KBS: It was tough at first, luckily I had some incredible people take a chance on me when I didn't have much to show work wise yet. VTHH: Was it hard to get a start without a reel? What advice do you have for aspiring directors trying to scramble their way up the food chain? I also want to shout out BennyFlashh who is a Florida director that has done videos for Kodak Black and Chief Keef and he was the first person in the industry to ever hire me to edit for him. I interned for them this summer and Mikey was a mentor of mine. The third was Mikey Cosentino the CTO of RiTE media, a film studio in Atlanta behind a lot of the biggest music videos for A boogie, Akon, J cole etc. I also had three significant mentors so far that I got the chance to work under, one is William Holby who was a film teacher of mine in high school another is Megan Tresca who was an art teacher of mine that really pushed me to lean into my artistic side. I have been big time inspired by Dextar Navy (ASAP ROCKY DIRECTOR), Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade, Kidsuper (fashion designer and director of early Russ videos), Tyler, the Creator, Teezo Touchdown, Warren Fu (Doja Cat director) and a lot of other creatives that are pushing boundaries. KBS: My brother had a big influence on me and my work. VTHH: Did you have any mentors when you got started or are you mostly self-taught? So music videos just tied all of those things together for me because it allowed me an outlet to be weird and creative and make dope art with incredibly unique people. I think that's why I always kind of felt out of place in school growing up and its made me fall in love with NYC. I just like to fuck up societal expectations and go against the norms of society.Īs a kid I watched stuff like Tyler, the Creator eating a bug or even as a teen seeing BIGKLIT drinking her own period blood never made me uncomfortable in the same way it seemed to for other people, I always just felt attracted to weird visuals and unique concepts. I was always attracted to stuff like Odd Future and people like BIGKLIT. I love music, hip hop culture, style, fashion, videos and just doing weird stuff that's different. I was definitely hooked right away to music videos and fashion.
I always was in love with their style, I loved Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. Kelly Butts-Spirito: I was first introduced to music videos by watching Odd Future music videos in middle school. VTHH: Do you remember your first introduction to the music video artform? Were you hooked right away or was there a particular video that inspired you? Before doors open ( at 7:30 pm sharp) Kelly took the time to explain his journey and his goals, and to offer a wealth of gems about getting started in an opaque and expensive industry, too.
It's free and it's all ages, so expect an equally packed house. He'll be bringing in some big names and showcasing the scene that's been percolating through Queen City Kickback's secret house parties. This Saturday, it all comes together at ArtsRiot for a huge, packed show that will go down as one of the highlights of 2021. Just under twelve months later, and he's busier than ever, expanding his resume and working hard to help the new wave of BTV talent reach eyeballs around the country. He was racking up five-figure views from low-budget but well-done videos, and laying down the foundations of a career - and a brand, too, under the Love, Kelly moniker. Last year, I got a friendly email from a young, hungry music video director named Kelly Butts-Spirito.