Down Again - Premier

Very proud to release the short film I created on Chimaira vocalist Mark Hunter and the relationship between creativity and mental illness titled Down Again:

I am bipolar and Chimaira was a huge influence to me creatively, as well as an outlet for anger when I was 15-16 and a mentally disturbed kid. Like Emily says in the piece; "They got me through hard times" so this project meant quite a lot to me.

It was a great experience being able to shoot something with a band I respect, showcasing a subject I care deeply about. The idea came about in late 2017 when Mark, Dr. Runnels and I were asked to be on a panel together for Acting Out! a 3 day arts/music festival in Cleveland to remove the stigma of mental illness.

After we did the panel, Mark and I connected and he agreed to do the piece. I wrote a treatment and we set dates around their 7 year re-union show. The idea was to create a film for the 16 year old version of myself, and to use Mark's story as an allegory for mental/creative struggles. I'm happy with what we made, and stoked for the world to see it. You can read more about the filming process here.

First and foremost, thanks to Mark and Chimaira for letting us in and giving me permission to pursue this project and being open to the end result. Huge thanks for Centers for Family & Children for making this possible, and for Hope for the Day for the marketing support. Thanks to Dr. Patrick Runnels and Emily Kmiecik for being a part of this. Biggest thanks to the amazing crew. Thanks to Marty Geramita and James Waters for producing/EP-ing. Huge thanks Tyler Clark for your moody vision on the cinematography. Thanks to Luke De Jue for his location mix and assistance. Thanks to Rob Arnold and John Winter for the live recording and mixing for the show. Thanks to Mikey Tell and Nolan Ritter for their AC work. Thanks to Magan McLaughlin for her art department work. Thanks to Michael Seifert and Dave Shaw for the sound design and post mix. Thanks to Clifton Stommel for his awesome color work to complement Tyler's vision. Big thanks to Adrenaline PR for the hard work on getting this story out there into the world.