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MDM Candidate David Choi

David Choi, MDM Candidate.

A versatile, result driven commercial producer & project manager with a wealth of expertise and global experience in content production, digital & traditional marketing, and narrative structure.  Superb understanding of photography, set building, and light schemes.

  • Co-founder of digital marketing agency, Bird & Rhino (Toronto); 2014-2020.
  • Founder of contemporary art collective & forum, Serazard (NYC); 2014-2017, 2020-present.
  • 7 years of commercial & editorial production in NYC, London, Paris, Barcelona, Toronto.

Portfolio

The City

Writer, Producer

2020-present

‘The City’ is a graphic novel project based on a 133 page script I’ve written about an organized crime boss’ fall from grace when a new, younger competitor threatens his reign.  It has been a long-time passion project of mine, and with the pandemic, I have revisited it to make it a reality.  I serve as the writer and producer, and I’ve partnered with illustrator Dicky Siregar.  The production has been split into 4 phases, incorporating fundraisers to fulfill advertising and equipment budgets.  Each phase includes each act of the story with the Phase 1 consisting only of the teaser intro.  Upon reaching Phase 2, the first act of the story will be finalized in graphic novel form, which will be used to pitch to publishing houses.  By Phase 4, if the project has not reached a contract, it will go into self-publishing in both print and digital.  While an average graphic novel would be completed in 6 months, we project ours to take at least 1 year to complete as we have conflicting work schedules.

Story & character treatment.

Conceptualizing the world.

Sketching with Dicky Siregar.

Initial Sketches

Founder, Producer

2014-2017

‘Serazard’ is a contemporary art collective & art forum I founded in New York City in 2014.  It was created as a collaborative network between likeminded artists interested in contemporary photography research.  The group raised funds for exhibitions and events, and promoted international contemporary art.  Notable members of the collective include: Kanat Beisekeyev, Paolo Massimo Testa, Ping Wang, Patricia Montrase, Arturo Meza, and Atanacio Perez.

Opening night.

Building frames.

With the artists after the opening show.

‘Fuck’ the Exhibition, April 5, 2015.

Project:  Exhibition Production

Role:  Executive Producer

The idea originated during a conversation with my photographer friend Paolo when he lamented the sting of what appeared to be an endless stream of rejections that one experiences as an emerging artist. Feeling a mixture of empathy and invincibility, I volunteered to produce an exhibition for my friends – all within five months.  “April 4th,” I declared, “our work will be showcased as 40-inch diptychs.”  We were all momentarily drunk in fleeting hope, but soon returned to reality when we failed to meet our fundraising goals.  $600 was all I managed to raise and that didn’t cover any of my logistics.  With a month left, a couple of the artists abandoned the idea and moved on.  Luckily, I had a lot of resources and favours I could pull for the gallery space, large format printing, advertising amongst the artist community, and a handful of student volunteers.  The only thing I ended up using the $600 was at the local lumbermill, where I pitched my project and negotiated with the owner for wood to build our own frames.  Opening night was magical with over 200 guests, having infamous performance artist Clifford Owens as our host, and being blessed with appearances from contemporary artists such as, Jonathan Henry, Nancy Burson, and Chris Knight.  The event was covered by local art blogs, as well as Artron, a Chinese art auction platform, and GQ Kazakhstan.

Featured Diptychs

Event Photos

Behind-the-Scenes Video

Promo Video

Co-founder, Consultant, Producer

2014-2020

Upon graduating from New York Film Academy’s Photography program, I partnered up with digital marketing expert, Andrew Vaz (Toronto), to start ‘Bird & Rhino’, a digital marketing agency founded in NYC/Toronto, 2014.  The idea was that my content production knowledge will compliment his digital marketing skills, and vice versa.  The model was successful as most clients needed a bit of everything, and instead of having to outsource, we produced them in-house.  At ‘Bird & Rhino’, my primary responsibility was production consultation and content production.

Production meeting, London.

On set, NYC.

Post-shoot, NYC.

Selected

(Spinoza, Evan Williams UK, FKA, Lights Dance Festival, Lindefini, Urban Planet, Berenice Tress, Hanley NYC)

Clients / Publications / Exhibitions

London

FKA, Kansas Smitty’s, Abram’s Foundation, Evan Williams UK

NYC

Hanley NYC, Berenice Tress, Keum, O’2nd, Rinat Brodach, Universal Music Sweden, Mercedes Benz NYFW, NYMW, Spinoza, Devocion, Glaze Teriyaki, Techtalk, NYCA, Sean Casey Animal Rescue

Seoul

LMC/Liful Minimum Garments, Sucre Kr, Geek

Toronto

West49, Urban Planet, Forever 21, Sirens, Blue Note, Blue Elephant, LeTAO, Colt Hockey, Chocolatta Gourmet, Elmer Olsen Model Management

Vancouver

Tonic Active, Line & Sky

Publications

Esquire KZ, Elle Bulgaria, Harper’s Bazaar, Milkmade, Glamour Bulgaria, Reflex, Vulture, Schon!, Jute, Bullett, Fashion Grunge, Geek, Borealis, Artron, etc.

Exhibitions

Seattle Asian Independent Film Festival (2021, Seattle); Lights Dance Film Festival (2017, Toronto); Fuck the Exhibition (2015, NYC); Raw Hollywood (2015, LA); Down East (2014, NYC); Raw manhattan (2014, NYC); NYFA Graduation Exhibition (2014, NYC)

Client Letters

Hanley NYC, Berenice Tress, Colt Hockey