INTERVIEW BY AIYANYO "YANY" AIBANGBEE
From Tokyo to London, to Sydney, Alex Acosta tours the world capturing unforgettable moments, and documenting his client and friend ; Grammy nominated Rapper, Singer, Songwriter and Producer Flo Rida's performances.
I caught up with Alex Acosta as he flew into Washington D.C., and interviewed the talented director about his love for videography, his career and adventure in the world of showbiz.
Where did this creative part of you come from? Who inspired it, who motivated it?
Great question! Prior to being a director, I didn’t realize that years before this I would prep myself. I played basketball overseas for a couple of years prior to this. Basketball was my life but in between basketball I always had a camera. I was always filming everything. I filmed all the locations everywhere I went, and I built up years of footage. Then I got hurt and tore my ankle and I had to sit out for two years. I thought, what am I going to do next?
I looked at my camera and thought, let me try this adventure. I dabbled into it and that was it,
I haven’t looked back since. That was in 2010, and I have been doing that since then.
How did you become the polished director, editor and cinematographer you are today?
I was always a detailed person even as a kid. I have always been extremely hands-on in everything that I did. Literally, everything. I wasn’t the fastest in basketball or fastest runner, or biggest person etc. I had to work harder so I spent nights in the gym working out on my body and figuring out the dynamics of things I wasn’t great at. And that carried over to when I became a director—you think about all the things that you would want to see in movies or executed in film. So one of the first thoughts I ever had when I picked up a camera was, can I ever make someone cry? What I mean by that is, from scratch, can somebody ever watch a scene of yours whether good, happy, sad or bad, and an emotional tear can come from it. If you can do that, you have excelled as a director. This was my initial thought early on and I tried it. For years I spent a lot of time trying it, and I realized it was the result of my imagination that I was shaping, and that’s what continued to inspire my direction.
Did you ever think of a dream job when you were a kid? What was it and did you ever think you will be doing this?
Great question! No I didn’t—if I thought back I never knew I’d be doing this. But I was also the kid who pointed at the Lexus and said “it’s mine!”. That house right there “it’s mine!” I was always the let’s go get it type-of-kid. I was always the "let’s go figure it out" and how to make it happen type. From middle school all the way to high school, I was always the “biggest motivator” or “most likely to succeed” in the high school yearbook. I’ve always had the mindset of let's go make it happen and don’t stand in the corner and wait for it. I never had a favorite car or favorite house or favorite anything when growing up. I just went for what I wanted.
Did your family or friends have an impact in you wanting to be creative and how?
That’s a great question and this might sound negative...No! (laughs out loud) No they didn’t. I would say family like my son is a motivation but all my family is in the streets. Growing up in Bronx, New York, that’s the lifestyle folks wanted to live and the lifestyle and environment that was around me. So it had nothing to do with the creativity or imagination of what I do today. It was more so a drive or motivation not to go that route. Being the young kid I’ve always been, very hands on, and creativity came about it—so I basically inspired myself. I didn’t have any dreams growing up. I didn’t have the Spike Lees or the Hype Williams growing up. I was looking more so at Michael Jordan. Of course, now being in the industry I know about plenty directors and directing. But I didn’t know that growing up, so I couldn’t even tell you exactly where the creativity came from.
I know creative people don’t just watch movies, they see so many things others can’t when it comes to movies. What were your favorite movies as a kid and what are your favorite movies today?
I would say my funniest comedy growing up had to be Dumb and Dumber. I remember the first time seeing it it was hilarious. Action-wise, do you remember the movie, The Professional? All time favorite I would say Usual Suspect. And I would say anything Quentin Tarantino. His imagination and how he directs is really good although a lot of people find his movies gruesome, but I loved his movies growing up.
You and Flo Rida are pretty close. You have captured great moments and experiences with the grammy nominated and multiple award winning artist. How did that relationship start and what have you learnt from the artist?
