About this user
Carlos Pérez is among the leading creative forces working in the Hispanic market. His personal and professional journey has connected Carlos to many diverse Spanish-speaking communities, from his native Puerto Rico to his adopted Miami to Los Angeles, where Carlos began his career as a Designer.
"My background as a graphic designer definitely influences the look and feel of my film work," notes the Director, whose videos for such Latin music superstars as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Ricky Martin have garnered numerous award nominations.
"Growing up, I traveled throughout the Caribbean, Central and Latin America, surrounded by very distinct, cultural scenarios and extremely textured cities. And everywhere we went, there was the poster artvery graphic, with bold typography and very dense color palettes. It left a mark on me. To my eye, every frame of film is a poster. " That strong sensibility for the Latin aesthetic tradition forms the foundation of Carlos's Directoral work. 'My record company clients are in the business of promoting an artist's image," Carlos says. 'I bring them images that resonate with something deep in culture, a feeling that's both fearless and at the same time fragile."
That feeling can also be found in the Director's last Documentary, Free Tempo of the unjustly imprisoned Latin Hip Hop artist "Tempo" which earned him a Grammy Nomination in the Best Long Form Video category.
Carlos native Puerto Rico lends an especially multi-cultural perspective to his work. In Puerto Rico, we live in many worlds at once. Were American citizens, tied economically to American culture. Yet were a melting pot of peoples from all over—Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Its what makes us very open to new ideas, new attitude, and new interpretations.
'Whether my focus is a music video, documentary, or commercial project, it's always about storytelling," says Carlos. 'My role as Director is to use every tool at my disposal to tell a story: about a song, a product, a service, or whatever; in a way that refuses to compromise, that can't be ignored."
In fact, the Miami-based design firm Carlos founded in 2003, Elastic People, calls itself 'a design collective against invisibility.' It's a slogan Carlos says comes from his having worked for blue-chip clients like Mercedes-Benz early in his graphic design days.'Brands get conservative," he notes. 'They play it safe. My role as a Director is to remind clients that there's nothing more dangerous than playing it safe."
The roster of clients Carlos has worked with includes Rock&Republic, Mercedes-Benz, ABC Television, ATT, Nike, Sony Music, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records, Universal Music, Warner Music among others.
