We were lucky to catch up with James Larese recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi James, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Since I was 8 years old I wanted to direct music videos.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Interview I’ve been directing professionally now for just shy of 20 years. Since 2005, I’ve directed over 300 music videos for some of the biggest artist in the world from Eminem to The Weeknd.
Organically I moved into directing commercials and a lot of brand direct hybrid-type gigs that ride the line between a video and a commercial. MVs have been my film school and have definitely been the building block to me becoming a seasoned and confident director- if you can survive the Music Video game, everything else is gravy lol.
I first got the itch when I was 8 years old. As a kid in the 80s, I was obsessed with Mtv and music videos. I didn’t know what a “director” was, all I knew was that I wanted to bring visuals to music. Art and music was my life since I can remember.
I didn’t have cable growing up which made me that much more of a fiend to watch Mtv. I was that kid who would invite himself to other kids houses just to watch videos, kind of a dick move in retrospect but at the time I didn’t even care, it was all about seeing the newest videos.
Mtv was the internet before the internet, it was the epicenter of pop culture and since music was really the only thing I cared about, it was my church in a sense.
So how does a kid with a pipe dream to direct music videos accomplish this seemingly unattainable goal? I just followed the music. In 5th grade I started playing the drums and was always in bands but I felt myself more passionate designing the logos or what our stage shows would look like. The visuals to the music was always the focus for me.
In the 90s I began working at a recording studio in Burbank as a glorified gofer who designed album covers and dvd menus in between delivering weed and sandwiches to whoever was recording that day. It was amazing because I was a fly on the wall and got to witness some of the biggest artists in the universe record and create.
At that time, I discovered graphic design and for the first time saw how I could contribute to music through visuals. This took me through the ranks at various design firms in LA where I became an art director overseeing major campaigns in music and entertainment. It was cool but not where I wanted to be.
In the early 2000s I co-founded the LA-based artist collective “Syndrome.” We were doing street art and graffiti which evolved into doing elaborate installations in galleries from LA & SF to NYC & Japan.
Our focus wasn’t to “sell” art per se, but rather to give viewers an experience… we wanted to connect with people with as many senses as possible…
Motion graphics was in its infancy stages so experimenting was everything. We used technology as a paint brush and created videos about our culture in LA where we would score the videos with sound design and do large scale mixed media canvases that were like frames from our videos. We even made vinyl toys of characters we created in the various series. You could hear, see, touch, and even smell our work lol.
In 2003, we had an opening in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where a few producers from Mtv happened to attend… they understood what we were doing and began throwing us a ton of work doing broadcast packages for Mtv shows, promos and station identities… This was the first time I felt I was getting somewhere, Mtv actually took notice and was hiring us to do OUR style for THEM… it was an amazing time.
From TV shows and promos we graduated to live events where we creative directed both the Mtv Movie Awards and VMAs.
Doing the visuals for the VMAs was a personal goal of mine since a kid and the first time I actually achieved a real dream. This gave me confidence to keep pushing.
In 2005, a photographer friend of mine introduced my work to Wil.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Things moved fast from that point… Wil wanted to meet up so I went to the Record Plant where he was in the final stages of mixing Monkey Business- their über successful album. At that moment in time the BEPs were on the cusp of ruling the world.
At the end of our meeting Wil said, “You are directing my next video…” I had heard that a lot in those days from various artists and it never amounted to anything but sure enough the phone rang within the next few days with Interscope Records on the other end. They wanted to talk details of the BEP video… let’s just say this was a lesson is “faking it till you make it…” I had no clue how to direct or even where to begin but I had waited my entire life for this moment so I jumped in head first and never looked back…
In music when you are hot everyone calls and those first couple of years were insane. In 2008, I got in front of Eminem which resulted in us forming a creative bond that last lasted till this day.
In 2017, I won a VMA for Best Pop Video and that kind of solidified my personal life long odyssey in music. It was the first time I really asked myself as a director, “what’s next?”
Music Videos will always be my first love. In my experience, they are the purest art form as a director. You really have the chance to blossom and take chances that just don’t exist in other facets of entertainment and advertising.
I’m now finding that same passion developing long form content in both the episodic and film space…
There is no one path to success especially in today’s age of social media. The advice I give to young filmmakers is that beyond education and skill, if you don’t first believe in yourself, then no one else is going to… Luck really is the intersection where opportunity meets preparation… so if you stay ready, you won’t have get ready.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Having wanted to do this my entire life, directing and creating are literally everything I think about. You have to be obsessed in order to do this.
It’s an “ALL IN” mentality and it can be hard on your family and friends because you are always one foot in the creative process… You really do eat and sleep this 24/7.
But if you are of this mentality, then you would be like this even if it wasn’t your career. I myself have a very addictive personality… if I couldn’t create I would be deep into drugs for sure. Just being honest.
The driving factor for me is inspiration. When it’s all said and done, I want to leave behind a body of work that represent my truth. Art is the purest form of representing who you are and were. It’s a timeline of your life and I want to inspire young humans the same way I was inspired by the directors and artists that came before me.
I guess it’s a “pay it forward” philosophy where if I can provide insight or help to young creatives, even just by setting an example, then that is everything to me.
There is no better feeling than being completely in sync and inspired with the talent and your crew on set.. it’s electric and seductive.
When you are connected on that creative wave there is an energy that is produced that feels better than any drug. I want people to leave my set or watch my work and feel inspired to put 1000% into whatever it is they are passionate about.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There is no better feeling than being on a massive set shooting something that started out as a silly idea in your head.
The most rewarding aspect of my job as a director is that I live my truth 1000% and represent that through my work.
I feel the most free when I’m on set and try to manifest that into my crew and onto to the screen.
People are savy and can tell when something is made with love or not. I think when you watch my work, you can tell I left it all on the table and had a blast doing it… even my heavier themed content, I always make sure I’m doing it from a place of truth and love.
At the end of the day I love my job and am blessed every time I get hired to create. I never take that for granted because for every gig I book there is 10-20 that I didn’t get. It’s the life you sign up for.
You have to move at your own pace and play with the hands you are dealt. I make it a rule to never look to my left or right but rather stay in my lane and especially stay humble… there is an art to balance, and my ideal pocket is always right in the middle…
Contact Info:
- Website: Jameslarese.com
- Instagram: @jameslarese