IN DEPTH: The Rapture "Whoo! Alright - Yeah... Uh-Huh"

There's only way to shoot a party video and ensure it looks like an actual party. That's right, you gotta throw a real, honest to goodness party. Diretcor Ben Dickinson — newly signed to Black Dog Films — and The Rapture do exactly that in the insanely fun clip for the insanely titled track "Whoo! Alright — Yeah... Uh Huh" Part tribute to a blighted, yet up-and-coming, hip Brooklyn neighborhood and part celebration of School House Rock animation, this video succeeds on nearly every level.

Ben Dickson/The Rapture: "The rooftop party is how we do in Brooklyn! And since it's such a big part of summertime here I thought it was very important to throw a real party for WAYUH. I wanted to create a palpable sense of energy in the video, you know?  So all the Rapture's friends came out and we had a big BBQ with kegs of shitty beer. The Bangers were DJ'ing.  I remember spontaneous dance-offs in between takes.  I mean, I was dancing too. The energy on set was wonderful.

We shot it around where I live in Bushwick. Jon Watts lives right around the corner from me and we have a joke about how our neighborhood is like Sesame Street. We live in a little enclave of creative people and it's colorful and everything you need is within short walking distance.  You run into people you know everywhere. So the animation was inspired by those psychedelic shorts from Sesame Street and School House Rock and other cartoons from that era.  It just made sense to me.

--> watch "Whoo! Alright — Yeah... Uh-Huh"

The Rapture "Whoo! Alright — Yeah... Uh-Huh" (Mercury/Universal)
Ben Dickinson, director | Mark DePace, producer | Greencard Pictures, production co | Matthew Santo, DP | Ben Dickinson & Ron Winter, editors

SHOT: Cute Is What We Aim For - Lex Halaby, director

Cute Is Indeed What they Aim For: Director Lex Halaby (second from left) on the set of "The Curse Of Curves" with members of Cute Is What We Aim For.

artist: Cute Is What We Aim For
song: "The Curse Of Curves"
label: Fueled By Ramen
director(s): Lex Halaby
production co: Refused TV

NEWS: Oil Factory New Address

Production company Oil Factory has relocated. The new address is:

2045A South Barrington Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025

The main phone number remains (310) 432-2900.

BOOKED: The Decemberists - Aaron Stewart-Ahn, director

Sorry all you green screeners, another version of "O Valencia!" has been commissioned with director Aaron Stewart-Ahn, who also did the band's video for "16 Military Wives."

artist: The Decemberists
song: "O Valencia!"
label: Capitol
director(s): Aaron Stewart-Ahn
production co: Food Chain Films

SHOT: Fall Out Boy - Alan Ferguson, director

artist: Fall Out Boy
song: "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race"
label: Island Def Jam
director(s): Alan Ferguson
production co: Anonymous Content

NEW RELEASE: Gym Class Hereos "Cupid's Chokehold"

Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy keeps falling in and out of love in this new video for "Cupid's Chokehold." Luckily for McCoy, Cupid is pretty persistant and gives him many chances to find real love with a succession of beautiful women. As with most videos from the Decaydance family of artists, this video features a cameo (Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump sings the hook, which is recycled from Supertramp's "Breakfast In America") and there's plenty of humorous bits — most notably a mid-song human beatbox break at a snooty party. -- watch "Cupid's Chokehold" (YouTube) 

Gym Class Heroes "Cupid's Chokehold" (Fueled By Ramen)
Alan Ferguson, director/DP | Jacqui Frisco, producer | Anonymous Content, production co | Megan Brennan @ Company X, editor

NEWS: Music Video Grammy Nominees

Nominees for the 49th annual Grammy Awards were announced this morning in Hollywood. The music video categories shape up like this:

Best Short Form Music Video (For an individual track or single promotional clip. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer.)