Man! There are a million things to say as far as what I’ve learned. As far as how it started, it was by an artist named Gorilla Zoe. I had worked with Zoe years prior, he came to me with a humble opportunity and I pretty much connected the dots. Then I met Flo who was pretty much a successful, well established artist, as you mentioned. It was pretty much for me like "how can I come in here, a nobody, and explain to him that my work is needed and I can contribute to the demands for him to want to work with me?" I showed him my reel and what I could do. He was quiet the whole time, and I thought "damn, maybe I didn’t really impress him." Then from nowhere he comes to me and says “Hey man, I want you to try this event with me next weekend.” Long story short, if we fast forward, I did it and from there he loved the results, we kept working and more results continued to come. And we built this relationship. And 5 years later, today what I’ve learnt from him is to remain humble. I would say he is my richest and the most humble client. I’ve known so many people who are the cockiest or just have a chip on their shoulder but no real accomplishments. Not to say that money equals accomplishments, but no, real actual accomplishments, he has all these awards and platinum plaques, a hundred million plus records sold, known around the world, yet he still stops to every fan who asks him for pictures and has one on one conversations with people. From conversations we have had during flights to just sit-down meetings, Flo Rida is one of the most humble and genuine dudes I have ever met. So just remain humble, prior to me meeting him I was always humble. So to meet someone like him and he shows me that he remains humble, lets me know that I am doing the right thing.
Who would you love to work with as an artist and why?
I would have to say my favorite rapper of all time, Jay Z.
Would you love to direct a movie someday? And if so what would be the category? Drama, Action, Comedy?
Really good question. I actually have a drama film out right now called “Two Aces and a Dirty Heart” that I shot about 3 or 4 years ago with one of my partners, my writer Dominic Young. I am dabbling into a couple short films and some scripts that are in the works. In terms of film I am looking forward to diving heavily into some filmmaking over the next few months and years to come—hopefully it happens, I’ll accept it and will make it happen.
You have worked with so many big brand names and corporations, What is your message to young men and women who aspire to get to this level of experience through videography or creativity?
I think that's the million-dollar question to everybody in every field. For me I would say, chase results, money is going to come in anything that you do. Literally. You can work in any type of job, so of course it varies on the amount you get. Chase the result. With new clients, when they first see that work, whether it is television or anything else and you get that phone call that they loved your work and what you did, that’s the high that you are chasing. That's the rush that you are given. Chase results and don’t worry about the money, it will come.
What else do you do that helps you challenge yourself or keeps you focused?
That’s probably the best question out of all these questions because that has nothing to do with your career. I’d like to say that I’m the realest. I like to put myself in a lot of peoples shoes and I think of things in third people perspective. Whether it’s the client, or if I like the result or someone that you are dealing with. Whether they like the relationship that you are giving them in terms of the communication, a lot of things play into it. I think being the realest and being honest with yourself, again your work should be from a third party perspective. Don’t think you are right, don’t think you are Mr. This or Mr. That, just be humble—it goes back to the humbling part of this interview. The results will be the energy you give.
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Bio:
Alex Acosta
Prestige FilmWorks
Director/Cinematographer/Editor
Born and raised in Bronx, NY, Alex Acosta has over 10 years of film experience with an ingenious shooting style that blurs the creative lines between music videos and feature film production. As head of his own production company, Prestige FilmWorks, Alex’s skills behind the lens have taken him to over 50 countries across the world, capturing and documenting the success of such platinum selling acts as Flo Rida, Natalie La’Rose, and Cassidy just to name a few. With directorial work showcasing on BET, REVOLT, MTV, FUSE, ESPN and ABC, Alex has produced corporate and social media marketing campaigns that have appeared on Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Jimmy Kimmel. His commercial experience includes such clients as Atlantic Records, Samsung, Celsius, iLoud, La'lpina Water, the NBA and ESPN. As he continues to direct and produce new projects, it's no surprise that Alex has plans to develop his talents even further.
Artists Alex shot videos for:
Flo Rida - Wale - Juicy J - Paul Wall - Gorilla Zoe - Jason Derulo - Cassidy - Killer Mike - Jadakiss - Styles P - Raheem Devaughn - Jim Jones - Freeway - Fat Trel - Shy Glizzy - K Camp
Catch Alex's beautiful moments on IG: instagram.com/mralexacosta
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