Andy Madeleine: A Few Of My Favourite Things

Andy Madeleine is a director, editor and cinematographer who clearly likes things with a bit of emotional history to them.

Originally from Detroit and now based in New York, the Even/Odd director's work spans music, sport, fashion and culture, but the objects he keeps close are often more personal than professional.

For his Favourite Things, he looks back through the formats, family pieces and well-worn finds that have shaped how he sees the world.

The CD Collection

My CD collection is one of my most precious possessions.

I have hundreds; these are just a few of my favourites.

I’m a very sentimental person and, for me, music and scents are the two things that elicit a nostalgic response more than anything.

This spread represents so many different chapters and moments in my life.

I used to collect a lot of vinyl, but I transitioned into collecting CDs for multiple reasons.

One: I drive a 2001 Toyota 4Runner and it has a CD player in it.

That was really the catalyst.

I wanted to listen to music with the best possible quality while in my car.

Two: I grew up in the CD era, so they’re reminders of my childhood and the many aforementioned phases of my life.

And three: because I just love the format.

Every time I go through a jewel insert, I think: “Damn, I wish I was making work in the CD era!”

The 1x1 format is such a fun design and photography format.

A few months ago, my car got broken into.

The first thing I thought was: “Oh no, I hope they didn’t take my CDs!”

I’ve since moved my collection into the house.

The 'That' Chair And 'That' Vase

I have two objects in my home that people always comment on: “that chair” and “that vase”.

Consequently, they’re my two favourite objects.

I’m obsessed with chairs.

This chair is more of a sculpture than a chair.

Nobody ever really sits in it, they just admire it.

I got it from a gallery in Montreal.

It’s one of one, believed to be a student design project.

As soon as I saw it, I drove to Montreal to pick it up.

It’s made it into my work a couple of times.

The vase is a family heirloom, passed down from my grandmother.

It’s the only thing of hers I still have, and it’s very special to me.

It reminds me of her and my family every time I look at it.

My mum asks me about it all the time, making sure that I still have it and that it’s still intact.

Design is an important part of my work, and I love to collaborate with art directors and production designers to build out a scene.

Understanding different design styles and how objects influence a scene is important.

As a director, it’s your responsibility to communicate your vision and empower those around you.

I’m always trying to get my hands dirty and learn new parts of the process, so I can develop a shorthand with all of the departments on set.

The Vintage Boxing Gloves

Objects aren’t just objects.

Objects have stories.

My home is filled with a bunch of objects and these vintage boxing gloves are among my favourites.

I bought them as a prop for a music video, but I knew that I would display them as art afterwards.

I feel like I have an allergy to anything that doesn’t have patina or wear and tear.

I love objects that have had multiple lives before me.

Everything has a story, and when you look at such objects, you can’t help but imagine where they’ve been and who they belonged to prior.

The Noise-Cancelling Headphones

A good pair of over-the-ear, noise-cancelling headphones is a must for me.

They really help me put the blinders on and “lock in”.

Most new wireless headphones look so boring and digital, but these Sennheiser headphones are the only ones I found that spoke to me, both sonically and optically.

Music is everything to me; it’s such a huge part of my creative process.

When making work, I’m never just thinking: “What does this look like?” but also: “What does this feel like? What does this sound like?”

When generating ideas for pitches, I’m always listening to something.

I often link songs in my treatments for creatives to listen to while they review, so they can get an understanding of the feeling that I’m trying to communicate.

At the moment, my “creative work” soundtrack is an album by my friend, and one of my favourite composers to work with, Daniel Johnson.

The album is called Glyphs; it’s a series of Boards of Canada covers for piano.

The MiniDV Cam

My origin story is similar to many: teenager growing up in a boring town who borrowed his parents’ tape camera and fell in love with filmmaking.

The Sony DCR-PC105 was the first camera I ever owned.

I bought it with money I saved from my high school job, and immediately started obsessively filming my friends and editing the footage we shot.

A few years ago, I found a mint-condition version of the camera on eBay.

I’ve been taking it with me everywhere, filming little personal bits and my family.

I love retro formats like this MiniDV.

I still film things with my iPhone, too, but having the option to film in a format that feels more archival is really fun.

I think my parents are a bit tired of me putting the camera in their face, but just like when I was a kid, documenting people, places and things I love has always been how I’ve related to the world.

The Books And Print

I love collecting aesthetic books and vintage print magazines.

Sometimes, I’ll just pick a book based on the cover and hope the content is good.

These are a couple that I really love.

I found them both at the antique mall in Hudson, NY.

It’s an amazing place to just wander around for hours.

Nowadays, everything needs a reference, which I sometimes struggle with, because I’m like: “Aren’t we trying to make something that doesn’t yet exist?”

It’s nice to have print materials lying around, as they can help spark an idea.

I really hope this era of referencing other people’s work to sell work goes away.

Advertising is really starting to look homogeneous.

The Egyptian Tea

I’m two months into my journey of quitting coffee.

I was an avid coffee drinker for years, but lately it’s just been terrible for my energy levels and sleep.

Having a hot beverage to sip on while I work is a vice I can’t give up, so instead of giving up caffeine cold turkey, I’ve replaced it with tea, which my body seems to like more.

This is El Arosa tea from Egypt; it’s a finely ground black tea.

Egypt is a very special place, and drinking it reminds me of sitting around my girlfriend’s grandma’s house in Cairo, sipping tea and watching classic Egyptian films and music videos.