• Big & Rich "8th Of November" (Warner Bros.)
  Robert Deaton, George Flanigen & Marc Oswald, video directors; Robert Deaton, George Flanigen, Steve Lamar & Marc Oswald, video producers
• The Killers "When You Were Young"  (Island Def Jam)
  Anthony Mandler, video director; Gina Leonard, video producer
• OK Go "Here It Goes Again" (Capitol)
  Dan Konopka, Damian Kulash, Jr, Timothy Nordwind, Andy Ross & Trish Sie, video directors; Dan Konopka, Damien Kulash, Jr., Timothy Nordwind, Andy Ross & Trish Sie, video producers
  
• Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California" (Warner Bros.)
  Tony Kaye, video director; Rachel Curl, video producer
• Underoath "Writing On The Walls"  (Solid State/Tooth & Nail)
  no director or producer credited

Notes/Thoughts: The Underoath video was directed and produced by the Swedish collective Popcore Film. At this point I'm not sure if their credit omission is due to some Grammy rule or someone's incompetence. The OK Go nomination will probably get all sorts of industry people riled up since it's not a "real" video. It is, however, more memorable and had more of an impact than everything else so look for it to win.

Best Long Form Music Video (For video album packages consisting of more than one song or track. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer of at least 51% of the total playing time.)

• Terence Blanchard "Flow: Living In The Stream Of Music" (Jazziz Music & Video)
  Jim Gabour, video director; Robin Burgess & Jim Gabour, video producers
• Death Cab For Cutie "Directions" (Atlantic)
  Noah Gelb, Nick Harmer, Jill Kaplan & Aaron Stewart-Ahn, video producers
  
• Gorillaz "Demon Days: Live In Manchester" (Virgin)
  J.C. Hewlett, video director
  
• Madonna "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret" (Warner Bros.)
  Jonas Akerlund, video director; Susan Applegate, Angela Becker, Keeley Gould, Shelli Jury & David May, video producers
  
• Bruce Springsteen "Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run" (Columbia)
  Thom Zimny, video director; Thom Zimny, video producer
  

Notes/Thoughts: Although the Bruce Springsteen documentary has some absolutely amazing and important archival footage that sheds new light on what is arguably the greatest rock album of all time, Death Cab For Cutie deserve to win for Directions, an ambitious music video version of  the hit album Plans.

NEW RELEASE: Jim Jones "We Fly High" remix

It's not just a collabo video for this remix of "We Fly High." It's a coronation of Jim Jones as the hottest rapper on the scene right now. Paying tribute and spitting verses here are T.I., Diddy, Juelz Santana, Baby aka Birdman, and Young Dro, not to mention cameos by Lil Wayne and other hip hop A-listers. The video follows the basic "Flava In Your Ear" remix template, with a couple of added twists: Fistfuls of Benjamins get tossed around, women take tape measurements of a man's true manhood (ie: the diameter of his rims) and Jones bench presses one of the sexy models to make sure he passes the bar. -- watch "We Fly High (remix)" in Real or Windows Media

Jim Jones "We Fly High (remix)" (Diplomats/Koch)
Dale "Rage" Resteghini & Jim Jones, director | Raging Nation Films, production co | Joe Labisi, DP | Zuk, editor

NEW RELEASE: Ludacris f/ Mary J. Blige "Runaway Love"

If Ludacris videos get any more serious, he might have to change his name. Famous for his club bangers, the rap star confronts the domestic issues that lead young girls to become runaways in his new release, "Runaway Love." The queen of hip hop soul and drama, Mary J. Blige, anchors the clip as she sings amid a sea of teenagers holding candles. You won't find typical video models here. The only thing the girls in this video try to shake are the troubling situations that leave them feeling trapped. Not only does Luda succeed in getting out a somber message without sounding like a court-ordered public service announcement, but this is easily one of the most sincere rap videos of the year. -- watch "Runaway Love" (AOL Video Quicktime link)

Review by Craig Belcher, curator of the blog Rap, Lies & Videotape

Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige "Runaway Love" (DTP/Island Def Jam)
Jessy Terrero, director | John Winter, producer | Terrero Films, production co | Robin Frank Management, rep | Paul Cameron, DP | Jeff Selis, editor

BOOKED: Good Charlotte - Marc Webb, director

artist: Good Charlotte
song: "The River"
label: Epic 
director(s): Marc Webb
production co: DNA