ABOUT/BIO
AdamMcDaniel.art
Adam McDaniel is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, and writer. He is also an unapologetic nerd and movie geek.
Growing up in Connecticut and New Jersey, he was drawing at an early age and winning several local and regional art competitions. At the start of his junior year in high school, he sought out a two-year television production and editing internship with a local cable company; he was the youngest intern they ever had at that time.
McDaniel then attended Vassar College, where he won honors at various festivals for his student film work, and received the college's academic film and cinematography prize upon graduation. He also wrote and directed a three-hour stage play that had the misfortune of opening the same night as an on-campus Billy Joel concert.
Following college, McDaniel served as a technical director and set designer for several theatrical stage shows, and as a production designer and cinematographer for independent films and documentaries.
Since moving to Los Angeles, he has worked extensively in film and television, with considerable emphasis on post production, marketing, promotions, advertising, and research. His work history includes such companies as Ascent Media, Big Ticket Television, Revolution Studios, and Columbia College Hollywood – the latter where he helped the film school with a new web and marketing relaunch, and refined a cost effective outreach program for new prospective students throughout Southern California.
While at Warner Bros., he managed an extensive overhaul of the Digital Distribution team’s marketing library, and coordinated the deliveries of digital art assets to clients worldwide. He also serviced worldwide end-to-end client onboarding for WB Technology’s Client Relations team.
He most recently was a project manager for digital graphics and effects at DELUXE in Burbank, where he helped manage projects such as WHEEL OF TIME, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, and key art localization for Disney.
McDaniel has experience in 2D and hand-drawn animation, motion graphics, and both digital and traditional painting. His artwork has been featured in several galleries and publications, including a film soundtrack release by Intrada Music, and at special events held by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Paris Games, The Newport Beach Film Festival, and Los Angeles' Secret Movie Club.
He studied traditional, hand-drawn animation techniques in a year-long program under the tutelage of Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail).
As a writer, McDaniel's screenplays have garnered over 40 festival and contest honors, and coverage in the popular entertainment website Aint It Cool News. His first novel, How To Succeed in Heaven Without Really Dying, was published in 2002.
McDaniel's definitive website about American illustrator and movie poster artist Richard Amsel (The Sting, The Dark Crystal, Raiders of the Lost Ark) helped to rekindle awareness of the late artist's work.
McDaniel is currently filming a feature length documentary on Amsel's life and career, through his company, CINEMALAD PRODUCTIONS. McDaniel traveled extensively throughout the United States, conducting over 50 interviews with Amsel's friends, colleagues, classmates, and art collectors, as well as new generations of artists whom Amsel inspired.
The documentary, AMSEL: ILLUSTRATOR OF THE LOST ART, is the culmination of over a decade's worth of research into Amsel's life and creative oeuvre.
AWARDS & HONORS
FILMMAKING
Director's Citation Award
The New Jersey Young Film & Videomakers' Festival, 1996.
The David C. Magid Memorial Prize for academic excellence in film studies and cinematography.
Vassar College, 1996.
Honorable Mention
SMPTE & Rochester Audio-Visual Association Student Film Festival, 1995.
Best LGBTQ+ Trailer
Amsel: Illustrator of the Lost Art
Wild Sound Festival for Trailers, 2024.
ART & ILLUSTRATION
GALLERY SHOWINGS include:
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Paris Games, Paris, France
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Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, CA, USA
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Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA, USA
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POPzilla Gallery, Anaheim, CA, USA
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Creature Features, Burbank, CA, USA
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San Diego Comic Con, CA, USA
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SugarMynt Gallery, South Pasadena, CA, USA
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Capsole Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
ARTWORK FEATURED with:
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
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Intrada Music
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The Hollywood Reporter (online edition)
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LA Weekly (online edition)
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The Newport Beach Film Festival
PUBLISHED ART BOOKS:
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For the Love of Movies: The Art of Adam McDaniel
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Poster Spy: Alternative Movie Poster Collection
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Pixel Underground: 120 Tribute Posters
ARTWORK PROFILED by:
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24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters (documentary)
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Indyfans: The Quest for Fortune & Glory (documentary)
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PictureFrames.com marketing promo
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Imagekind marketing promo
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Indymag (featured artist & magazine profile)
FEATURED ARTIST:
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Alternative Movie Posters
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DeviantArt.com
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PosterSpy.com
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FanArt-Central.net.
