Mike Carson is a multidisciplinary creative director and designer. Last year, he co-creative directed and production designed Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, which drew over 133 million live viewers, making it the most-watched halftime performance ever and one of 2025’s biggest cultural moments.On this episode, Mike talks to IN PROXIMITY host Paola Mardo about his journey from filming music videos at 19 with Big Sean (including the iconic millennial bop “Dance (A$$)” Remix featuring Nicki Minaj) and working alongside mentor Virgil Abloh, to becoming one of the most sought-after creative directors today. He also shares his creative process behind the Super Bowl Halftime Show, filming a documentary on Kanye West and Jay-Z on their 2011 Watch the Throne tour, his approach to production design for live experiences, why his laptop is essential to every project, and the art and business of the music video.WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE(00:00) The 12-minute music video(02:00) Director first, designer second(03:00) Creative directing and production designing Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show(08:30) The process of creative directing(10:13) How the LA fires impacted rehearsal; shout out choreographer Charm La'Donna(13:05) How being multidisciplinary helps his work(13:37) Working with Virgil Abloh(17:30) What he learned from Virgil(18:30) Filming Kanye West and Jay-Z on the Watch the Throne(19:54) Voice Memo from the “muse” Big Sean(25:19) Directing music videos(27:12) First big budget video, Big Sean’s “Dance (A$$)” Remix ft. Nicki Minaj(29:40) Bringing back the delusion, childlike curiosity – just create!(31:15) Mike’s design process(36:28) Prox RecsSHOP OUR PROX BOOKS RECS ON BOOKSHOP.ORGLEARN MORE AND READ THE TRANSCRIPT AT PROXIMITYMEDIA.COMWATCH/LISTEN TO IN PROXIMITYYOUTUBEAPPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYFOLLOW PROXIMITY MEDIAINSTAGRAMTIKTOKIN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIAHost, Director, Producer: Paola MardoExecutive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev OhanianTheme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig GöranssonCo-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick EpinoSound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken NanaEditors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana, Ben CalozaSound Recordist: Isabella MillerMotion Graphics Designer: Apollo BaldozProduction Assistant: Isabella MillerPost-Production Coordinator: Celine MendiolaSocial Media Coordinator: Alexandria SantanaProduction Intern: Ben Caloza