My process in making a music video is pretty much a formula of talking to the artist. I've never made a video where I didn't talk to the artist before I wrote the treatment. Basically, I enter into it knowing we are collaborators.

I think musicians are perfect at knowing how to get the best out of other musicians. I can really relate to that communion.

As a kid, I wasn't given the sense that celebrity, or fame, or any of that, was something to be impressed by, or to seek out. It was always impressed upon me that making something well crafted, something respected, was the most important thing to do with your life, and I've tried to do that where I can in my field.

I always wanted to be a musician, 100 percent, my whole life. I went to school, I did music theory, I did voice training and piano lessons, and while I was a decent musician, it didn't seem like enough for me. I felt like I wanted to make more than just music.

I'm pretty committed to being a filmmaker because it incorporates everything I love: music, art direction, story, and you know - everything.

Musicians ultimately are who they are, they aren't actors, so as a clipmaker you have a responsibility to protect them.