We came across Dyl Visual on instagram and one video lead to the next.
His cinematic look and Hollywood style effects had us so impressed we had to get to know more about him. Check out his full interview below and be sure to check out Jukebox Culture on Instagram to submit your music.
Where are you from and how was life growing up?
Rooted out of Cleveland, OH and raised in Myrtle Beach, SC my whole life.
Moved to Atlanta straight out of high school at 18 years old by myself just to
pursue a dream and never looked back. Life growing up wasnāt hard and Iām not
gonna sit here and say I came from nothing. However, I come from a somewhat
dysfunctional family, but I am a very big family person and have a close
relationship with everyone in it. My mother, father, sister, and brother are all my
best friends forreal. From the trailer park, we aināt have all the money in the world,
but one thing is fasho, my mom always made sure I was straight when it came to clothes, shoes, car, etc. Thatās why Iām at the point now where Iām repaying her
for it all. Eventually, I just had to make the decision to move away to make myself
into something so I can do so. As far as my social life growing up, I was always
the kid who wanted the spotlight on him. And I aināt gon lie, I always got it. But I
was so focused and worried about being popular and wantin people to like me, I
realized I had no idea what I was gonna do when I got into the real world. Then I
got me a camera.
What got you into filming and what year did you start in?
In 2016, I started watching music videos all the time and cool lil edits on
youtube with one of my childhood friends, Corbin, and me and him started takin
videos of our cars and videos at the beach and editing em up on imovie. After that we thought we were Academy Award winner filmmakers. As time went on a little bit, I got real into Cole Bennett and Lyrical Lemonade and was always so
fascinated with the things he did in his videos, and would always catch myself
thinking of my own ideas that I could add into his videos. Then boom, I was like I
just gotta do it myself. Thatās when I made my first music video in 2018 with mybrother Marcus in his front yard. The music video was terrible fasho, but all the
locals was hypin me up so I let it get to my head and moved to Atlanta 1 month
later thinking I was the damn best director of all time.
What was your first camera?
My first camera was a lil Canon t5i. In 2017, I got into a fender bender and
my neck and back was hurtin so bad afterwards, I had to tell em take me to the
ER immediately and give me every drug. 6 months later, that insurance check hit
my account, and I went and bought that camera. My momma was so mad I did it, but I told her I was passionate about it, but she wasnāt havin it. To this day, I still
give her hell about it and ask her, āSo have I proved you wrong yet?ā
When did you go full time as a videographer?
For about a year or two I was living in Atlanta, I was serving tables at
Carrabbas, and then business started to pick up a little bit. I got big placements,
and steady bookings. February of 2020, I quit that job and was able to go 10x
harder with this directing, and I knew if I quit then I had to block out EVERYTHING
else and focus heavy on it. And I did just that. No girlfriends, no partying, no
shoppin, no trips, no nothin. My work ethic shot up and I still got that work ethic
in me to this day, and for the rest of my time.
What was your first ābig gigā and how did you land it?
I honestly donāt remember my first ābigā gig because I consider every piece
of work that Iāve done a staple in my career. I just remember when I moved to
Atlanta, I met my brother FastLife Josh and we was livin together and shootin
videos then fast forward a couple months, we in a sticky situation. Boom, some
weirdos try bussin in our crib, TRY to rob us. Boom, my homeboy Prod, Josh, and
me get em gone. No sir, we aināt get touched or nothin took. See ya. From there,
Josh really fw me, and takes me under his wing n whatever. We go up together,
he introduced to a lot of people and itās happily ever after. Shoutout Josh, he just
built kinda funny, but I fw him fasho.
Coming up, what struggles did you face as a beginner?
Coming up as a director, I faced A LOT of struggles. Too many. Not getting
paid, my work not cutting it, being behind on videos, getting no sleep, being put
in countless dangerous situations, losing footage, etc. But all of this did nothing
but build my character. One of the biggest obstacles that put me in a rough patch was when my brand new camera got stolen. (IT DID NOT GET TOOK FROM ME, NEVER THAT). I made the mistake by leaving my brand new $5k camera in my car, and somebody went in it and took it. I had nothin after that, but I had my bros and family by me to help me keep my head up bout it. Even when I get into those low points, Iām able to tell myself to stay positive and hit that switch of my mindset and bounce back from whatever.
Which do you enjoy more, shooting or editing?
