Dorkumentary

Rock N Roll Sex Machine

The Miss Firecracker Contest

This is the improv comedy series that I make with my wife, Adria Dawn. I produce/direct/DP/edit, and she produces and stars. Each comedic webisode is loosely inspired by the lives of its creators. Come dork out with Adria and her hilarious guest stars.  Dorkumentary.  Being a dork has never been this cool. We’ve shot eight episodes to date, and there’s more coming!

Kids Matter

Cold War

David Tarleton and Adria Dawn served as casting directors on this independent comedy feature. It is currently streaming on Amazon. TDP was happy to collaborate with J Wilder Konschak, Stirling McLaughlin, and Alli Hartley. An award-winning festival favorite, including Best Feature at the Best of the Midwest Awards.

Hunter

I produced and directed this supernatural thriller feature film.

Hunter is currently distributed by Random Media on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Redbox, and many more.

Hunter won Best Horror Feature at the Manhattan Film Festival, best Feature Film at the Freakshow Horror Festival, and several other awards. My wife, Adria Dawn, served as casting director. You can also see her in a cameo appearance in the film as Sybil. Hunter is written by and stars Jason Kellerman, and he and Morgan Eiland serve as Executive Producers.

Shot in the freezing cold Chicago winter, Hunter tells the story of Hunter Vanelson, a homeless man with a mysterious past.

The Photographist: A Tale of Light and Shadow

The Photographist is an all-greenscreen digital short

film produced and directed by David Tarleton, starring Adria Dawn. The film is inspired by the 1847 Hans Christian Anderson short story “The Shadow.” Principal photography was completed at Columbia College’s state of the art Media Production Center. The film was shot with the RED digital cinema camera, and we are currently in post-production.  The Photographist has been shot entirely in front of a greenscreen, using live actors but virtual sets. The Photographist’s cutting-edge filmmaking breaks new ground in the integration of live action and animation, and utilizes many new techniques for film production.

The film takes place in a fantasy steampunk version of the 1880’s, and chronicles the story of Lorna Mann, photographist. A struggling artist, Lorna pursues her goal: to find Henry Baron, newspaper publisher, and convince him to publish her photography and make her famous. While standing on her balcony at night, her Shadow separates away from her, escaping into the world.

One night, her Shadow returns to her, wanting to reverse their roles: with the Shadow as master and Lorna as the shadow. Realizing the evil her Shadow has been doing, Lorna vows to destroy her.

Dorkumentary Live!

Tarleton/Dawn Productions proudly presented “Dorkumentary Live!” at Stage 773, in Chicago to sold-out crowds. I was a producer and co-director, and Adria wrote, produced, starred and co-directed. It was a combination of live performance that Adria directed - sketches, songs and such, combined with multi-media elements that I worked on - projections and videos.

Starfield Tectonics Music Video

We made the music video for the song “Starfield Tectonics” by Andrew M. Edwards from the album “The Center of the Sky.” I was producer/director/DP/editor.

Short Short Films

We have created over a dozen short short narrative films. These films range from broad comedy to subtle dramas to thrillers. We’ve released these films monthly on our YouTube Channel. Please subscribe.

I produce, co-direct, DP and edit this series of films.

Tarleton/Dawn Productions and The Performer’s School joined forces to create Revealing Media Group. We collaborate with middle and high school aged students to create, produce and shoot films dealing with social issues. We’ve produced eight films, which have won Telly Awards and been nominated for an Emmy Award. We’ve addressed topics such as bullying, peer pressure, cyberbullying, social media, social exclusion, stress, overscheduling, depression, drug and alcohol pressures, gun violence in schools and gender identity.

The films are distributed through Alexander Street, McIntyre Media, ClickView and Learn360, educational media platforms used by schools across the world. Educators can use these films to spark discussion about these important issues.

Dark Secrets

I was a Producer and Director for the Stereoscopic 3D television series “Dark Secrets,” for the cable channel 3Net. The dark science fiction pseudo-documentary anthology series played on TV around the world and was released on Netflix.

I produced all 8 episodes, directed or co-directed 7, and wrote the story for one episode.

SafeZone

I am a Producer on this documentary project.

SAFE ZONE is a feature documentary about resilience of women and girls caught in the chaos of the Syrian refugee crisis. The film is the intimate story of two girls, Fatima and Nariman, currently living in refugee camps in Lebanon as they and their families try to rebuild their lives.

Statler and Waldorf From The Balcony

I was the editor on this Webby-award-winning Muppets series for Disney. I was the entire postproduction on all 34 episodes of the series. I cut it, edited and mixed sound and did the VFX compositing. It was so much fun.

What Babies Want

I was producer/editor on the award-winning feature documentary “What Babies Want,” directed by Debby Takikawa, with Noah Wyle as the Narrator. I was also producer/editor on the follow-up documentary “Reducing Infany Mortality.”

Dinner

I was producer/director/co-writer/editor/compositor on this award-winning urban gothic fairy tale. Shot on 35mm, Dinner tells the story of Jack, who wants to marry Baba Yaga’s daughter in a fantasy version of Los Angeles. Dinner premiered at Slamdance, played on the Syfy Channel, and was distributed on DVD.

Trailers, Commercials and Music Videos

Here are some music videos, commercials and trailers that I edited. There are many more, along with various promos.

Head Games

I was the VFX Supervisor of this award-winning feature documentary directed by Steve James. I also edited a trailer for the film.

Neptune: King of Fire

I made this short piece on David Wilson, who is both a brilliant painter and fire spinner.

Gray Area

Karen

I was producer, director, DP, and editor. Karen is set in modern day suburbia. A white woman calls the police on an unfamiliar Black man in her neighborhood. Shot during the pandemic, this film explores white privilege and that Black Lives Matter. Here is an article about how we made the film. It won a Telly Award.

“Director Tarleton favors a kinetic, rapid-cut pace that produces chills… ’Hunter’ maintains a sense of feverish intensity throughout.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun Times

“There is a real sense of loss, a real sense of self and most importantly a strong thread of emotional realism which runs through Hunter that is worth witnessing. Pulsing with primal energy and anchored by a central performance of note this is worth catching…”  – Martin Carr, Flickering Myth

“…A story which talks about human emotions, psychological well-being, homelessness and more while packaging it as a supernatural thriller.” – Farid-ul-Haq, Geekiary

“One of the films strengths is in the visual execution which is used to accentuate the emotional tone of the scene… Hunter has a lot more to offer than just another action-packed thriller.” – Philip Rogers, Blazing Minds

“…What M. Night Shyamalan might have dreamed up if Unbreakable had been about a vampire hunter instead of a superhero.” – Isaac Thorne, Tennessee Horror

“Director David Tarleton … delivered a top-shelf urban tale of tortured souls versus the legions of the night that features superb acting, street level grit, and realistic action…this is one to set your eerie eyeballs on immediately” – DanXIII, Horror Fuel

“The filmmakers have crafted a convincing atmosphere with sound… polished editing techniques and shadowy lighting... We get a gritty eyeful of the darker corners of the city, including the mean streets and homeless shelters of that venerable metropolis.” – Paul Parcellin, Film Threat

“Hunter, directed by David Tarleton, brings the heat; it is city-themed, edgy as hell, and delivers a brutal takedown of the undead.” – Loron Hays, Reel Reviews

“Gray Area” is based on the memoir “MY self: An Autobiography of Survival,” by Kelley Kitley.

This film challenges the viewer to reevaluate what alcoholism can look like. With mom wine culture at an all time high, “Gray Area” provides a timely look into how many contemporary women can struggle.

“Gray Area” won the Telly Award for Social Issues in 2022.