WATCH IT: B.o.B. "Nothin On You" (Ethan Lader, dir.)

Building upon the paper cut-out video he did for Sliimy "Womanizer," director Ethan Lader brings this ode to beautiful girls all over the world to life. It's also a big step forward for B.o.B., who seems ready to shed the alterna-rapper tag and join Will.I.Am as a bonafide pop star with this undeniable crossover hit.

Ethan Lader, director: "We shot the video on a white sound stage. I edited it on Final Cut Pro. Then we printed out over 3,000 frames onto paper. Then every frame was hand torn by a team of 8 people. From there we animated the frames, photographing each frame with a digital camera, and then imported it back into Final Cut Pro. The backgrounds are also paper collages we took digital stills of and keyed in after animation. It was a process and a half!" (swiped from Ethan's Vimeo page)

--> watch "Nothin On You"

B.o.B f/ Bruno Mars
"Nothin' On You" (Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
Ethan Lader, director | Chris Cho, producer | Kleiner Inc, production co | George Rausch, animator | Emmanuelle Cuny-Panicker, commissioner

SHOT: Stevie Ann - Nick Spanos, director

• artist: Stevie Ann
• song: "What Goes On"
• label: Berk Avenue Music
• director(s): Nick Spanos
• production co: Kleiner Inc.
• producer: Lauren Bratman
• commissioner: Arno Van Lomm

SHOT: B.o.B. - Ethan Lader, director

• artist: B.o.B. f/ Bruno Mars
• song: "Nothin' on You"
• label: Atlantic
• director(s): Ethan Lader
• production co: Kleiner Inc
• producer: Christopher Cho
• commissioner: Emmanuelle Cuny-Panicker

WATCH IT: Sliimy "Womanizer"

Director Ethan Lader delivers yet another simple, yet striking video gem, this time for Perez Hilton's first artist signing, Sliimy. Over 2,000 stills from a videotaped performance were exported, f'ed with in Photoshop, printed out, cut out, and then placed in the hands of various Los Angelenos for the still photos that make up this video. Sure, there are some precursors to this concept — the Hot Hot Heat "Goodnight" video with its 4,000 different T-shirts depicting stills from a performance comes to mind — but it's got a vibe all its own that makes it work. Also, speaking of precursors, my money remains on Mark Kozelek as the supreme indie-mope interpreter of unlikely songs (his What's Next To The Moon collection of acoustic re-imaginings of the AC/DC insanely great). --> watch "Womanizer"

Sliimy "Womanizer" (Perezicious/Warner Bros.)
Ethan Lader, director  | Kleiner Inc, production co

NEWS: Labuda Repping Director Jake Davis

Labuda Management's Tommy Labuda is now representing director Jake Davis.

Video directing credits include:

• Drake & Trey Songz "Successful"
• Flyleaf "Sorrow"
• Taylor Hicks "What's Right Is Right"
• The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"

Davis remains signed with production company Kleiner, Inc....

WATCH IT: Days Difference "Are You Happy"

Days Difference singer Jeremy Smith gets played like a shadow puppet in this latest clever clip from director Ethan Lader. The best gag in the video is the one in which a huge shadow of Smith's girlfriend's hand reaches in and tosses him around, but there's other bits of shadowplay that underscore the sentiments in this pop reversal of the old Stones boast, "Under My Thumb."  --> watch "Are You Happy"

Days Difference
"Are You Happy" (Universal Motown)
Ethan Lader, director | Josh Fruehling, producer | Kleiner Inc, production co | Brian Garbellini, DP | Mike Ashton, vfx | Noah Gelb, commissioner 

WATCH IT: Drake + Trey Songz "Successful"

This collaboration between hip-hop hopeful turned red-hot star Drake and r&b singer Trey Songz is all about the fine line between confidence and swagger. Director Jake Davis keeps things calm, letting each performer's charisma shine in a series of moody, sexy and simple set-ups that underscore the message that it can be lonely at the top. Neither Drake nor Trey Songz seems much interested in outshining the other. Instead they look down upon the Toronto skyline and drive on by various dreamers and strivers, seemingly content that they've lived up to the Barack Obama quote that ends the video. 

Jake Davis, director: "The song "Successful" conjures up strong emotional ties to cinema for me and my personal journey of what success is. Classic films I love like Taxi Driver and King of New York came to mind immediately. The style, theme, and mood seemed spot on. There was a lot of collaboration on this video. The entire time everyone that was involved was fully aware of its weight and really stepped up especially Drake and Trey. This is our moment and I was extremely happy to be a part of it."

