Behind the Camera with Adrian Wilson
Photo by Joe Dammel of @dammelphotographicworks
Adrian Wilson is a man of many talents — he’s a videographer, director, filmmaker, producer, CEO of Bryson Studios, super dad, and all around mega-creative. He is also our lead videographer on FWMN! As someone who is always behind the camera, we wanted to sit down and get the chance to learn a little more about Adrian. Read on to check out our Q&A with a core part of the FWMN team.
Q: How did you get started in the field of videography? What inspired you to start?
A: Story telling is something I’ve always enjoyed doing. Every time I see a music video, or a film, I’ve always said to myself “If I was a director, I would have done it this way or that way!”
One day, I decided to write my own concept to a song by J. Cole called Lost Ones. I invited a few of my close friends, and we filmed it at my house. The video received so much positive feedback — and over 20,000+ views on YouTube. I knew after that, I wanted to pursue a filmmaking career.
Image via Adrian Wilson on Instagram
Q: You have worked on so many projects and created such amazing work — what are some of the projects that you are most passionate about or proud of your work on?
A: I’ve worked on so many amazing projects from the Boys and Girls Club to Rosedale Center and EA Sports. The work that I’m most proud of is my full length documentry that is currently a work in progress. It’s called “A Letter To Bryson.”
During the 2020 uprising in Minneapolis, I filmed for 8 months straight capturing footage of the epicenter of an international civil rights movement. The film tells the story of a black man laying witness to the events as they unfold, including stories and footage not seen anywhere else. This film is a visual letter to my 6-year-old son, Bryson, and I hope to show him one day.
Q: Give a shout-out to the Twin Cities Toy Drive, that you produced and founded! What is it?
A: The past two years has been particularly difficult on the Twin Cities. Our BIPOC communities are the most significantly impacted by hardship. We all need to rebuild physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Living in South Minneapolis, I saw how much my community was effected. I decided to create the “Twin Cities Toy Drive”. This toy drive is dedicated to raise toys, food and non-perishables for our BIPOC communities here in the Twin Cities.
I also wanted to bring the local business and the art community together, so every toy box was designed by a local artist and those boxes were places in local business across the Twin Cities. Last year, we donated over 2,000 toys and 50lbs of food to different BIPOC organizations!!
Q: What do you do outside of videography? How do you chill out from work?
A: Sadly, I’m pretty much either behind the camera or editing a video 24/7. But, when I do rarely have some free time, I would hop on my motorcycle and just ride for hours listening to Frank Ocean.
Q: What’s next for Adrian Wilson?
A: Finishing my film “A Letter to Bryson” is on my agenda right now. In the fall of 2021, I screened it at 3 film festivals, and it got amazing reviews. Now, it’s just time to finish it and then show it to the world.
Adrian and his son, Bryson, from the trailer “A Letter to Bryson” via Instagram
Q: How can we, as a fashion community, support you?
A: The best way to support me is to continue supporting BIPOC designers, creators, and entrepreneurs. The Twin Cities is such a melting pot of amazing people of color in the fashion community — and FashionWeek MN does an amazing job of highlighting them. Keep up the good work!!