Check Out Edward Allerton’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Allerton.

Hi Edward, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been into making videos. Not until my family got our first Mac computer in 8th grade did I really make anything from the shooting to editing phase… plus YouTube had just came out, so there was a channel to actually broadcast something you made. I began cutting on iMovie ’06, which was seriously one of the best free software to learn editing on. Super nuts and bolts to learn the basics of audio and visual.

But from there on out things haven’t differed that much other than the tier I’ve been operating on. Shoot something cool and meaningful, then dump the footage, cut it up, export, and BOOM! You’ve made a film!…good or bad, but it’s still something.

By the time I moved to LA in 2015, I was 23 and finished up college. I did one year of school at Columbia College Chicago, then transferred to Ohio State…the in-state tuition was a lot cheaper (I’m from Ohio btw). I moved out here with my friends I met in Chicago, and I have them to thank for a lot of my “journey.” My good friend Jimmy Regular and I were shooting and editing an adult swim-type show for the Chicago group The Cool Kids.

It was mostly us running around filming rappers like Sir Mikey Rocks, Fat Nick, Pouya, Chief Keef, etc. We called it The Shit Show. We’d edit either super dope or super funny cuts of everyone we filmed and do little sketches with ourselves in it too. One was me getting naked and popping out of a refrigerator we found on the side of the road, and I mentioned something about how hard it is to find an affordable apartment in LA; then, I ran down the street out of frame. The whole show was kinda like if the Jackass guys were asked to make a funny hip-hop show.

This led to Jimmy crossing paths with A$AP Rocky, and Jimmy pivoted toward making the AWGE DVD for Rocky, and I ended up contributing various edits to the project. Meanwhile, I’d be making artsy little short films with another Chicago friend, Stefan Meier. I was making stage visuals for bands and performers at the time to pay rent and then just make lots of weird films with Stefan. We were living in McArthur Park, sharing a mattress in a studio apartment. Stefan was always painting, and I was always editing. We had a good little work ethic of always making something doable within our means and finishing it, then moving on.

As time went by of being the typical young 20-something art kid, I ended up getting steady work as a Director/Editor in the music video world. Jimmy and I, along with our other good friend Juan aka GQ, met photographer Aidan Cullen and we started a company together called Clocked Inc. We did two album rollouts for Trippie Redd, doing music videos, album covers, visualizers, all the typical rollout stuff. It was a really fun time. All of us living and working together and feeling really free with what we wanted to do.

We eventually all disbanded but remained friends and still collaborate, but by then I really started getting on my own stuff. I decided to strictly edit for client work so I could easily keep my money afloat as I directed and made my own personal projects; one of them being Visuals K. It was – and still is – a mockumentary series about a man-child of a creative director essentially shouting at people to make his “vision” come true. Out of the three episodes, the topics of parody include Hypebeast fashion, Run-n-Gun rap videos, and Lil Miquela (the CGI popstar). I’d play the role of Visuals K and would always have an insane haircut and fit when we shot. Usually, I’d have the middle of my head shaved and have to keep my hair like that for a month for the shooting of the whole thing.

Last year I ended up premiering the 3rd installment of Visuals K at the Highland Theatre, and it was a baller. I had a strict dress code for everyone to dress as if they were going to a huge premiere for something like the Avengers. I made a step and repeat with various big corporate logos on it (Doritos, Hulu, Wingstop, Aflec Insurance) as if they sponsored the event…they didn’t. It was essentially the poor man’s Hollywood premiere. Peep my Instagram @edwardallerton to see the recap; it’s hard as hell

But now I’m continuing the “Edward Cinematic Universe” mockumentary-type stuff with this new character 681Desco. It’s essentially me being a parody version of the typical Sadboy rapper you see in your sponsored ads on Instagram and Tik Tok. I’ve made a whole album and getting ready to perform a live show for the mockumentary. I’ve been shooting fake I-D Magazine interviews and all that stuff and gonna compile all that into the rap-umentary.

So yeah, that’s pretty much what it is. I go hard.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The whole game’s fucked up. Shit’s been hard. That’s why my shit is hard. Fuck with me!

My biggest struggle has always been being too dope. Seriously. I have a hard time coming up with regular ideas.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart from others is I don’t let client work prevent me from executing my personal work. My personal work is very important to me. If I strictly focus on commercial work, I’ll end up a salesman disguised as a creative director.

So far, I’m most proud of my mockumentary series, Visuals K. That series you can really see the development of an idea throughout the three episodes. There’s no money behind this project, so you can see the on-screen adjustments I’ve made each episode to actualize an idea in my head. That’s classic “Early Wikipedia” years stuff you read on filmmakers you look up to in their younger years. The premiere I had for the 3rd episode was nuts. I’m very good at “world building,” and the premiere itself acted a parody event. Peep the recap on my Instagram @edwardallerton. It was essentially mock Avengers Hollywood Red carpet plastered with corporate sponsorships like Doritos, Hulu, Wingstop, and Aflec. Everyone had to come wearing suits, gowns, etc.

I’d say client-wise, my two favorite videos I’ve directed are Trippie Redd’s “Dreamer” video and Dora Jar’s “Polly” video. Two very different videos, but both hard-ass videos. What I like about Dora’s video was she actually had a solid internal catalogue of references, which is what I pride myself on. ’70s Sesame Street animations, Laurie Anderson videos, ’80s-’90s public access documentaries, Reformation-Era paintings etc. Really getting away from safe references like a Y2K Nike Ad or a music video that came out two weeks ago.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Don’t let your art consume your person. That idea of “constantly grinding” is bullshit. Go to the park with your friends, talk about stuff that isn’t film, art, etc. If you’re already really into this pursuit, you’ll naturally be obsessed, but definitely remember there’s more to life than you’re own artistic pursuits. You’ll find yourself gaining inspiration and new ideas a lot faster when you spend your time experiencing life, rather than trying to make life bend for yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: edwardallerton.co
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vf5CZTrPmY&t=6s
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/@edwardallerton6800