VANS shares creative tips on custom culture

Vans – Tony Whlgn

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Production Company Tuff Contender
Director DJay Brawner

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Credits

powered by

Production Company Tuff Contender
Director DJay Brawner
Color AFX Creative
Executive Producer DJay Brawner
Executive Producer Max Rose
Editor Nem Perez
Colorist Derek Hansen
Sound Designer Jack Sobo

DP Matt Hoodhood

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The creative process is undoubtedly all too familiar to the average crafty shots reader, but to see how others bring their inspiration to life is nonetheless fascinating.

Knowing this, Custom Culture, VANS' arts initiative created to inspire and empower high school students to embrace their creativity through art and design, presents four fascinating documentaries, following artists David Heo, Jay Howell, Sydney G. James, and Tony Whlgn as they go from idea to completion on a variety of projects.

Directed by Tuff Contender's DJay Brawner, working with Creative Drinking Agency, the films offer real insights into the creators inner thoughts and, despite their short runtime, manage to paint a rounded picture of the process.

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Vans – Sydney G. James

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Vans – Jay Howell

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Vans – David Heo

"As producers, it's our agency's role to curate a group of artists that a younger generation can look up to and see themselves as,” notes Kimmy McAtee Bell, Creative Drinking Agency Head of Production/Partner. “Watching the artists on film as part of this series – it's their passion more than anything that Tuff was able to really bring to the surface. These documentaries showcase their love for creating in a way that can resonate with anyone out there who wants to make something they love.”

“I worked with many of the VANS ambassadors in previous campaigns and they never cease to amaze me how they apply and explore new mediums,” comments Brawner. “They’re not one-dimensional artists and collectively cover a broad spectrum of disciplines – this speaks volumes to the artist community Van’s cultivates.”

“We wanted to hit Gen Z more directly with this campaign, so we evolved our process on these films to ensure we captured concise and inspired moments for TikTok and Instagram, too,” he continues. “We truly partnered with VANS and Creative Drinking Agency on this campaign, pooling all our ideas together how to make all these explorations authentic to the artists’ actual creation process.”