Connect
To Top

Meet Dorne Adams Jr.

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorne Adams Jr.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Dorne. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Dorne Adams, and I come from Detroit, MI. Detroit is a really amazing city, and it is where I would say I get my bravado and style from. Detroit has instilled a toughness and a will to win being the underdog which influences my story heavily. Living in Detroit I was employed at a communications company and my company was restructuring after the financial crisis and I was offered the opportunity to transfer to Denver, CO just a month after I purchased my first camera. I had probably used it once by the time I learned I would be moving. Once I moved to Denver I began to put my camera to use. I started doing photos with models I would meet on Craigslist or meetup groups, I really wanted my photos to be seen by more people. However, I was in a new state and I didn’t know anyone here. I kept meeting really amazing photographers and models and decided to create a platform where models and photographers could create images and people would flock to see them. This also would be a site that listed all the cool things going on in Denver and the people and companies in Denver. I found Denver to be this lively place with so much going on and I wanted to be apart of it.

Soon I was being invited to cover all kinds of events and I was able to recruit a few photographers to shoot at events Coollivin.com was in huge demand. here was so much going on I couldn’t be everywhere at the same time. We also did photography for some of Denver’s top fashion designers. As things progressed we began to produce fashion Shows for the Colorado Tattoo Convention. The Colorado Tattoo Convention and Expo just had 5ht year and it’s something I’m thrilled to be apart of. Rito brings in artists from all over North America to this convention to educate, and create and provide an amazing experience. For 3rd year we have continued to partner with the Tattoo Convention for the past three years, as well as joining the Urban Fashion Show and Music showcase production team.We are also launching our first clothing line in 2020.

However, This year we’ve embarked on our biggest venture to date. We are filming a 7 episode Scripted comedy TV show based on Denver and its social and dating life. This show will feature Denver music, Denver talent, and feature real-life Denver locations and brands. The show is called ‘Bad Decisions’ and I’m super excited about it.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One year ago today, we had our First Casting For My TV show “Bad Decisions” I was like we gonna cast in December and then we gonna shoot in spring and put it out by Fall! I just knew it! I had been writing this for years with my co-writer Britni Thompson. I had the perfect star in Golden Goodwin, we had perfected this character Golden was about to be the next Chadwick and Michael B, I was gonna be a hybrid of Spike, Ryan, and Will Packer, I had friends and a team who believed in me probably more than I believed in myself. So we got to work.

What’s the old saying… If you want to make God laugh tell him you got a plan! Well, he must have been laughing his tail off because nothing worked out like I planned it! This task was hard. I watched a Will Packer interview and he said your first film/show is going to suck just do it anyway. I was like nah I’m not gonna put out something and not be happy with it. I gotta make it right!

I Reached out to people I had worked with before like do you wanna do the show with us? They were like nah, or like I can, but you have to pay what would amount to what might as well have been a million dollars to participate. Still, I press on! So back to work. We started filming in Spring. We shot our first couple of scenes and I went to edit and It was very similar to the Eddie Murphy Netflix Film “Dolemite Is my Name”

Except I felt I would have been the object of ridicule if I had put this out. I’m talking about boom in the shots noise in the background, imperfect sets! That Dolemite movie was a prime example of amateur filmmaking.

My parents taught me don’t do anything if it’s not 100%. I’ll never forget that. I want to be committed to excellence! I had make a hard decision to stop everything, throw it all away and start over! All that time and energy and money down the drain.

A tough decision, because I was financing 90% of it myself and spending a lot! I said I’m gonna not do any photoshoots and coollivin.com will have to be on the back burner until I get this done. Those are things that I love but I don’t need any distractions. I’m just going to be about my show and get it done. The payoff for this show is gonna be life-changing so make it happen. People believe in you and they love the script.

So Summertime comes, we went back to the lab, made the script better, rehearsed with the actors, worked on learning how to get better shots and brought in some help directing. I was getting hype about it again. But to do it it’s gonna take more money. We need more roles filled and some investors. So I start reaching out to people to set up meetings about investing. I felt like when I felt like when you get stood up on a date, that’s how I felt. I was not even getting no’s they would straight up no show to the meets. I’m like wtf? I’m reaching out to actors and actresses, same results, they left me on read. I’m like this is new, as the owner of coollivin.com I am treated much better. As a film maker I’m being treated differently when did this start? I wasn’t use to this.

My Director Ulysses Porter Brown told me that it’s messed up they won’t hit you back! You know they would hit Tyler or Issa back, so you know you ain’t there yet keep working you will be! So now I’m like screw it I’ll finance it myself I don’t care what it costs. I got this.

Fall comes and I see Tyler Perry open his studio, I’m like wow. I’m like maybe me and Golden just need to bounce and go to Atlanta and get with people who do this and get it done out there. Or I should go back to Detroit, where they are doing incredible work in Film and we can do it there. I’m bout to give up on Denver. I believe in this show and I’m gonna always bet on me.

So wintertime, end of the year and guess what? We are filming In Million Dollar Homes in Denver next week, we went from shooting on DSLR to having a production team that has shot some of your favorite Premium Cable network Shows. with the cameras, Spike Lée shoots films with! It’s going down. I’m ok with it taking longer it’s gonna happen when it happens. I’m putting my all in and I can’t wait for you guys to see it.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you guys do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
We specialize not only in featuring some of the coolest events in Denver but also in creating lifestyle and branding marketing materials for fashion lines. What sets us apart from other competitors. Photographers, Videographers, is that you will get a certain look and style that will make people flock to your brand. I’m most proud that we have not only furthered Local designer’s brands but also worked with national brands such as Macy’s and Harley Davidson to provide content for them to use for years to come.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Trying to make movies in my backyard with a camcorder my parents had brought me.Ive always been into photography fashion and film. And now I’m living in that arena.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Photos by Leona Hiles and Jaymie Alexander

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in