Private Project

ORANGE BLUES 24

One man seeks refuge from the world's crazy in the arms of his muse -- the love of his life! Alyssa Dann has taken this tongue-in-cheek Blues piece and brought it to life in a charming manner.

"Almost everyone around the world deals daily with the insanity of Trumpocracy," says composer and lead vocalist Chris Oledude. "As an artist, my job is to acknowledge the oppressive and depressing nature of the former President's behavior and policies, but I have to do it through the lens of the Blues writers and performers who have done this for years."

Oledude highlights the human condition when discussing "Orange Blues": "When we're upset, we need to be comforted. Hugs work really well! Kisses can be extremely effective! I am channeling that crisis-grounded need for physical love that we are all experiencing right now."

"I need desire's fire to burn through those orange blues!"

" 'Orange Blues' is a tribute to every man and woman who feels overwhelmed these days. Between COVID-19 and Trumpocracy, there was plenty of stress for all. As we have learned in the most dramatic manner, however, our message must be clear: Trumpocracy must go; but whether it disappears or not, WE will endure, survive and prove victorious."

  • Alyssa Dann
    Director
    George Floyd: Say Their Names
  • CESO Enterprises, Inc.
    Producer
    George Floyd: Say Their Names
  • Chris Oledude
    Key Cast
    "Lead Vocal"
    George Floyd: Say Their Names
  • Wendy A. Ward
    Key Cast
    "Co-Lead Vocal"
    George Floyd: Say Their Names
  • Christopher Robert Owens
    Composers
    George Floyd: Say Their Names
  • Alyssa Dann
    Animation - Stop Motion
  • Chris Harper
    Animation - Featured
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Music Video, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Music, Commentary
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 12, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Alyssa Dann

ALYSSA DANN

Through a Media Arts class in high school (Woodstock, NY), Alyssa Dann -- a musician and songwriter -- was introduced to the power of storytelling through film. She directed, filmed, and edited two of her own music videos, and fell in love with video editing.

In a "Media as Service" program with Woodstock Travels, Alyssa visited India and Nepal, working with NGOs to create promotional content. After high school, she taught video editing and recording media arts to 8th Grade kids -- in her old classroom!

In 2020, when Alyssa first heard the song “George Floyd”, inspiration struck like lightning for a visual to the moving anthem. This was a wonderful project, co-created with Chris Oledude, that opened her eyes to how powerful film making can be -- especially in companion with wonderful justice-centered music. For the first-time director, this music video was a challenge that she embraced wholeheartedly.

The results were spectacular. "George Floyd: Say Their Names" was -- and remains -- compelling. The video was accepted by more than 350 film festivals, earning various honors at approximately 150 of those festivals.

In 2024, working again with Christopher Owens and CESO Enterprises, Inc., Alyssa created a stop-motion music video for ORANGE BLUES 24. This involved a new angle of video production as she created a unique set with bits of nature, felting, fabric, pipe cleaners, painting, and clay -- taking pictures until the scene came to life. Again, the results have been visually spectacular, bringing even more color and texture to this rollicking and highly-charged Blues number.

Alyssa, a singer-songwriter herself, is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (US-NY).], and working on her debut album.

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Director Statement

FROM ALYSSA DANN:

I was compelled to create this video by the groovy feel in Chris’s song, “Orange Blues.”

Taking inspiration from nature, I built a set out of cardboard, watercolor backdrops, felting, moss, wood, wool, clay, pipe cleaners, and fabric, to create the world that these clay instrumentalists and lovers would live in for the video.

The song has a serious political undertone, yet it leaves room to highlight themes of closeness and love. Overall, this work focuses on one of rebellion's best forms - banding together to create "resistance music"... in this case, resistance to "orange blues"!

For me, this project was an incredible pursuit with the important length of the verse by verse storytelling nature of the song. In the end, a 4:54 video took more than 500 hours to build, shoot, and edit. This included some 2,000 individual photos used in the animation.

I am very proud of the work I put into this project I hope it both does justice to this wonderful song and inspires people who watch it to try something new for a project that inspires them!