This week we had the opportunity to catch up with one of Florida’s most prominent music video directors Anthony Moore, who is the CEO of MooreUpriseMedia. We spoke to Anthony about his passion for videography, why he got into the music business and how he has made connections to some of the biggest names in the game!

Q: Where along the line did you find your passion for videographer/production work?
Anthony:  I feel like i’ve always had a passion for “creating” in general. Mainly music related, but anything that was artistic had my name all over it. From writing music, to music production, taking pictures, recording videos, drawing pictures, all the way to painting. I like to take the world for “what it is”, show everybody else “what it could be”, & shine a whole new light on a perspective that most people probably never even thought of. So I’ve had a passion for videography since I can remember, I just think doing it to the caliber I am now had to do with the timing. I remember when I was in my early teens I even made a couple videos of myself skateboarding out front of the house just because I was bored one day. Obviously not the first choice for a debut video. Anyway. Time had passed & I eventually ended up running an auto shop with an old boy of mine. We realized if we wanted to stick out from other auto custom shops, we had to make ourselves known on social media. & of course one of the best ways to grow on social media is by posting good content. So I took what I had saved up at the time & went and spent it on a good camera that I could use to film our cars with. At the time it was a risk because the equipment was not cheap, but it paid off real quick. I started filming our clients cars, I filmed/took pictures of certain builds at car meets, race events, you name it. Eventually people started recognizing my work & I realized it was an opportunity to reconnect with another big part of my life. Which was music. 

Q: What made you decide to one day hit up OTM Frenchyy & Project Youngin and pursue a career working in the music business? 
Anthony: In order to connect with music again, I knew I had to get my foot in the door with an artist & work my way up. I was searching through instagram for a few days until I found a local artist that I actually liked & that just happened to be Frenchyy. I messaged him with intentions ready to hit the ground running. I told him straight up “I’ve never done a music video before, but this is what I want to do. I got a dope camera & I’m hungry. Let me shoot a music video for you for free. I don’t want to get paid. I want the opportunity to prove myself”. He was on board with it. I didn’t even know Youngin was on the song until I showed up to film the video. I didn’t really get to connect with Youngin on a personal level until we ended up filming in LA a little while later, because we really didn’t say much at the shoot with Frenchyy. LA just happened to be good timing. I had gotten flown out to do some film work for some of their local car enthusiasts & I knew Youngin was there at the same time so I had hit him up. I messaged him & said I was in town for X amount of days, lets go ahead & knock out some work. He had a song in mind, filmed it last minute, & it honestly came out better than I thought I could do at the time. We’ve been locked in ever since & he’s one of the closest people I got. 

Q: Who are some other rappers from Florida you would like to work with, but haven’t had the chance to yet? 
Anthony: Man I love Florida. We are some crazy MFs but damn I love it. We have so much talent here. We bring a whole new vibe to the table & we hustle so damn hard. I’ve been able to work with a few of Florida’s biggest artists but there are a few that I’m definitely wanting to collab with for the culture. LPB Poody is definitely on top of that list. I was supposed to knock out a video for him, Youngin, & Foolio a few months back but the timing turned out bad on that one. It’ll circle back around though. 

Q: As a creator representing a particular area, do you feel an obligation to the artists and community you shoot in to help put Florida on the map?
Anthony: I feel like some people wont get this, but yeah I feel obligated. When I say that, I don’t mean it in the common sense though. When most people hear “obligated” they think of something they “don’t want to do but should do”. For me it’s something “I should do” but at the same time, I want too. With a burning passion. I want to help put Florida on the map 25/8. I don’t have enough time in life to accomplish all the things I wanna do for my community, florida, and people in general. I feel like i’m cut from a different cloth compared to most people though & I don’t mean that in an insulting way. People hit strides at different times in life. People adapt based off of their surroundings & how they feel on an emotional level. With that said, I’ve experienced more before my 18th birthday than most people will experience in their entire life & I think those experiences have molded me into the person that I am today. My top priority in life is to help people. It’s to work harder than the next, build my empire, & be a living example for others who grew up in similar backgrounds whether they are an artist or not. Most of us heard the saying “Give a man a fish he will eat for the day, but if you teach a man how to fish he will eat for a lifetime”. I help by teaching, they just have to be willing to listen. I’ll put the ground work in, I’ll pave the way, I’ll prove anything is possible no matter where you started, but they need to accept the hard work & sacrifice that comes with it. I’ll guide anybody that really wants to better themselves & chase their dreams. 

Q: Without mentioning any names, what’s the craziest thing that has ever happened on set of a music video?
Anthony: The craziest things I can’t speak on. We keep those under wraps. We’ve seen and been through a lot of things we shouldn’t have. BUT lol. One of the things I will never forget is back from when I was on tour with a few different artists & one of our wheels on the SUV caught fire while we were on the highway. We had to UBER from state to state the rest of the tour. Wasn’t fun. 

Q: You mentioned the brand name MooreUprise was something you came up with when you were younger. Would the younger Anthony Moore be proud of where you and the brand are today? 
Anthony: The younger me would be so proud honestly. Not only because of the goals I’ve reached, but because of how much I’ve grown as a person. I remember nights I used to dream & beg for the lifestyle I’m living right now & I remember creating an image of who I wanted to be as a person. I made it happen.  I still have a ways to go for my current goals, but I’ve definitely come a long way. 

Q: Where do you see yourself and your company MooreUpriseMedia in the next 5 years? 
Anthony:

In 5 years? A lot. 

     1) I’d like to be one of the largest videographers/directors in the industry by that point. 

   2) I’d like to have a management team through my company so we can build a team of artists. 

     3) I want my clothing line up & Running

     4) I want to be producing music by then