NEW RELEASE: Jape "Floating"

OK, maybe meat is murder and I should reconsider my carnivorous ways. But — and yes, this may be stoner philosophy, but it's all I've got  —  aren't plants also living creatures? Wouldn't that make every vegetable you pick another decapitation, another death, another example of life feeding on life?  As Brother Maynard says about the carrots in the Tool psalm "Disgustipated" — "Tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust... Let the rabbits wear glasses!" All that is prelude to this video for the Jape song "Floating" in which a man is under attack by vegetables and fruits that get hurled in his direction as he tries to paint a fence. At first you may think it's just a rambunctious neighbor pelting the man, but an odd turn near the end makes it clear that our produce is pissed and we should be ready to quell an impending insurrection. --> watch "Floating"

Jape "Floating" (V2)
D.A.D.D.Y. and M&E, directors/editors | Mary McCarthy, producer | Red Jam, production co | Ruairi O'Brien, DP

SHOT: Stereophonics - Charles Mehling, director

Shot in Romania...

artist: Stereophonics
song: "It Means Nothing"
label: V2 UK
director(s): Charles Mehling
production co: Streetgang Films

NEW RELEASE: The Blood Brothers "Set Fire To The Face On Fire"

The construction paper city in the background of this Blood Brothers video may look all cutesy with its actors in skyscraper costumes and bright colors, but it only exists for pure destruction. Flames rage, anthropomorphic versions of natural elements attack the city's residents and The Blood Brothers hardly bat an eye as they bash out this ode to fire, fire, fire. -- watch "Set Fire To The Face On Fire"

The Bloood Brothers "Set Fire To The Face On Fire" (Wichita/V2)
Roboshobo, director/production co | Warren Woodward, producer/editor | Don Burton, DP | Skyway Productions, commissioner

SHOT: Amusement Parks On Fire - Plates, directors

artist: Amusement Parks On Fire
song: "A Star Is Born"
label: V2 UK
director(s): Plates
production co: Plates Animation

NEW RELEASE: The Raconteurs "Level"

This Raconteurs video is a rarity in that it has the band performing the track live, as opposed to just lip-syncing and miming the album version. Set up to look like a rehearsal that just happens to be open to a few fans and cameras, director Sophie Muller beautifully captures a real band doing what they do best. Yes, the lack of artifice and distraction means that the video may only appeal to existing Raconteurs fans, or those few remaining fools who appreciate watching a band that can actually play and interact with each other during a performance. -- watch "Level"

PS: If you're curious to see other examples of the "bands performing live on a video set" genre, definitely check out the classic nine inch nails video "March Of The Pigs," which remains the best of the bunch in terms of sheer histrionics. Also, almost any late-period Bruce Springsteen video basically fits the bill: Springsteen usually sings his vocals live over the track, as opposed to lip-syncing. [see DVDmag.com for a good breakdown on the live/lip-sync status for Springsteen's videos]

The Raconteurs "Level" (V2)
Sophie Muller, director/editor | Jon Doran, producer
Oil Factory, production co | Simon Thirlaway, DP

NEW RELEASE: The Blood Brothers "Lazer Life"

The Blood Brothers valiantly rock out in a room filled with outdated electronic equipment ready to exact their revenge. The machines use their wires like those murderous vines from the first two Evil Dead movies to capture and strangulate the band members. Kind of makes you wistful for HAL, which was at least polite while it killed those meddling humans. -- watch "Lazer Life"

The Blood Brothers "Lazer Life" (V2)
Patrick Daughters, director | Tracey Landon, producer | Black Dog, production co | Shawn Kim, DP | JD Smyth, editor

BOOKED: The Blood Brothers - Roboshobo, director

artist: The Blood Brothers
song: "Set Fire To The Face On Fire"
label: Wichita UK (signed to V2 for USA)
director(s): Roboshobo
production co: Roboshobo
commissioner: Jill Kaplan/Skyway Productions

BOOKED: The Raconteurs - Sophie Muller, director

artist: The Raconteurs
song: "Level" 
label: XL (band signed to V2 in the US)
director(s): Sophie Muller
production co: Oil Factory   

IN DEPTH: Rinocerose "Cubicle"

Being that Rinocerose are really two psychiatrists who double as recording artists, it makes sense that they don't appear in this video, or in the Apple iPod commercial that made this song absolutely unavoidable. Directing team Alex And Liane fill us in how they got connected with the band and the dance troupe that appear in the video.

