PROFILE: Tony Petrossian, Rockhard Films

Tony Petrossian is a music video director. Since the only name he drops in his Profile is Jean-Claude Van Damme — and it's a self-deprecating reference, no less —I figured it made sense to list some recent credits, just to frame his formative tales of filmmaking:

• Taking Back Sunday "Liar"
• Stone Sour "Through Glass"
• Avenged Sevenfold "Beast & The Harlot"

OK. Now, enjoy ..

name: Tony Petrossian
company: Rockhard Films
job/title: director

first video: The first music video I ever did cost $1k. It was close to a decade ago and I did it to help out a rapper friend of mine. The idea? A rapper stuck inside a TV set. From inside the box, he holds a remote control and every time he clicks it, the scene outside the TV changes. I paid a key grip to build a rod iron swivel arm that we bolted to a flatbed truck. On one end of the arm was the TV set with a prerecorded performance. On the other side, we mounted a camera and a chair where I sat.  I looked like a WWII airplane gunner as we flew down the streets, swinging the arm insanely from side to side to get as many backgrounds as possible behind the TV set. To my surprise, we never got pulled over.

strangest video: Every video is strange in its own way. But the strangest project I've been involved with was not a video at all. It was a film I made when I was 15. At the time, my friends and I were totally impressed with an 18-year-old blackbelt who somehow found his way into our crew. The dude showed me a picture of Jean-Claude Van Damme at a breakfast table in his underwear, and I was somehow convinced he was really connected to Hollywood. I spent two weeks writing a feature centered around him and his martial arts skills. We shot on a couple Sony Hi8 cameras after school and on weekends, using friends as actors and crew. I suppose this was my Don Quixote project, because it was cursed from the start. First, I nearly killed my best friend shooting a scene which called for his feet to be tied with rope that extended up and over a tree branch and was tied to a car as it sped away in the opposite direction. Since none of us had drivers' licenses, we used my Grandmother as a stunt driver. God rest her soul. She couldn't hear us well enough when he yelled for her to stop so she kept driving and dragged my buddy all the way up the tree and almost over the branch. Ultimately, she stopped just in time to save his life... and probably my career. Next, we broke into a house in the hills of Glendale, CA, which was up for sale. Our intentions were to shoot a few scenes in the yard because of the incredible view. Well, a couple neighbors freaked out when they saw my friends in three-piece suits walking the perimeter of the yard with toy rifles. Within moments, the police stormed the house with guns drawn. Up until then, I didn't even know that Glendale PD had a chopper. Finally, the same 18-year-old Hollywood wannabe who inspired this project actually ended up robbing my parent's house. Dad, what can I say? You were right about him. Among the items he took were the video camera and all the footage we shot. He's since left the state. Probably for the best. That film would've sucked pretty bad.

what's next: I'm prepping a shoot for a band called Gallows out of the U.K. And I'm excitedly awaiting my biggest production ever: A little baby boy! My first. Pre-production was about 9 months ago so he should be arriving any day now. Of course, my wife will be the real director on this one — at least during delivery. I'll just be the useless dude in the corner cheering her on while, ahem, keeping an eye on my blackberry. I know. I should be ashamed of myself. Other than that, I'm working with my movie agent to find the right script to launch my feature career. I'm also doing everything possible to avoid finishing my own script. This includes running four miles a day, reading the backs of cereal boxes and cleaning the house repeatedly. Anything to avoid the dreaded task of screenwriting. Hey, I think I'm starting to see my abs again.

BOOKED: Goo Goo Dolls - Paul Boyd, director

To support the Transformers movie and soundtrack...

artist: Goo Goo Dolls
song: "Before It's Too Late (Sam & Mikaela's Theme)"
label: Warner Bros.
director(s): Paul Boyd
production co: MotivFilms
rep: RW Media

BOOKED: Evanescence - Marc Webb & Rich Lee, directors

Shooting in Budapest, Hungary...

artist: Evanescence
song: "Good Enough"   
label: Wind-Up
director(s): Marc Webb & Rich Lee
production co: DNA

BOOKED: The Starting Line - Jay Martin, director

artist: The Starting Line
song: "Island"
label: Virgin/Capitol
director(s): Jay Martin
production co: DNA

SHOT: Young Buck - Gil Green, director

Young Buck, free agent director Gil Green and a lovely lady take a break from another hard day of work in the music video business. This was taken during the production of two videos in support of the rapper's new album, Buck The World.

artist: Young Buck
song: "Buck The World" and " U Ain't Goin Nowhere"
label: G-Unit/Interscope
director(s): Gil Green
production co: Blink Productions

NEW RELEASE: Rodrigo Y Gabriela "Diablo Rojo"

I almost hesitate to describe Rodrigo Y Gabriela, because their story is so unique that you might think it's a mere novelty act. It's not. Rodrigo Y Gabriela is a co-ed Mexican guitar duo  — based in Dublin, no less — that manages to combine flamenco, mariachi,  jazz, classical and heavy metal into an organic whole through technically adept and innovative playing that puts most flashier fretboard shredders to shame. In case you have any doubts, check out their self-titled album, which mixes tough to categorize originals with unexpected acoustic versions of Metallica's "Orion" and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven." This new video is for "Diablo Rojo," an original track inspired by a rollercoaster in Copehagen, Denmark. The camera takes some thrill ride twists and loops as it keeps focused on their flying fingers and headbanging demeanor. A small pile of guitars gets smashed and there's a mid-clip transition from b&w to color, but none of that compares to watching the duo churn out this flurry of guitar madness. --> watch "Diablo Rojo" in Quicktime or Windows Media

Rodrigo Y Gabriela "Diablo Rojo" (ATO)
George Mays & Jeff Myers, directors/editors | Adrian Fulle, producer | Poya Pictures, production co | David Graham Wilson, DP

BOOKED: Nickelback - Dori Oskowitz, director

artist: Nickelback
song: "Rockstar"
label: Roadrunner
director(s): Dori Oskowitz
production co: Highway 114 Pictures
rep: Laure Scott Management

SHOT: Madina Lake - Dori Oskowitz, director

artist: Madina Lake
song: "Here I Stand"
label: Roadrunner
director(s): Dori Oskowitz
production co: Highway 114 Pictures
rep: Laure Scott Management

NEW RELEASE: Kanye West "Can't Tell Me Nothing"

Kanye West seems to go one of two directions for his videos. Either he reaches out to Chris Milk or Michel Gondry for something arty and unexpected, or he picks Hype Williams when he wants to go big. The first single off Kanye's new CD Graduation is an instance where the artist knew he had to get images that were simple, yet larger than life, so Hype got the call. Mr. Williams gets incredible mileage out of just two performance set-ups — one day, the other night — and two, tiny b-roll moments that involve a dusty Lambo and a beautiful girl in a fly away burka by way of Madonna’s "Frozen." That's it. Four shots on the El Mirage dry lake bed and Hype makes it into a surprisingly watchable video. Kanye has delivered another memorable song and the clip's epic scope makes sure we can't take our eyes off him — except, perhaps, to scan the horizon for Chris Tucker leading a motorcade of post-apocalyptic vehicles. (review by Doug Stern) --> watch "Can't Tell Me Nothing"

Kanye West "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam)
Hype Williams, director/producer | Naaila, production co | John Perez, DP | Peter Johnson/Consulate Editorial , editor

BOOKED: Amerie - Scott Franklin, director

artist: Amerie
song: "Gotta Work"
label: Sony Urban/Columbia
director(s): Scott Franklin
production co: Fred Films
rep: Labuda Management