Name: Rich Newey
Company: Uncle
Job/Title: Director
First Video: The first video I directed for a major label was "Po' Folks" by Nappy Roots featuring Anthony Hamilton. It was quite an adventure down there in Kentucky, even to the point of getting lost in the backwoods while scouting. I distinctly remember having to do a conference call with the label out there in the middle of nowhere. Good times. We finally settled on a small town with a population just over 200 and shot it like a documentary, including some interviews with sync sound. Everyone was very welcoming and Nappy really did their thing. We used 12 different film stocks and four cameras, including a handcranked Bolex. We baked film, crossprocessed, used old color-shifted stocks... I really wanted to create this naturally organic look and feel. That was something that wasn't really being done at the time and I remember after it came out I saw a lot more docu-style videos. So I guess we made our mark.
Strangest Video: Hands down: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony featuring Phil Collins "Home." Picture it. We're in Geneva, Switzerland. We've got Bone Thugs. We've got Phil Collins. Need I say more? The funny thing is, it wasn't even supposed to be my job. I was there for second unit, but things didn't go as planned and someone needed to step up, so I grabbed the opportunity. At first it was like, "Who the hell is this Rich Newey kid?", but everyone warmed up once we got the first shot off. Bone's manager Steve Lobel and the group definitely had my back. It was an amazing experience shooting over there.
What's Next: I just wrapped up "I Tried" for Bone Thugs featuring Akon and a feature film of the same name. This is Bone's big comeback and the good relationship I have with the group definitely came into play, along with [Interscope video commissioner and one of the film's producers] Randy Sosin's strong support, We shot the video out in Cleveland and the film back here in Los Angeles. The story of the film is basically a "what if?" What if Bone Thugs never met Eazy-E? What would their lives have turned out like? It's a gritty tale with a lot of cool elements and the guys are total naturals. Great actors! It was shot by Joe Labisi, is currently being edited by Ken Mowe and should come out sometime in May.
