Tigran Mutafyan on the Magic Behind the Black Eyed Peas Videos
Black Eyed Peas founding member will.i.am knows more than a little about crossing artistic boundaries. As a musician, actor, and composer, he has Grammy awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, and numerous accolades to vet this. His success is indebted to his willingness to experiment and utilize eclectic influences. The music video is still a profound means for artists like will.i.am to express themselves and he embraces it as such. Cinematographer Tigran Mutafyan has collaborated with Will on some of these adventurous productions over the last couple of years. Whether an artist finds themselves on the stage in front of tens of thousands or capturing images to propel a music video, lighting is key. Mutafyan describes just how vital the lighting was for his work with will.i.am on the visual component of the creative statement being made on “Smile Mona Lisa” and “Constant.” The video for will.i.am’s “Smile Mona Lisa” takes modern visual artistry and melds it with the work of the classic p...