It's not often you get a band that can dance, act and doesn't mind messing around. In fact, we've never found one that does all three. So, when the brief for "Cubicle" by Rinocerose requested we work with five contemporary dancers, we decided to get some of that frustration out of our systems and cast them as a fake band that did anything but play instruments. The idea was to express the out-of-control ego and tension in group dynamics.

The band contacted us directly through our  MySpace page and we started a dialogue in broken English — we are an English directing couple living in Berlin; they're a French band — that culminated in us going to their home town, Montpellier, and working with French choreographer Mathilde Monnier and her dancers in the Centre Choreographique. The technicians at the centre were stunned at how fast you plough through a one day shoot (probably very different from a six week rehearsal for contemporary dance project).

Watch"Cubicle" at YouTube or MySpace

PHOTO: Ane Brun Before And After...

Here's a sneak peek at the Ane Brun video currently in production. On the left is a shot from the green screen set on the right is a sample of the finished product. Propeller Productions newcomer Natella is both directing and creating the illustrations.

BOOKED: Sugarcult - Brett Simon, director

artist: Sugarcult
song: "Do It Alone"
label: Fearless/V2
director(s): Brett Simon
production co: DNA

SHOT: The Raconteurs - The Malloys, directors

Pictured on the set of a new video for "Steady, As She Goes" directed by The Malloys: Brendan Malloy, Raconteur member Patrick Keeler, Emmett Malloy and the Raconteur's Jack White, Brendan Benson and Jack Lawrence. This new version focuses on a death-deifying soap box derby race.

artist: The Raconteurs
song: "Steady, As She Goes"
label: Third Man/V2
director(s): The Malloys
production co: Black Dog

BOOKED: Ane Brun - Natella, director

Director Natella is directing a clip for Ane Brun that will mix live action with animation that's based on her fluid style of line drawings.

artist: Ane Brun
song: "The Fight Song"
label: V2
director(s): Natella
production co: Propeller Productions

SHOT: Josh Ritter - Dennis Fitzgerald, director

Singer/songwriter Josh Ritter channels the spirit of Buster Keaton in this video homage to the silent film era.

artist: Josh Ritter
song: "Lillian, Egypt"
label: V2
director(s): Dennis Fitzgerald
production co: Your Mom
rep: RW Media

NEW RELEASE: The Meligrove Band "Everyone's A Winner"

The Meligrove Band
"Everyone's A Winner"
(V2 Canada)
Ante Kovac, director | Soft Citizen, production co
Description: The Meligrove Band rock out on a stage lined with mirrors, creating all sorts of off-kilter duplicate images and set-ups. This director Ante Kovac's first video with production company Soft Citizen. -- watch "Everyone's A Winner"

NEW RELEASE: The White Stripes "The Denial Twist"

The White Stripes "The Denial Twist"  Third Man/V2
Michel Gondry, director
Julie Fong, producer
Partizan, production co
Ellen Kuras, DP
Description: This playful video celebrates The White Stripes' triumphant one week stand on NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Most directors and bands would just set up some cameras, document the week and edit it into a rather ordinary video. "The Denial Twist" is not that. First off, director Michel Gondry plays with perspective to such a degree that the viewer is constantly off balance. Sometimes Conan O'Brien and Jack and Meg White look enormous; sometimes they look tiny. The overall image is often squished or stretched, so things look like they're being reflected by fun-house mirrors. Also many objects have a boxlike quality, as if they were made of squares.
    The actual narrative here is circular in nature. The video starts with the band performing on the show and then driving home to watch the broadcast from their apartment. Of course, things aren't that simple. The giant foot that comes crashing down on the performance in the beginning is actually Meg's, as she tries to stomp their old-fashioned  TV into working order, which means that the footage we see in the beginning is actually being filmed off the convex lens of  that TV. I think.
    Pulling off all the visual tricks in the videos called for building a facsimile of Conan's studio, in addition to a miniature car and other rooms of varying proportions. Conan makes a cameo toward the end of the video to add another self-aware layer to the clip, while other times midgets and extremely tall people play his role.
    As you can probably tell from my meandering description, this is not a video that's easily described. So, just watch it by going to the video section of whitestripes.com.

