Tech Square Welcomes Music Video Director and Videographer, AMD Visuals
To kickstart April, GT Creatives, Georgia Tech’s artistic club, where artfully inclined minds collaborate with one another, hosted an event at the TSQ Clubhouse, listening and learning from accomplished filmmaker Ari Mairena-Dannon.
Ari Mairena-Dannon has developed a personal and professional brand for his filmmaking career and titled himself, AMD Visuals. As AMD Visuals, Ari has forged a successful career within the Filmmaking landscape, specializing in commercials and music videos. His most recent accomplishment is being signed as a Director for Cole Bennett’s multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade He has also produced videos for famous Atlanta-based rap artists, such as Lil Yachty and his rap collective, Concrete Boys.
Ari made his appearance on stage, opening up in an interview-style format with Calvin Njuguna, President of GT Creatives. Calvin opened the conversation by asking Ari about his roots in Miami, Florida, his move to Atlanta, and how he established his footing in the Atlanta filmmaking space. Ari and Calvin had a coffee-chat style conversation. Ari’s personal stories, anecdotes, and wisdom, collected throughout his journey in the film and music industry, provided laughs, smiles, and critical, yet motivating, advice for the audience. “I always get inspired when I see people that aren’t too different from myself being able to make huge strides in any industry because I think it gives… the motivation that I can do it myself as well.” Calvin enthuses. The GT Creatives club filled up all the seats in the TSQ Clubhouse to listen closely to Ari’s career anecdotes and to become inspired by his journey.
AMD Visuals’ videography has been featured in March Madness Ad slots, and Ari broke down all the behind-the-scenes scoops, mishaps, and processes to his wide audience. He explained the struggles of only having one crew member and showed early-stage storyboards of shots from his most recently published video projects. By the end of the feature, AMD Visuals was not just a videographer to the audience. He was a problem solver, an editor, a budgeter, and a high-level decision-maker. Weaving in a myriad of problem-solving skills and resources to create the polished final product seen on TV and YouTube.
At the end of the feature, Calvin and Ari opened up their chat to the audience and took insightful questions from the gallery. People inquired about Ari’s motivation to stay creative and disciplined despite challenges such as burnout and creative blocks. They asked Ari about his perspective on how AI will impact the future of this creative space, as well as how he remains steadfast and dedicated to his career despite facing roadblocks, distractions, and critiques. “There’s so much that goes into the magic that we see,” Calvin exclaims. The president of GT Creatives was elated to have a voice like Ari’s to share with his creative community here at Georgia Tech and to share his career story and accomplishments.