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ARTtitude Publishing House Collective Agency
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Digital Consciousness
ART AWARDS:
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Artist of the Month: Digital Consciousness. November 2005.
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NJ Courier-News: 1st & 2nd place for student editorial cartoons, 1991-1992.
GRAPHIC DESIGN CLIENTS / RECIPIENTS include:
Warner Bros., Disney, Apple/iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, Rallie LLC, Tubi TV, Discovery, and many others worldwide.
ILLUSTRATION CLIENTS include:
The Secret Movie Club / Vista Theatre • Month 9 / Tantrum Books • Hollywood Stories Publishing • The Academy for New Musical Theatre.
MovieBytes.com's "Winning Scripts" rankings
#1 ANIMATED FEATURE SCREENPLAY
#3 COMEDY TV PILOT
#8 among all animated projects
WINNER:
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SPOTLIGHT AWARD: COURAGE & FORTITUDE, Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition. March 2021.
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BEST COMEDY SCREENPLAY, The Thing in the Basement Horror Fest. November 2021.
LEADING PLACEMENTS:
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Hollywood Jumbo's Screamwriting Festival – 3rd Place, TV Pilot. March 2022.
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Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition - Honorable Mention / TOP 3, Family Film/Musical/Animated. March 2021.
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Table Read My Screenplay 2021: Genre Competition - TOP 100, Action/Adventure. March 2021.
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Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Competition - TOP 10, Comedy. Sept. 2020.
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Table Read My Screenplay 2020: Genre Competition - TOP 10, Action/Adventure. Sept. 2020.
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2nd place winner, Words From Here's Third Annual Screenplay Competition. September 2005.
FINALIST:
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StoryPros Screenplay Contest - Family/Teen/Animation. June 2021.
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ScreenCraft Animation Screenplay Competition. April 2020.
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Stage 32 New Voices in Animation Screenwriting Contest. September 2021.
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Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. May 2021.
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Script2Comic Screenplay Competition. October 2020.
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Amazon Studios Best Script Awards - TOP 50. December 2010. (After the announcement, McDaniel discovered he had to withdraw the script from further competition, as Warner Bros. employees were disqualified from participating.)
QUARTERFINALIST:
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ISA Family & Holiday + Genre Busting Screenplay Competition. February 2022.
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Final Draft BIG BREAK Screenwriting Contest - Television/Diversity. January 2022.
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Stage 32 Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest. October 2021.
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The Page Turner Genre Screenplay Competition. September 2021.
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Emerging Screenwriters Genre Screenplay Competition. July 2021.
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Filmmatic Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship Season 4. May 2021.
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ScreenCraft Animation Screenplay Competition. August 2020.
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The Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards. August 2020.
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HollyShorts Film Festival Screenplay Competition. July 2020.
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Short, The Southern California Screenplay Competition. January 2020.
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Script2Comic Screenplay Competition. October 2020.
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Feature, The Southern California Screenplay Competition. January 2020.
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ScreenCraft Action & Adventure Screenplay Competition. December 2019.
OTHER HONORS & MENTIONS:
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Official Selection, HORRORIGINS Film Festival. Sept. 2023.
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Official Selection, SCRIPTMATIX Genre Screenplay Contest. April 2023.
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Official Selection, KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. December 2021.
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Official Selection, Shockfest Film Festival. December 2021.
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Official Selection, Script Summit Screenplay Competition. February 2021.
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Official Selection, COVERFLY PITCH WEEK. Sept. 2020.
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Second Round placement, Launch Pad TV Pilot Competition. July 2021.
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Best script of 2006, The Unsung Critic. January 2007.
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Featured on Coverfly's THE RED LIST.
Website designed and maintained by Adam McDaniel. All original writing, illustration, and artwork featured within this website (unless otherwise noted) copyright © 2024 by Adam McDaniel. All rights reserved. Images (in whole or part) may not be downloaded, copied, linked to, or edited in any manner or form for use on any website, image gallery, clip art collection, printed product, or other derivative uses without express written permission from the artist, unless it is for the purpose of critical reviews or commentary.