NEW RELEASE: The Greenhornes "Pattern Skies"

The Greenhornes "Pattern Skies" V2
Lightborne, directors/editors/visual effects
Chris Plaskett, producer
Lightborne, production co
Gary Bush, editor
Description: After achieving some reknown for their connection with White Stripes maestro Jack White and a stint as Loretta Lynn's backing band, The Greenhornes are ready to make a stake for their own identity with this slapstick, kitschy video for "Pattern Skies." Conceptual scenes star the band members as goofball soldiers on a mission to spread paisley psychedelia to the maudlin denizens of a decrepit city.  Performance and portraiture shots appear within a wood framed grid. The band's label V2 has a very nice Quicktime of the video available for your viewing pleasure.

BOOKED: The White Stripes - Michel Gondry, director

The White Stripes will be reuniting with director Michel Gondry for this next video off Get Behind Me Satan. That's really all you need to know.

artist: The White Stripes
song: "The Denial Twist"
label: Third Man/V2
director(s): Michel Gondry
production co: Partizan

SHOT: The White Stripes - The Malloys, directors

Jack and Meg prove they really are doing it for the kids as they perform "My Doorbell" to a crowd of youngsters in this black & white video.

artist: The White Stripes
song: "My Doorbell"
label: Third Man/V2
director(s): The Malloys
production co: Black Dog

PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE: The White Stripes Meet Floria Sigismondi

The White Stripes and director Floria Sigismondi (center) look like they had a swashbuckling good time  filming the band's new video, "Blue Orchid."

Cruise over to the White Stripes homepage if you want to some very lovely photos taken by Sigismondi on the video set.

BOOKED: The White Stripes - Floria Sigismondi, director

Director Floria Sigismondi has been tapped to direct the first video off The White Stripes forthcoming album Get Behind Me Satan. The clip for "Blue Orchid" will be shot in Los Angeles.

Sigismondi's videography boasts clips for Marilyn Manson, Incubus, Interpol and Sigur Ros.

artist: The White Stripes
song: "Blue Orchid"
label: XL (to be released by V2 in the US)
director(s): Floria Sigismondi
production co: Revolver Film Co.

The band's European label, XL Records, commissioned the video. The White Stripes are signed to V2 for the United States.

SHOT: Moby - Ben Weinstein, director

Currently in post... Ben Weinstein also directed Moby's currently airing video, "Beautiful."

artist: Moby
song: "Spiders"
label: V2
director(s): Ben Weinstein
production co: Notorious 24:7

Booked: Stereophonics - Charles Mehling, director

artist:  Stereophonics
song: "Superman"
label:  V2 Records
director(s):  Charles Mehling
production co:  Streetgang Films

SHOT: Moby - Ben Weinstein, director

This video is already airing. Moby performs on a TV while a crazy group of critters have a house party. No official word on whether the video characters are actual plushies (link has adult content).

artist: Moby
song: "Beautiful"
label: V2
director(s): Ben Weinstein
production co: Notorious 24:7

"Beautiful" was edited by Aisle Five's Michael Barnett

SHOT: Stereophonics - Charles Mehling , director

artist: Stereophonics
song: "Dakota"
label: EMI (album to be released by V2 in the US)
director(s): Charles Mehling
production co: Refused TV

SHOT: Charlie Mars - Jay Martin, director

Director Jay Martin captures a voyeuristic look at Charlie Mars and his love interest, intercut with performance at a small warehouse space in downtown Los Angeles.

artist: Charlie Mars
song: "Try So Hard"
label: V2
director(s): Jay Martin
production co: Anonymous Content