I enjoy shooting videos so damn much. It brings so much joy, I must say. It
is truly indescribable. Every video I shoot, I always have a good time and often
forget that Iām even working and this is supposed to be a job. Whether itās with
my close friends, or if itās with somebody new, Iām always building solid
relationships at a shoot and am always able to crack jokes or just have fun.
Whatās your current favorite video youāve shot/edited and why?
Itās always so difficult to say what my favorite video is. One thing about my
videos is that they are all different. Nothing is regular. I push to try new things and
always make my videos to the point where the viewers have to pause it and run it back because they are impressed by something I did. Now, if I absolutely had to say what my favorite video is that is out right now, Iād have to go with Jay
Montanaās āShake Back.ā Thatās also the peopleās favorite. Me and Tana were
always so closely associated due to being around the same people and having
the same close friends, yet me and him never communicated. One day I hopped
on bro IG live and joined and told him how much I liked his music and to let me
shoot him a video and it will be one of his hardest. He aināt even know who I was
and aināt really pay me no mind forreal. He was high tho. But I continued to show
love to em and eventually he let me shoot that Shake Back. We shot it in about 4
hours and I sent it back to him a week later and he was geeked bout it. Told me
he had no idea thatās how it was gonna look. So yeah, thatās probably my favorite video or whatever. Some other really significant videos that I like a lot are
definitely Spinabenz āDrill Time.ā The whole process of that video was incredible
and the final product is insane. Also, Jdot Breezy āLetter To Youā means a lot to
me because he trusted my vision so much. That video has a lot of thought and
effort behind it.
What is your most viewed video to date?
My most viewed video right now is my brother Spinabenzās āI DONāT
SMOKE KENDRE.ā I think itās sittin at about 6 million. Mr. Spinner brought me out
to Jacksonville and rented me a camera because we shot it a week after my
camera got stolen. But yeah, thatās my most viewed, but not for long. These
millions will become pretty regular for me.
Whoās some of your favorite industry artists youāve worked with so far and
describe the experience:
There are a lot of amazing artists I have worked with. OMB Iceberg is up
there because he is really the truth. A real solid person who makes real solid
music. Iceberg really my brother forreal, so everytime we link, itās always natural,
comfortable work. OMB Peezy the same thing. Love em both to death, and
working with him never feels like work. Spinabenz of course. The first time we
met, we immediately built a relationship and he took me in. Iām pretty sure we
have the same exact mindset. He trusts my visions more than anybody and he do whatever I need him to do. I tell him to jump off a bridge for the video, heāll do it. Such a great guy. Whoppa Wit Da Choppa too. Sir Duccington. Heās great. I
probably have the most laughs on set with him than anybody else. He deserves
the world. The Memphis scene has shown me so much love too, for the short
amount of time Iāve known them. Baby K, Big Scarr, and NLE Choppa. The first
time I met them, a genuine relationship was built. Baby K has a true, natural gift.
His presence on set is indubitably phenomenal. Every single one of these artists
are really genuine people. Itās way deeper than music and videos.
What do you do when you feel a creative-block?
Creative blocks are the worst. When it comes time to writing treatments,
brainstorming, editing, all of it. I get so frustrated and build up with anxiety. I tendto always call on my family or my close friends and they tell me to stop being such a loser and it truly helps a lot. No but seriously, if I do struggle with creative blocks, and it tears down my confidence and motivation, I go back and look at what Iāve done and think about how far Iāve come. Giving up is so easy, and success is so difficult. But if everything was easy, everybody would be havin it their way. Literally, just work hard and youāll be fine.
What are your goals for 2022?
Iāve got a lot of goals. My goals for 2022 are big. I want over 100 million
views in 1 year. I want to drop my executive produced mixtape. I want to start
building my music festival. I want every piece of my dream equipment. I want to
be a positive impact on others. I want to help my family in every way. I want
genuine happiness. I want money. I want a dog forreal. I want teeth and a chain. I
want to be better. I want health and happiness for all my friends. Actually, change all the wants to āneed.ā
Advice for upcoming videographers?
Lastly, the advice I have for all upcoming videographers. As cliche as it
sounds, DO NOT give up. Go harder. Be genuine. Build. Be different. Live life as
well at the same time, cause you are human too. People and artists forget that a
little too much. Go get some girls or some. And stop taking adderall. You donāt
need it.
DONāT BE REGULAR.
INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/dylvisual/
TWITTER
https://twitter.com/DylDonovan
YOUTUBE
https://youtube.com/c/DylVisual
