The only way to define Ryan Patrick’s style is eclectic – just take a look at his music videos from wonderful cardboard robots to a surreal take on Steve Jobs’ life. YDA catches up with the new directing talent.

Your latest video is the “untold story of Steve Job’s as a cooking prodigy”. How did you fathom this story out of the depths of your surreal mind? Was it inspired by the lyrics?

When I receive a new track from a band, I listen to it dozens and dozens of times. If someone were to look at the play count on my iTunes, you could easily see what tracks I’ve been writing on. So for this Miike Snow video, I just happened to listening to the track while reading the Steve Jobs biography one day. There are some sections in there about Steve’s weird eating habits – carrot and apple only diets, long fasts, soup spitting, etc – that really intrigued me. He could have been a chef. So, I started to develop a story around that alternative universe where Steve grew up wanting to be one.

How did the video come about?

I wanted to do something that was a bit more experimental in narrative than my Cut Copy video. I didn’t want to tie all the story elements up for the audience. I’ve had a few people message me their interpretations of the video. Every single one has been different.

What have their interpretations been? What’s yours?

Someone messaged me asking if the video means “We’ve been fed technology and that’s all we’ll ever be.” Love it. For me, it’s about destiny intervening. Steve tries to be a cook, but ends up being shown what he really has to do: build computers.

And what was the production like?

We shot over the course of three days in August out in Santa Clarita, CA and Los Angeles, CA. With so many locations, we were constantly on the move, sometimes pulling 15 to 17 hour days to the grin of Brynne, the producer. Christian, the lead, hated me the first day as I just had him sprinting up and down these giant hills. But overall, the worst part was lugging a dolly down a steep, rocky path to the “apple” tree. The best part was firing air mortars full of packing peanuts at the actors in the warehouse.

What’s the story behind your Tesla Boy video for “Fantasy”?

The band came to me wanting to do something sexy for their U.S. single debut. Normally, I don’t like doing sexy videos, but I really liked the track and decided to add some elements to that lightened the story up a bit. On top of that, the band is based in Russia, so I ended up directing them remotely through Skype and e-mail. It was an interesting experience.

Your Cut Copy video was shortlisted for the Young Director Award this past June, what has been the reaction to that?

I was stunned and honored to be amongst two other amazing directors in the Non-Europe Music Video Category. I first heard the news when a friend texted me from Cannes about it. The video still has a lot of traction and I think the YDA immensely added to that. In fact, I just got an e-mail the other day from a mom who told me she has to keep the a DVD of the video next to her living room television because her daughter demands she play it at least three times a week. Amazing.

How did you go about building that robot suit?

I have to give a lot of credit to Katie Isaacson, the production designer, who help me build it. It was originally going to be this huge costume that I was going to have an actor on stilts wear. But I think it actually works better seeing the little girl’s eyes peeking out. Katie was great with details while I was good with the broad structure of what the costume should be. It was a great mix. She also designed and built the creature in the Miike Snow video.

We love great narrative music videos. Did you work closely with Cut Copy on the narrative?

Don’t tell anyone, but the video was done on spec. I just threw it up online with the hopes that they at least would not serve me a take down notice. They ended up promoting the video and uploading it to their YouTube channel. I love narratives and I’m excited to see more and more bands like Passion Pit, Miike Snow and tons others open up to developing longer form stories with their videos.

You’re based in Los Angeles, but did you go to film school?

I grew up in Florida and went to film school out in Chicago at Northwestern University. After graduation, I stayed in the city and worked as a video editor for a magazine. Finally made the jump to LA almost exactly a year ago. Most of the Cut Copy video was filmed out in Chicago before I had a chance to piece it all together out in LA.

What’s next?

Commercials. I’m working on a few treatments right now that I’m really excited about. I’ve always been drawn to stories, and spots really give you a chance to focus in on the essence of a narrative.

I’m also in the process of developing a couple video ideas for Tesla Boy, which we will shoot in the U.S. this time! They’re going to be nuts in a very good way.

Unsigned, signed, looking?

I’m unsigned, but looking. I’ve had a few great talks with companies and reps recently. I’ve just been taking my time building a strong reel with a clear voice. Right now, my motto is “if no one knows this product/band/director, what would make them watch this video? What’s the hook?” It’s those type of narratives – the ones that draw in new audiences – that I’m always after.