinema lenses on video cameras. Before that the only way to get a look like that would be renting a film camera – 35mm film camera, which would take the video budget to about $25,000. And these things called 35mm adaptors came out which was like this gigantic addition to the front of the camera that enabled you to use cinema lenses on video cameras. So I was just experimenting with that technology and P came up with his own money which is shoe string, very low. Everything we did before that they were those regular kind of budget videos, but this video, he was like just me and you do it, knock it out. So basically I rented this 35mm adaptor, we probably had about 7-grand for the whole budget and it was close to Halloween, and in New York City there was a lot of pop up stores open that sell various horror costumes. Me and my cinematographer / assistant at the time, Al Roberts, had already shot so many videos together and my ethos has always been, if something is moving really great in your mind then put a lot of resources into that video, because this is an art form it’s not just a business. There’s certain videos you’re just trying to make a lot of money out of, but if you feel like there’s an opportunity to inspire, then go all out, and this was one of them times. The location was in Queens. It was literally a drug den where somebody lived – they sold drugs in – and we just brought a couch in there and brought all of those little props he’s playing with and we shot it on this new technology.
I remember I didn’t really think anything of the video…. we’ve been doing videos, they’ve all looked great. I didn’t really realise until Stevie Williams, the Skateboarder, who was the hottest thing at the time, was sitting in my office and saw the video and he responded “oh my God, this is the greatest video I’ve ever seen!” and I was like, really? that’s interesting. So that sort of tipped me off as to the reception it was going to get.
YouTube wasn’t a thing then. The reason for music videos at the time was to get them on TV. So when this video came out and it looked cinematic and it had all the makings of a horror film and it had all those little horror tropes and imagery, it really changed my approach to music videos. Before that I was really on par with documentary videos. Mac 10 Handles definitely catapulted my music video career. The main critic of the Village Voice, which was one of the premier newspapers at the time, awarded the video runner up to the video of the Year. The other videos there were gigantic budget videos and this little tiny video that we did made that list. And then Complex magazine dubbed it video of that decade. It just opened up all the doors. Everyone recognised its art, recognised me as driving force and a creative, and it really relaunched Prodigy’s second resurgence. We continued this spree in several other videos after that.
The various objects in the room, where did you get them from and how did you then design the layout of their placement within the space?
As I said it was very close to Halloween when I shot that. When you see that he’s at this kind of night club where there’s all these people dressed up, well this was an underground illegal warehouse party that was thrown in Brooklyn called The Third Ward Party. It was a party that we would go to yearly, and I knew that it was coming up and this video was a perfect opportunity for that. So we literally went with Prodigy and they welcomed us with open arms. Back then nobody had video cameras, let alone in a darkened club and we shot all that, you know, like the person in the George Bush mask, and girls, you know this sort of costumed thing. Actually that party got raided by the police that year and shut down for ever – it was its last year. The props on the table, well, the bullet was not mine, I’ll give you a hint as to whose it was, he ended up doing 3 years in jail for possession of a gun, and that would be Prodigy. We also were doing a lot of macro work in other words using a macro lense, getting really close, the eyeball, the bullet, and other things. We had this simplistic one room Kind of thing, it calls for these little details. Prodigy was very very much involved in this set design as well. He really loved this sort of thing and we would just go crazy with costuming and props and would be running around the city sending each other images, picking up all kinds of crazy stuff. He was definitely very heavily involved, and definitely Al Roberts my cinematographer who we’ve previously did tons of videos together, he was definitely a gigantic force in this as well as the label at the time which was Prodigy’s record label. You know like, a lot of labels of that era would have a video commissioner instead, would really want to look at the script, well this label really just trusted us, like, well we trust you, just do your thing and we’ll be good.
What conversations took place between yourself and Prodigy throughout the creative and filming process?
I really don’t remember that much of it like that. We’d done so many videos together that I guess they bubble into together. I mean it was just another video. It wasn’t just another video, it was another low budget video. You know it’s a strange thing if you were to ask me, is this going to be the video, but it just goes to show you, right place, right time, right song – that’s very important, right artist, it being close to Halloween, you know, all these things came together at that moment.
How long did it take to shoot the video and what were the various stages in making it?
The shoot was one day, well two nights rather. One night shooting that interior location. And the Brooklyn warehouse party, one night shooting that exterior location at Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And the driving scenes as well, were in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
What was it like on set during the filming process?
Well you know the way these low budget videos work, we’d already worked on so many videos before and I’m the cinematographer / director /and there was me, Al, Prodigy, and with me an assistant, that’s it. You know, Al’s van, my camera. We’d rented the 35mm lenses, we had this little crane that I owned, and this steady camera, and that’s what it was.
Describe both yours and Prodigy’s work ethic during filming?
Well it’s a privilege and honour to do videos together especially when you’re into them, and with the work ethic I’m very excited always. I have the sort of work ethic where I’ll wear the artist out – let’s do another take! Let’s do another take! But me and P (Prodigy) had such a close relationship and had collaborated and he was just as excited. He was just there to get the greatest result. And being with Al(Alchemist) we all loved the song and it was just great.
What sort of drink and food were you consuming at that time? Was there a particular diet you or Prodigy were following?
Well I mean if you see him drinking that gigantic Hennessy bottle, and that alcohol he was spitting on the mirror, but I’m sure the food we were consuming was not healthy. There’s definitely no healthy food options in that neighbourhood in Queens where that set was. I’m sure there was some kind of fried situation.
50 Cent’s The Massacre album. You directed, produced, shot and edited most of the music videos for this album. It was how you connected with Prodigy. Discuss your creative process working on the Massacre and yours and 50 Cent’s work ethic in making it?
I met 50 cent before he got signed and started documenting him. It was just a very symbiotic type of thing where I would be rolling around with my camera filming him. Then all of a sudden lo and behold I get a phone call from his lawyer who I also know because he’s friends with this guy I used to work for, his name is Johnathan Shecter, he’s one of the founders of the Source magazine, Theo was a friend of his, that’s 50 Cents lawyer. Lo and behold another very close friend of his and that’s Paul Rosenberg, who happened to discover Eminem, and also there’s Sha Money XL, who’s a producer at G Unit records, who I happened to also know. Its a funny thing how this whole thing worked. And also me and Whoo Kidd who ended up being 50 Cents DJ were partners in this video thing. The mixtape DJs ended up doing video content and that’s where me and him formed a partnership. So it was all kind of set up for me to get this thing. I’m business partners with Whoo Kidd, I know everyone in that circle, so basically that’s how I got involved with 50. We toured around and I was filming. We were obviously shooting, and again when we shot stuff back then it was pre YouTube so there was not an outlet for it in the same way. When we would see it, it would be internal. And then we would put it on DVDs, right, that was the business plan /model at the time. So 50 had this idea to do a video for every song on the album (The Massacre) and that’s where I came in. There was Candy shop directed by Jesse Terrero and 2 or 3 big budget videos that I did not shoot, and the rest of it I sort of had to piece it together. They gave me a very very low budget and I shot a bunch of those videos in Canada, I shot a bunch of them in Queens. 50 was doing his movie at the time (Get Rich or Die Trying), it was very piece meal. A bunch of them I shot in the mansion he brought that was Mike Tysons old house, and just driving around utilising documentary footage I had. Yeah that’s kind of how it came together. It was re released – as a bonus thing. The album was released, and then, I’m not sure when, but the album was re-released with a dvd component. You have to remember that people had DVD screens in their cars and that was sort of the culture at the time.
What filming equipment do you work with?
It was pre HD. It was before High Definition. It was the start of the 720, the Panasonic HBX’s and DVX’s and before the red cameras came out. A lot of it was shot on Super 16 which I love and there was a couple of 35mm shoots in there. You know, the real deal man, you got to load the film, you know, you have your eight rolls. There’s something about that stuff that’s just magical. And now I have not shot on 35mm or 16mm, for that fact, in a long time. I wish I could shoot on it but it’s such a pain in the ass. I’d have to convince people to do it now. And honestly I think digital has really caught up in such a big way to on what we were shooting on back then. So if you think about it I would say when I shoot on the Alexa with some vintage lenses, it doesn’t look to much different to those things what it looked like. The film does have a more magical quality somehow. We use real film grain so it’s kind of like we try to mimic that to as real degree as possible. Digital cameras are so clean, that’s why we all love to use strange vintage uncoated lenses to try to dirty up or mess up to give texture to the cleanliness that HD has brought in.
What are your daily habits?
I have to stay up on current shit. Things are always changing and if you’re not experimenting, you’re stagnant. If you’re not pushing yourself, you’re stagnant. If you’re not pushing yourself and making mistakes that’s boring. If there’s no risk, there’s no reward. All of the great things come out of not necessarily the highest budget, where you think it would come out. Like a lot of the experimental stuff, is the stuff what people love at the end of the day. I think that you have to challenge yourself. You have to learn new software. You have to experiment with new technologies. You have to use the cameras, you know etc etc. It’s always changing, it’s forever changing, everyday it’s changing.
What books do you read?
I have here in front of me Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez. Let’s see what else, obviously Syd Field. Syd Field is an amazing screen writing technician. What else do I have here, The Art of Prodding. Yeah these are my cinematography books.
What does your diet consist of nowadays?
Ah interesting. My diet consists of only fermented foods, and wild berries, and Elk, nah I made that up. My diet consists of food. I tend to do my own cooking. I just ate some Steak with beans. And no starch, you know, I’m trying to watch my weight. No more fried food for me lol. I’m kidding. Everything in moderation.
Drink any health drinks?
Yeah, I like Ginger, – (I ask about Green Juices to) – yeah I guess my wife does, I won’t say no.
Do you meditate?
I do hand stands on Skateboards. I can’t sit still long enough to meditate. But hand stands on Skateboards, that’s my meditation.
Burn incense or Sage etc?
Nah, but I burn weed though.
Favourite pieces of Art work?
My favourite pieces of art work? That’s a pretty heavy question. I’m a fan of a lot of different art work from the 80’s Pop artists to Rembrandt and Monet and stuff like that. A thing about the great part of living in New York City is that you can get to go to the Metropolitan Museum, and there’s a couple of rooms in there where you’re like oh I’ve seen these paintings reproduced all the time. It’s free and you can just go there. I take that stuff for granted because of the great city I live in. I do love great art. I think nowadays a lot of the Renaissance art work from the Da Vinci’s to Van Gogh is really undervalued compared to the Warhol’s and the Basquiat’s that are overvalued. I think that’s a very interesting phenomenon that’s happening now because of the influence of Pop art and how heavy it is. People would rather have a triptych of Marilyn Monroe on their wall than a Van Gogh painting. Whereas I think that the Van Gogh painting would have more value to me in my opinion, and in my head.
What metals do you like and why?
I like Titanium. Why? Because it’s strong yet light. My trucks are made out of Titanium. Thunder trucks.
Any interest in Geology, or weather patterns, or volcanic activity?
I did go to Iceland, this summer, for a couple of days, it was very interesting.
I love that kind of terrain, I don’t study it or nothing like that. It was definitely an inspirational trip.