The man behind Chris Brown’s epic video for “Look at Me Now” spoke to Billboard Magazine about what fuels his creativity and his future plans.
Remember when Hype Williams was known as the music video go-to guy? well, now that title belongs to director Colin Tilley, who has made a name for himself crafting exciting visual stories to accompany the songs of Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Melanie Fiona and Wiz Khalifa, to name a few.
Not only has the music video maestro ascended to the top of the game, his efforts have garnered him awards. Most recently, he won the 2011 Music Video Award for Best Male Video (Justin Bieber’s “U Smile”) and the 2011 BET Video of the Year (Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now”).
as Tilley prepares to grow into the world of feature-length films, he took time to speak with Billboard.com about his next moves.
“It’s the time for sleepless nights. if I’m not [working] on a project, traveling or directing, I’m in the edit room cutting because I still love to cut all my projects myself,” said Tilley.
It is clear that Tilley refuses to rest on his laurels. Creating visual candy of “Look at Me Now” caliber requires not following the trends of what other directors are doing—and thinking outside of the box. instead, says Tilley, he gathers inspiration from 90s era videos.
“Not even other directors,” he said. “I don’t really get inspired by many other things so I have to go back to the ’90s to draw my inspiration. in the ’90s, things were really awesome because there [was] so much going on. I don’t know what was in their food that was bringing on all these cool visions with everything. From the music to the way that people dressed to the energy. [It] was completely different [and] that’s what I’m trying to bring it back to.”
“I’m about creating new environments with my imagination,” Tilley added. “Everyone that actually lets me create what I’ve been trying to create, that’s pretty much my favorite moment.”
Not only has the director created imagery for Chris Brown, he has linked up with rapper 50 Cent for the music video to his song, “Girls Go Wild.”
“I think when you see this new 50 Cent video, you’ll definitely see some inspiration from the ’90s,” said Tilley in the interview. my whole goal is to get people feeling good again when they watch music videos; make it an experience.”
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