Boombox Man's Unique Belly Dance for Zombie Nation

East Pleasant Director Bradonio, an idea factory and creative talent with a uniquely absurdist vision, has launched his latest inventive masterpiece in collaboration with Scion AV: Boombox Man, a celebrate-the-rhythms-of-life freak of nature who walks around with a speaker built into his belly. Bradonio puts the quirky character at the center of Level, a video he directs for Zombie Nation (who wrote the stadium anthem-favorite Kernkraft 400).

 

Awoken by the pulsations of Zombie Nation, Boombox Man embarks on the nonstop urban dance party that is his life. He moves through the streets of New York with a cool groove all his own, transforms a coffee shop full of incredulous skeptics into a dance club, and joins a renegade team of fellow musical mutants of Bradonio’s creation: a girl with a disco ball head, a man with lights for hands, and a fumy firebrand known as smoke machine girl. Neon-laced straight-from-the-‘80s dance sequences complement the action.

 

“When I was first approached with the track, I asked if we could include musical body parts, like a beer belly that played some tunes. They said yes, I rejoiced, and we made this video,” exclaimed Bradonio, whose contagious enthusiasm and endless creative output have made him a favorite of the push-the-boundaries creative set. “There’s nothing more exciting than bringing a character-based, awkward, happy, rhythmic and fantastical story to life.”

 

Bradonio carefully measured the alternatives between creating a practical and a CG speaker, eventually working with a team that crafted a prop belly out of a vest, silicone and a car stereo speaker. He coordinated with the visual effects team EP*Vision to add movement to the speaker during a few choice moments.

 

“Having a practical prop, versus solely tracking marks where the speaker would have been added in post, was a huge benefit,” explained Bradonio. “In fact, it helped drive the entire production, upping the energy on set and giving us something very genuine to work with. Random people would stop and laugh at this anomaly, and often join in, something that would not have happened if the speaker belly itself wasn’t actually present.”

 

The unforgettable Boombox Man is just the latest freakishly weird and wacky character to emerge from Bradonio’s bottomless imagination and seamlessly carry a production with deadpan humor. The recent ADC Young Guns honoree also brought to life an army of shadow monsters for Gramatik’s Solidified music video and created an epic adventure using action figures in RJD2’s The Glow.

 

Touch Points:

 

Bradonio, ceaseless creative superstar director for East Pleasant, invents Boombox Man for Zombie Nation’s Level video.

Deadpan video showcases Bradonio’s command of the freakishly weird and absurd.

Boombox Man follows similar Bradonio creative efforts for Gramatik and RJD2.

Downloads:

 

  

 

Credits:

 

Artist: Zombie Nation

Song: “Level”

Writer/Producer: Florian Senfter

Publisher: UKW Publishing (GEMA)

 

Production Company: East Pleasant

Director: Bradonio

Executive Producer: David Weinstein

Producers: Daniel Gross, Stefanie Walmsley

 

Cinematographer: Clint Byrne

Associate Producers: Tere Villonco, Van Nguyen

Production Office Coordinator: Devon Irete

Gaffer / Assistant Camera: Andrea Boglioli

Digital Imaging Technician: Jason DeSimone

Red camera package provided by: Cut Rush Corporation

 

Post Production: Pleasant Post

Editor: Bradonio

Assistant Editor: Bill Saunders

Colorist: Tristan Kneschke (Exit Editorial)

 

Special Effects: Ruby Ann Muro, Lauren Palmer

Special Effects Assistant: Tammie Castagna

 

Visual Effects: EP*Vision

Creative Director: Maryam Parwana

Lead Designer: Brian Walsh

 

Interns: Derek DeMarc, Raphael Gibbs

 

Featuring

Boombox Man: Edward Rafter Jr.

Disco Ball Head: Danielle Cardona

Smoke Machine Ears: Kay Trinidad

Light Hands: Elliott Timmons

 

Café Patrons: Jordan Hall, Melody Joy, Nick Pezzillo, Tere Villonco, Stefanie Walmsley, Erik Yazdani

 

Sidewalk Dancers: Kendra Blondell, Malcolm Blondell, Noura Khoury, Swami Nikhilananda, George Olive, Calvin Teixeira, Mcferraine Villanueva, Laura Viner

 

Featured Artwork by Drakaso