He's a man who helped design General Grievous a.k.a. one of the scariest lightsaber-toting villains in 'STAR WARS' history, put Mark Ronson in a neon time-machine, and can impress Julian Casablancas in thirty seconds...

WARREN FU is the guy who has your dream job. He landed an internship with INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC - a company founded by George Lucas. There, he went from researching to being hired as a production assistant, then he was promoted to concept artist and after two years, art director. In true 2011 style, he made a thirty-second video for The Strokes' hit 'You Only Live Once' and emailed it through to their management. Fu was then asked to design The Strokes' website, He met with Casablancas, who then watched the clip and called Warren at 3AM to say "we have to make this"... and the rest is history.

We caught up with Warren Fu to talk 'Strokes, 'Star Wars' and TOM CRUISE...

COUP DE MAIN: How did you get started?
WARREN FU: I've always been into the arts, whether it be music or drawing but I never considered it more than a hobby growing up. It wasn't until after I graduated college that I even considering pursing any type of art as a career. Fortunately, my first job out of school was as a production assistant at a big studio.

CDM: What is your career highlight to date?
WARREN FU: Seeing my Daft Punk video playing on an airplane was pretty cool.

CDM: Can you explain why you chose to name your company 'See Out Loud'?
WARREN FU: My graffiti crew in high school was called SOL, and it stood for Styles Others Lack or Spraycan Out Laws, so I wanted to extend the acronym into my professional career. It's not really a company, it's just a name I put up because I felt weird making a website called WarrenFu.com. I'm getting tired of spelling See Out Loud out for people so I'm thinking of changing it to something else.

CDM: Do you have a piece of work that you're particularly proud of?
WARREN FU: It changes all the time, but I like the beginning of Mark Ronson's Bike Song.

CDM: How did the collaborations with The Strokes come about?
WARREN FU: I was driving my car listening to one of their songs and a clear image of a video popped into my head. I went home and flushed out a presentation with a written treatment and storyboard test on a DVD. I sent one copy to their record label and one copy to their management. Luckily the management responded, and that led to the past five years of designing merchandise and directing videos.

CDM: Your videos often have a historical feel - i.e. in the making of 11th dimension, you reference Tom Cruise's 80's movie 'Cocktail' and 'Ghost Busters' - is there any specific reason why you chose those films/references?
WARREN FU: I've actually never seen 'Cocktail'. But from Beach Boys' 'Kokomo' video, I've gathered that Tom Cruise is a bartender who tosses bottles and tosses his head back in laughter throughout the movie. I guess Julian and I both have a soft spot for that era because those films came out during our "wonder years". Whenever we joke around we're constantly referencing clichés from that time period.  

CDM: You have said in the past that working with The Strokes is a collaborative affair. Do you prefer working alongside other creatives or in a solo capacity?
WARREN FU: It varies. There are occasions when a crystal clear vision pops into my head and I know what to do and how to do it. Then there are times when collaborating helps you get over a creative block. But there are also times where you're collaborating with someone and it's kind of a headache. But you always hope for those moments when things click and you create something that feels like it was meant to be. Then you ruin the moment with an awkward hi-five.

CDM: You've already worked with some impressive names, is there anyone in the music industry that are at the top of your "want to work with list"?
WARREN FU: Maybe Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's strange, I never really understood the appeal of Lady Gaga until I saw the latest clip, 'The Edge Of Glory', which everyone seems to think is her worst video... and I suddenly like her. I think it's the best thing she's done because she seems more passionate, vulnerable and human in it than all her performances.  

CDM: What made you study Economics and a minor in Business Administration at Berkeley? Do you think those qualifications have assisted you in your current career? How?
WARREN FU: To be honest, I fell into that major for lack of any clear direction in life. I obviously couldn't make a living doing graffiti flyers, so I just defaulted to whatever I could graduate with. I think Berkeley as a political and cultural experience had more of an impact on my life than the business and economics courses I took.  

CDM: Have you got a favourite music video [of all time]?
WARREN FU: I always tell people The Smooth Criminal segment from The Moonwalker movie, but there was another video I saw the other day where I thought "no, THIS is my favorite all time video." Unfortunately, I can't remember what video that was...

CDM: What was it like interning at LucasFilm? 
WARREN FU: Cleaning monitors and making copies by day, practicing my artwork at night in the hopes that I would get hired full-time. I also perfected the art of standing over people's shoulders as they work and breathing loudly.

CDM: How did the design for General Grievous come about?
WARREN FU: I doodled a giant page of scary masks. Then I picked my favourite two or three and flushed them out in more detail for our weekly review. One design became his bodyguard and another design became General Grievous. The rest is history in the Kingdom of 'Nerdery'.

CDM: The Star Wars franchise has a very devoted group of fans, have you ever had any odd fan encounters?
WARREN FU: Not really. Star Wars fans are quite obsessive, but are also really nice people once you remove their helmet and talk to them as human beings. I think I prefer fans of the Star Wars Franchise than fans of the McDonald's Franchise.  

CDM: Who do you find inspiring, any particular person or item that influences your work?
WARREN FU: I feel that great graphic designers are some of the most brilliant minds. I love Kazumasa Nagai, Roman Cieślewicz and Milton Glaser. They have a powerful yet understated quality to their work that I try to achieve all my creative endeavors, whether it be a logo, video or written story. I think my favourite art is the stuff that looks natural and easy, but probably took a lot of work to reach that point.

CDM: Where will Warren Fu be in five years?
WARREN FU: I would like to continue to make art in various forms of media but I hope to have at least one feature film made. I will always love music videos, but I'm itching to express myself without the constraints of a three-minute song.

CDM: What's the best advice you've ever been given?
WARREN FU: Look people in the eye when you talk. I'm probably one of the most shy people when I first meet someone, so I'm really trying hard to get better at engaging people in person.

CDM: Do you have any tips for young creatives?
WARREN FU: Stay hungry and never stop absorbing. There is a reason why you gravitate towards certain things over others. Find out why.

HEART LISTENING: A friend sent me some interesting cover songs yesterday: Al Green covering The Beatles, Tashaki Miyaki covering the The Everly Brothers, and Nina Simone covering Bob Dylan. I've been playing them all day.

HEART READING: Books? They are good, from what I hear.

HEART WATCHING: TVs? They are good, from what I hear.

HEART OF THE WEEK: Brooklyn.