Drone fine art photograph — aerial photography by Xynn Tii

Can I be really honest and vulnerable with you right now? Directing this film made me cry at times. Not a cute cry either. One of those fugly, Michael Jordan meme cries. Hey Oro, how many mistakes did I make during this jungle expedition? Do not answer that.

Execution. It is not how you start. It is how you finish. Life is like business: 20% of what happens to you is 80% of how you react. Daymond John. How fitting for this year to end with gratification by debuting a film that defines our work ethic.

12 months. 10 terabytes. 1,500 emails. An untold number of pissed-off individuals and entities. Of which culminates into a 3-minute short film that only we could have been bold enough to take on. Another one. Brickell City Centre Film Director’s Cut.



Tyson Beckford had his moment in Series 32. Now, Aleksandra Bashkatova.

Underwater camera. Poolside meditation. Peaceful filming at Reach. Day 2.



5 aching months of pre-production. 8K resolution stills that look like renderings.

A drone wide angle of BCC. RED Epic-Weapon inside the Rise suite and lobby.



Nicole and Jatna never complained about the late night on hair and make-up.

Rosy helped us escape that time-consuming snafu at Saks Fifth Ave. Respect.



 Jacqueline on audio. Such a team player who stuck with us. Rescheduling.

Ariana, Jorge, and Lily on photo. Capturing behind-the-scenes. Necessary.



To think that we initially decided to capture this entire film as a timelapse.

Good thing we scrapped the idea early and matured by shooting with RED.



Thank you Saks for the wardrobe. Cyndi, Lauren, and Sofiya were patient.

They could hardly wait for the ‘Naomi Campbell walk’ scene at BCC retail.



Gratitude to Swire Properties and Brickell City Centre for this opportunity.

Gracias, Clare and Mariolga. Your tough love kept us focused. Disciplined.



Oro, The Warrior kept a positive, relentless attitude all year. Thank you so much.

It is because of your perseverance that this film exists. An invaluable partnership.



After Thoughts

Failure is my best friend. Not a joke. I have learned more in life and in business by failing than any other method. Over-negotiating and then losing a deal. Falling short of a monthly projection. Missing a deadline. Mistakes that result in less food for XYNN.

But these failures keep me humble. They prevent me from settling. These failures open my mind to the principle of equifinality. Meaning, success is not one-dimensional; there are always multiple paths. But one’s reaction to failure is more important than failure.

My consistent reaction to such, is to pivot. To revisit the drawing board and calculate a different path to the success I seek. For me, this ensures execution. Using failure to one’s advantage is the most constructive response I know of in this regard. 2018.