--> watch "Successful"

Drake + Trey Songz "Successful" (Atlantic)
Jake Davis, director/editor | Karen Lin, producer | Kleiner, Inc., production co | Samy Inayeh, DP | Emmanuelle Cuny-Panicker + Chaka Pilgrim, commissioners 

SHOT: Trey Songz f/ Drake - Jake Davis, director

Director Jake Davis giving direction to Trey Songz on the set of "Successful," featuring Drake. More photos at treysongz.com and additional coverage at the director's blog.

• artist: Trey Songz and Drake
• song: "Successful"
• label: Atlantic/Young Money
• director(s): Jake Davis
• production co: Kleiner Inc.
• producer: Karen Lin

SHOT: Sliimy - Ethan Lader, director

Director Ethan Lader (right) captured in a Polaroid with Sliimy on the set of "Womanizer." Sliimy is the first artist signed to Perez Hilton's Warner Bros. imprint, Perezcious.

• artist: Sliimy
• song: "Womanizer"
• label: Perezcious/Warner Bros.
• director(s): Ethan Lader
• production co: Kleiner Inc.
• commissioner: Perez Hilton and Justin Siegel

And yes, it's a cover or the Britney Spears song. And a mellow one at that.

SHOT: Five Finger Death Punch - Matt Silverman, director

• artist: Five Finger Death Punch
• song: "Hard To See"
• label: Prospect Park
• director(s): Matt Silverman
• production co: Kleiner Inc.
• producer: Lauren Bratman
• rep: Deb Klein

BOOKED: Days Difference - Ethan Lader, director

• artist: Days Difference
• song: "Radio Song"
• label: Universal Motown
• director(s): Ethan Lader
• production co: Kleiner Inc

BOOKED: Mullage - Ethan Lader, director

Shooting in Atlanta...

• artist: Mullage
• song: "Trick'n"
• label: From The Ground Up/Jive/ZLG
• director(s): Ethan Lader
• production co: Kleiner Inc

SHOT: Master Shortie - Jake Davis, director

UK hip-hop shot on the streets of NYC...

• artist: Master Shortie
• song: "Dead End"
• label: Odd One Out
• director(s): Jake Davis
• production co: Kleiner, Inc.

SHOT: US Royalty - Jake Davis, director

A tie-in with Ford Fiesta shot on the road between NYC and Washington, D.C.

• artist: US Royalty
• song: "Every Summer"
• director(s): Jake Davis
• production co: Kleiner, Inc.

WATCH IT: Rob Roy "Fur In My Cap"

Ain't nothing flapping but a pair of lips and some other details for most of this stylish, and largely stop-motion video, for indie rapper Rob Roy. Director Ethan Lader keeps the set-ups simple — it's OK if your favorite is also the Suicidal Girly pillow fight — and makes sure the cuts between each stillframe are as slow and steady as the beat itself. That is, until things ramp up and Lader decides to just let the video cameras run and capture all the kineticism of Rob Roy and his crew. --> watch "Fur In My Cap"

Rob Roy "Fur In My Cap"
Ethan Lader, director/editor | Kleiner, Inc., production co | Brian Garbellini, DP 

BOOKED: Chris Isaak - Nick Spanos, director

artist: Chris Isaak
song: "You Don't Cry Like I Do" + "We Let Her Down"
label: Warner Bros.
director(s): Nick Spanos
production co: Kleiner, Inc.

WATCH IT: Taylor Hicks "What's Right Is Right"

Behold the silver fox in winter, getting back to the doleful soul stylings that made Taylor Hicks an unlikely American Idol champion. A suave jazz club performance is mixed with footage of Hicks wandering around the snowy streets of Chicago and finding a little warmth in a diner (where, by the way, video producer Ross Levine's mother makes a cameo: That's her at the table with director Jake Davis and the singer). --> watch "What's Right Is Right"

Taylor Hicks "What's Right Is Right" (Artist2Market)
Jake Davis, director | Ross Levine, producer | Kleiner, Inc, production co | Jim Larer, DP 

BOOKED: Taylor Hicks - Jake Davis, director

artist: Taylor Hicks
song: "What's Right Is Right"
label: Modern Whomp/Artist2Market
director(s): Jake Davis
production co: Kleiner, Inc.

QUICK CLIP: The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"

A series of NYC street posters — in the dingier, yet quite hip parts of town, of course — come to life with local rockers The Hold Steady pounding out this anthem. How's that for a street team? --> watch "Stay Positive"

STAY POSITIVE - The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady
"Stay Positive" (Vagrant)
Jake Davis, director | Ross Levine, producer | Kleiner, Inc., production co | Jim Larer , DP | Jill Kaplan/Skyway Productions, commissioner

BOOKED: The Hold Steady - Jake Davis, director

artist: The Hold Steady
song: "Stay Positive"
label: Vagrant
director(s): Jake Davis
production co: Kleiner, Inc
commissioner: Jill Kaplan/Skyway Productions