Director Donlee Brussel pulled out all the stops for his latest video, making something more like a mini movie. It stars Drew Seeley, an actor/singer who provided the singing voice for Zac Efron in High School Musical, played the role for the movie's subsequent tour, and was featured in several other Disney productions. And to add a little more small-screen stature to it all, Brussel also got TV personality Wayne Brady into the video too.
Donlee Brussel, director: "When Drew approached us about working together, he referenced what we did on Kurtis Blow Jr.’s “Californication” video, which was rather dark. I think he was interested in transcending his Disney roots by doing something a little more adult, but without getting grim. For Max Meehan, our team’s writer, the concept arrived almost immediately. He wanted to keep it simple and classic: a private investigator is hired by a millionaire to conduct a background check on his romantic interest. It clicked for all of us. Drew brought Wayne Brady on and he responded instantly to the material.
We tried to give the opening scene a modern Bond flavor to set the stage, giving the narrative that follows a driving tension. It was a pleasure being able to direct such strong actors to the performances they gave. Max, our DP T. Burton, and I always strive to produce more than simple moving images. There are a lot of videos that look wonderful, but we hope to set ourselves apart by actually connecting everything through actual story, which is rare for the current medium. We believe it brings a cinematic depth to what we do."
