This girl rocks. At 24 Carly Cussen is The Princess of Grime having shot over 100 promos for the likes of Lethal Bizzle, Devlin, Griminal and loads more. Starting as a runner and working her way up, Cussen shot her first promo for Tinie Tempah when she was just 17 which has now notched over three and half million hits and she has been blazing on the music video scene ever since. Just signed to Stamp Films in London we can’t wait to see her first commercial – anyone know who has the Kit Kat account? They should be told about Carly Cussen immediately.

and the follow up

So start at the beginning…

I’m pretty much all self taught and all my inspirations are very cheesy.
I never went to college or university, or studied culture, fashion or design… I was all about magic, fantasy and big dreams.

I went to drama school from the age of four with the dreams of becoming an actress. It wasn’t until around 14, that I decided being in front of the camera wasn’t for me. I then started to buy dvds with behind the scenes special features. I became obsessed with films. Fantasy/adventure films to be exact. I told my mum that I wanted to be like Peter Jackson. I was forever creating new characters and writing short stories, I loved the idea of being lost in a different world.

In school I was constantly told that I needed to forget silly dreams and concentrate on getting qualifications for a “fall back” career.
I told my teacher that I would be on that stage collecting my Oscar one day and she would have to swallow her words.
I then left school after taking my last GCSE and wrote to every production company I could find. I was 16 when I first worked in Pinewood Studios as a runner. I was running on a lot of Max and Dania sets and watched all the different departments.
I then worked with Simon Poontip on some small projects, where I got to learn a little more hands on. I then started to get back into writing in the hope of developing a script.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CV4PJS9FPQ
Cussen’s first promo: “It’s not the best but i love Tinie so it’s a proud one.”

At 17 my Nan bought me my first camera and I was lucky enough to have a semi professional one, JVC gy-hd 101 to be exact. Anyways off I went to film my own projects… obviously very small things.
Later I met up with a few friends who were making “grime” music. So we shot some video that I managed to get onto Channel U.

After the great feed back, my friend and business partner Dan and I started shooting more and more videos, some reaching thousands of hits on YouTube. We taught ourselves how too design and light our sets, and we also taught ourselves how to edit and grade the videos.
By the time I was 21 I had shot nearly 100 low budget music videos for TV, along with TV shows, showcases and live performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNE5geoSMAY

Slowly Dan and I went our separate ways with different ideas of what we wanted to do. My manager then decided to open up a production company called Mushroom TV, where I single handedly turned over videos that were hitting millions on YouTube. With the drive and ambition to reach bigger and bigger goals I was over the moon when the opportunity came up to work at Stamp. So I took the jump and here I am. I still haven’t forgotten about my script or my Oscar.

Is that your Nan and Mum in the making of Lethal Bizzle Pow 2011?

YES. On POW I was trying to make a mini movie on a shoe string budget so I pulled in all favours. I had to build all my own sets (the bank vault etc) and I needed a few extra pairs of hands, and there’s no body better to support you than your family. Mine have been on many of my earlier shoots. Some times even IN the videos.

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Where to start? There’s been so many and in so many different contexts.
Darren Platt once told me that “Success is driven by positive momentum”. It’s so true, if you work hard, stay positive and chase your dreams it’s hard to fail. Never dwell on the negatives, everyone makes mistakes just learn from them. I was never one to believe in “It’s who you know”, because I never knew anybody and I never had any qualifications, but with bags and bags of passion I worked hard to get my foot in the door. As far as actual directing advice is concerned, my dp is always telling me that you shoot and move on… learn from each shoot and know what to do and what NOT to do next time. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, that’s probably how I learnt so quickly.

Was it by trial and error that you learnt lighting, editing and directing? Any night school classes at all?

It was pretty much trial and error for the first few years, hence why so many videos make me cringe when I look back now. I also managed to blow up a few red heads and burn down a wall, but it was all in the name of show biz.

I attended a short course at LFA about four years into my career, to learn about film cameras and film production. So when I finally shoot my film, I’ll be able to get my old notebooks out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVD6LtZOYic&ob=av2e

Do you collaborate with a regular team?

I’ve spent the last year working with my dop Aaron Reid. He is amazing and I love shooting with him. We are always bouncing off each other. He’s probably taught me more than anyone in my career so far.

What’s your five-year plan?

I would love to shoot some much bigger videos, some with maybe a lot more depth. I love videos with strong stories and messages, but have not had the chance to get my teeth stuck into one properly yet.
I would like to eventually break into commercials and finally films. But in the next five years I definitely want to build up a good portfolio in pop promos. Make my stamp in the video world (no pun intended).

Would you like to shoot commercials or other genres other than music videos?

Yes most definitely, I would love to shoot a Kit Kat advert. It sounds crazy but I have some really cool ideas based on the “Have a break, have a Kit Kat” concept. I’m also hoping to collect that Oscar one day. It’s like the cliché saying have your fingers in all the pies… video, commercials, films… I wouldn’t mind even shooting a wild life documentary and seeing more of the world.

Do you storyboard everything thoroughly before the shoot or is there room for spontaneous moments?

I try to. Sometimes if you go into too much detail and have your mind set on one thing, it can be disappointing if it goes wrong. I always like to have an open mind. I also love arriving on set and finding other inspirations. There have been a number of times I’ve found new locations and my dp has had to organise a total re-light. I’m lucky he’s amazing.

Do you work with the musicians on the narrative or do you write it yourself?

Usually I write them myself, but it’s nice to sit down and get too know the artist, what they are about, where they want to go with their visuals. It helps to make the video more personal. For me it’s not JUST about good visuals, it’s about being apart of building somebody as a product. It’s so important that the audience connect with the artist, and for me, understanding them as a director is even more important. I’ve been very, very lucky to have built great relationships with the artists that I work with. The videos are definitely more fun and you can bring the best out of your artist when they are more comfortable.

What’s your favourite part of the directing process?

I love being on set. Watching all the ideas I’ve created on the monitor. I love being able to work with the artist to create something different with them too, pushing them too get more. Everybody I’ve worked with will tell you I’m crazy, I love giving demonstrations (which is often quite entertaining when working with people like Lethal Bizzle and Devlin). In fact I’ve been on set where the artists laugh and say, “Carly do you want to do this take and I’ll sit at the monitor.”

How old are you now – or rather how long have you been directing? (You’ve got LOTS of work so just wondering over what time span these were created).
I’m 24 now. I’ve been working hard for eight years, I don’t really see it as a job, it’s more of a passion.