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How producing beats made Calmatic one of the best music video directors
Watching an ATM endlessly dispense cash on a wild and lucrative journey across the cityscape of Los Angeles with Anderson .Paak, prompts one to question, who exactly is the creative mind behind the dope visuals for the music video, “Bubblin?”
The answer is, Calmatic; a Los Angeles born filmmaker and artist.
If you do a quick Google search, you will find that Calmatic has an impressive and long list of collaborations with artists.
Calmatic has made music videos for the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Khalid, Anderson .Paak, Vince Staples, Esperanza Spalding, Jhene Aiko, Lizzo, Mehyhem Lauren, The Internet, Zayn, Kosher Kris and Overdoz.
Calmatic, however, got his start through producing his own music.
Back in the day when Myspace was the go-to social media platform, Calmatic would share the beats he produced on his account page where he began to develop a small network of followers and artists.
Music has always been important to Calmatic and his creative process, in an interview with Madame Noire, he said,
“Music is the medicine for the heart, brain and mind.”
Still, it was only after acquiring his first video camera that Calmatic was able to marry his love of music with visuals.
Calmatic frequented open-mics around Los Angeles, filming rappers on stage, in hopes of finding an artist or group he could create music videos for, free of charge.
His visits paid off, ultimately linking up with the LA group Overdoz (a hip-hop group whose sound and vibe have been compared to OutKast and N.E.R.D), where he made several music videos for the music collective.
The collaboration was twofold. It created the necessary visuals for an emerging hip-hop group and also aided Calmatic in developing his own editing style and visual authorship.
The open-mic circuit was also where Calmatic crossed paths with the Anderson .Paak, who at the time, was still an up-and-coming artist.
Blown away by his flow, unique sound, and the funky percussive beats he produced on the drum set, Calmatic connected with .Paak and created a music video for him.
The two had kept in touch over the years.
Evidently, .Paak’s fame has grown significantly. Since, their first encounter, the Oxnard artist has collaborated with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg and more. When the time came to make a budgetless music video under Dr. Dre’s label, Aftermath Entertainment, .Paak reached out to Calmatic for the “Bubblin’” project.
Calmatic notes that his directing and editing style are instrumentally shaped by musical background. He refuses to conceive visuals and sound as mutually exclusive.
A break in the beat is viewed as an opening, an opportunity for improvisation and for the filmmaker to insert his own artistic signature. In an interview with Madame Noire, Calmatic said,
“I treat editing like I am making a beat. I do all my cuts in like the little in-between, intricate sounds that people don’t really hear. Like to me, the edit has its own beat to complete the beat of the actual song.”
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Calmatic has now stepped through the doors of the West Coast hip-hop and rap scene.
For sure, his early days of trying to make it as a music video director are an admirable model for aspiring music video directors to take note of and follow suit.