Carlos Lopez Estrada's Brave New World

What do sword fighting Samurais, costume changing rappers and monkeys dressed as doctors have in common? No, not last night's cheese-fuelled fever-dream, but Caviar London director Carlos Lopez Estrada. Renowned for inventive, eclectic concepts, Estrada's work shines with its visually arresting style and his ability to bring them to life through slick production.

Carlos first came to our attention in late 2012 when he won a Latin Grammy for an animated music video 'Me Voy' he directed for  artists Jesse & Joy, The award made him the youngest director ever to win a Latin Grammy and set the path for a diverse body of work incroporating animations, live theatre, music videos, commercials and narrative films. Including work for Clipping, Watsky, Thundercat, Corona, Tecate, Kari Faux, On An On, Caged Animals, MK, Passion Pit, Hook N Sling, and El Sportivo to name a few.

We took the chance to chat with Carlos about his creative projects over the last few years, his lasting relationships with musicians Watsky and Clipping, and where he gets his inspiration from.

What was the path that led you to becoming a director and being involved in making music videos and commercials?

I grew up watching MTV and playing music in bands so, naturally, music videos are central to my understanding of the world. You know how every kid had that one quirky thing that they liked to do as kids? Mine was to listen to music and fantasize about the images that would go along with it. I still do that now when I listen to songs I really love. Anyway, as soon as I got  my hands on a camera, I started making videos for all of my friends who played in bands and eventually ended up in film school. I kept making more videos for my friends and I kept making more friends - and I guess that brings us to today.

We first noticed your video for Thundercats ‘Them Changes’. How did this project come about and how involved was Thundercat with the video?

The video was actually commissioned by Flying Lotus. I got a call from him on a Monday night saying they wanted to shoot a video for Thundercat the following week. He said "Are you down for the challenge?" and, having no idea how to possibly pull it together, I said yes. I had maybe two days to come up with a concept and then less than a week to prep the shoot. I spent a good while on the phone that night with Flying Lotus getting an inside scoop on everything Thundercat loved and hated and then called all of my friends to help me put this madness together. We are actually about to release a sequel to the video in a few weeks. I hope you like that one too. 

You have created some varied and quirky videos for the artist Watsky, how did this relationship come about?

I was introduced to Watsky by Daveed Diggs, who raps for another group I collaborate with frequently called Clipping. They are good friends and both rappers from the Bay Area. Daveed thought we'd make a good match and I am glad he did because I truly do enjoy working with George (Watsky).

We really enjoyed the Watsky video for ‘Brave New World’ what was the concept behind this?

This was an old idea that I had never gotten a chance to use. It is inspired in the 'dress up paper doll' kits which is basically an undressed paper figure that comes with a set of clothes that you can place over the person to create different looks. I thought it would be very interesting to bring this into a live action setting and explore identity on a performer singing a song while he/she became different people, played different genders, etc... Watsky asked me to make a video for this song which uses science fiction references, from a myriad of titles, to illustrate today's absurd reality - and I figured it would be a prefect opportunity to put this good old paper doll idea to use. 

 Another relationship you have formed is with Clipping. How did you guys get together?

Jonthan Snipes, who is one of the producers in the group, scored a student film of mine probably about 10 years ago. I later found out that he had started a weird rap group and had just gotten signed to Sub Pop. They played the album for me and immediately realized that these guys were up to something special so I asked to make a video for them. They had a thousand dollars, but I was able to use all the equipment and crew from another shoot and filmed "Work Work" overnight in LA between shoot days. 

Where did the idea for the ‘Shooter’ video come about? What was the reaction to the video?

It is mostly literal. The song describes 3 different scenarios and the video depicts each of them. The editing pattern was designed with the guys from clipping. They are brilliant methodical composers and we usually try to design visuals around the music. 

The Clipping video for ‘Summertime’ is a simple idea, but executed well, tell us about the process and what software did you use?

- The idea here was to use the classic 'black bars' used in television to conceal people's identities and apply Daveed's face onto all of these people. This would allow us to film people around LA without any sort of talent releases and still use them in the video. We did most of the effects on After Effects. 

The Caged Animals ‘CINDY +ME’ video is brilliant, How difficult was it to film this with the Monkeys? Anything difficult happen with the shoot?

The monkeys were terryfying and apparently incredibly aggressive. So we needed to clear the set each time and only the camera operator could be in the room with them. We had to do a few post production tricks to comp them into the shots with Vin (the lead singer) because otherwise they would have apparently bit him. 

You have established yourself as a credible ad man now also working with brands such as Sprite, Corona and Tecate. Which artists / brands would you like to work with in the future?

I'd love to make a commercial in space for NASA and a video for Neil Young. 

You have a wealth of inventive and engaging ideas in your videos. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I think its a creative muscle that I have been exercising since I was very young. I feel healthiest when I am asked to use my imagination and come up with ideas for music that excites me. I also try to push myself to work with new artists thatwill require new kind of ideas from me to make sure that I am not repeating myself too much. 

How much time do you spend watching other peoples content? How does it influence or inform your future ideas?

I try to stay up-to-date with content stuff, but I don't think I am very good at it. I live in New York and there is always an oversaturation of interesting things happing everywhere all the time so that probably helps a lot. 

What is next?

I just shot my first feature! 

It's called 'Blindspotting.' It was written by two frequent collaborators: Daveed Diggs (from Clipping) and artist/poet/rapper Rafael Casal. They both star in it too. We have just wrapped production and I am now heading into the editing room as we speak... wish me luck!