LA VIBES
Deighton Mckoy in One Take By Ti e r r a Jone s
D eighton Mckoy, a Grammy Award-win- ning assistant director for music videos and commercials, has worked with many of our culture’s favorite artists, such as Beyoncé, J. Cole, Bon Jovi, Cardi B, BTS, and many more. Georgia Hollywood Review sat down with the AD, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to learn more about his world today. GHR: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION AS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR? DM: Great question. I never thought about being in the film industry at all. Well, how I was raised, the goal was to go to college and get a great city or state job in New York. I ended up going [into] the National Guard when I was 18. So how I got into this film world, was [through] an assistant director named Mike Estrella, based out in LA. He was a friend of my sister’s and [he] asked me to intern as a P.A. My first job was working with J.Lo feat. Nas, “I’m Gonna Be Alright.” Mike was out here in New York and was the 1st AD for that shoot. When I saw him calling all the camera rolls and hands on with the direc- tor, I said, “I wanna be like Mike doing that.” After that, that’s when my love for video production came along. WHAT DREW YOU TO MUSIC? Well, one is my sister was always into music when I was a kid. I picked up a lot from her. She was also a Broadway actor in a play named Rent . I picked up a lot from her, and always had friends in the entertainment industry. But I loved music so much, I had told myself, I wanted to have my own music label like Diddy or Russell Simmons when I was younger. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PAST PROJECTS, AND WHICH ONES ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? Well, it’s so many projects, but off the top of my head I can say when I did the Cardi B “I Like It” video. So, that’s the biggest video with streams (1.4 billion) I ever worked on. Quick story, prior to me going to Miami to work on this, I had spoken to one of my mentors, named Kareem Johnson, aka Super Producer. Kareem was like, “Yo, we shooting Cardi in Miami.” I said, “Well, I’m there.” He told me to contact the 1st AD, which is the big homie named Ibrahim “Ham.” He said, “Ain’t you in college?” I’m like, “So what, I’ll be in Miami tomorrow for the scout.”
(laughs) Then we made it hap- pen the following day. Another project I am proud of working on was the Beyoncé “Black is King” proj- ect. I didn’t work on the entire project, but a few videos of it. “Brown Skin Girl” was one of them. Getting to see my name on that credit was amazing. Last but not least, I was in Mississippi for the majority of the summer and a little bit in the fall, working on this film named The Inspection . WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE? My kids are my biggest influence. Which is one of the reasons why I went to college at the age of 34. Yes, I went late, but I wanted to be one of the examples as a black man to my four children, obtaining a B.S. degree in Behavioral Science. WHAT HAVE YOU NOT ACCOM- PLISHED YET THAT YOU WISH TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? What I wish to accom- plish is being one of the top executive producers in film. But obviously, it’s major steps prior to that. Also opening up a film stage. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE LOOKING TO BREAK INTO THE INDUSTRY?
“ My first job was working with J.Lo feat. Nas, ‘I’m Gonna Be Alright.’ ”
Deighton Mckoy
Photo courtesy of Deighton Mckoy
The advice I can give is know what your passion is in the industry. If you love working the camera, study it and work with a camera crew. Even if you have to intern. If you love production or art, start as a PA or Art PA. The problem is many people want to jump [into] the industry
blind. You have to start from the bottom. Know every department and know why their roles are essential to making the movie, video, or commercial.
@brooklynholla
3 6 | T H E G E O R G I A H O L L Y WO O D R E V I E W | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 2
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs