BOOKED: Sick Puppies - Travis Kopach, dir.

• artist: Sick Puppies
• song: "Riptide"
• label: Virgin
• director(s): Travis Kopach
• production co: Merchandise
• rep: Labuda Management
• producer: Ross Levine
• commissioner: Colin Wyatt

WATCH IT: 30 Seconds To Mars "Hurricane" (Bartholomew Cubbins, dir.)

Jared Leto certainly dreams big when it comes to his band 30 Seconds To Mars and the music videos he makes under the guise of Bartholomew Cubbins. "Hurricane" is meant to be the magnum opus, an ambitious 13 minute excursion into sex and violence that sometimes plays like an action flick and other times like an art film. Purposefully provocative, Leto/Cubbins lets the images pile up: Religous leaders burning books, flag-draped coffins, s&m eroticism, bondage, fight scenes, rampaging gimps and so much more. It's all a bit of an enigma, complete with keys and locks, clearly made for the die-hard 30STM fans to rewatch and find the meaning to it all. Perhaps the cameo by photographer Terry Richardson is the biggest clue, since the video is like his work: Sometimes commercial, sometimes artistic, sometimes pornographic and sometimes stunningly beautiful, but oftentimes all of those at once.

In some ways, the video is a modern day "Justify My Love," with its stylized and overtly sexual bondage scenes, not to mention an accompanying controversy about censorship dictated by the networks. A censored version via MTV.com is all that's available right now, with nudity and other naughty bits blatantly obscured to make sure you realize that you're missing something. And like "Justify My Love," the censored version just builds up interest (and perhaps a market ) for the full-on unrated version, which I am sure will be online and/or available for sale shortly. --> watch "Hurricane"

30 Seconds To Mars "Hurricane" (Virgin/Capitol)
Bartholomew Cubbins, director | Sisyphus Productions, production co 

WATCH IT: LCD Soundstem "Pow Pow" (David Ayer, dir.)

Not just a video. A Supervideo.

This new initiative from MTV and MEAN Magazine teams A-List talent to create a music video. In this first installment, it's a purely narrative clip boasting  a song by LCD Soundsytem, film star Anna Kendrick in the lead role, and screenwriter David Ayer (Training Day) as the director. The storyline has an occultish twist to it: It may look like an average night of clubgoing for Kendrick, but even a little bit of attention at the beginning of the clip makes very clear that she's actually collecting the souls of wicked men. --> watch "Pow Pow"

LCD Soundsystem "Pow Pow" (DFA/Virgin)
David Ayer, director | Kashy Khaledi, producer | Mean, production co | Steve Mason, DP | Jeff Reed, editor 

WATCH IT: Trouble Andrew "Cadillac" (Jason Bergh, dir.)

The obvious musical reference is the Brit rockabilly classic "Brand New Cadillac" — more precisely, the Clash version from London Calling —  but the video delivers more of a b&w "Boys Of Summer" vibe with a vintage Cadillac (with a Deadhead mask instead of a sticker) that Trouble Andrew cruises just dangerously enough through the Hollywood Hills with some pals and a whole lotta cash. --> watch "Cadillac"

Trouble Andrew "Cadillac" (Virgin)
Jason Bergh, director/DP/editor | UX Entertainment Group, production co

note: UX Entertainment is a videostatic.com sponsor...

WATCH IT: Ben Harper "Skin Thin" (Daniel Stessen, dir.)

Luck and timing can be the difference between "happily ever after" and a lifetime of solitude. That's the tenuous, thin skin this music video character study rests upon, showing two lonely souls adrift in snowy, small town lives. Director Daniel Stessen and DP Sam Gezari shot in a style that Stessen calls "staged documentary" — no Ben Harper, no performance, real locations, no staging, no script, real people (aka: no actors) and no crew — on-location mostly in and around Syracuse, NY. Split-screens amp up the presumably fated get-together of the two leads — a rugged guy with multiple jobs and a sense of family vs. a a sexy stripper who knows she could do better — but Stessen keeps you hanging until the very last moment of the video, eking out every bit of drama.

PS: Casting directors take note: The guy is played by Syracuse musician Mike Powell; the girl is Jessica Lawrence, who Stessen and Gezari discovered while she was working in an upstate NY pizza parlor. Like I said: Luck and timing.   --> watch "Skin Thin"

Ben Harper + Relentless7 "Skin Thin" (Virgin/Capitol)
Daniel Stessen, director |  Doomsday Ent, production co | Sam Gezari, DP | Jackie London @ Bonch, editor | Bill Pollock @ Bonch, telecine/colorist

SHOT: Saving Abel - Wayne Isham, dir.

Merge @ Crossroads director Wayne Isham (second from left) and EMI/Capitol/Virgin commissioner Danny Lockwood (foruth from left) with Saving Abel in front of the famed Capitol Records Building for the "Stupid Girl (Only In Hollywood)" video... 

• artist: Saving Abel
• song: "Stupid Girl (Only In Hollywood)"
• label: Capitol
• director(s): Wayne Isham
• production co: Merge @ Crossroads

WATCH IT: A Fine Frenzy "Electric Twist" (Justin Purser, dir.)

Director Justin Purser casts A Fine Frenzy  in a triple-paned clip that celebrates the random fun that has always been a part of music video since the days of Scopitones. --> watch "Electric Twist"

A Fine Frenzy"Electric Twist" (Virgin/Capitol)
Justin Purser, director | Justin Cronkite, producer | Guerilla Hollywood, production co | Aaron Nee, DP | Jacqueline London @ Bonch, editor | Marshal Plante @ NTROPIC, colorist | Danny Lockwood, commissioner

WATCH IT: Gorillaz "Stylo"

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's multimedia creation Gorillaz is back, bigger and higher tech than ever before. The 2D cartoon animation that initially gave the project its original use has given way to a realistic, basically 3D rendering of the Gorillaz in the real world. Although, the real world in this case is more like a capocalypse mash-up of Thelma & Louise and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, with Bruce Willis as a sort of Lone Biker of the Apocalypse (but in a muscle car). [PS: Other acceptable references include Vanishing Point, Death Proof, or any of the Cannonball Runs] --> watch "Stylo" (not-embeddable. EMI)

Gorillaz "Stylo" (Virgin/Capitol)
Jamie Hewlett, director | Cara Speller, producer | Zombie Flesh Eaters, production co | HSI, production co [live action] | Passion Pictures, production co [animation] | Steve Chivers, DP

SHOT: The Almost - Shane Drake, director

• artist: The Almost
• song: "Hands" + "Lonely Wheel"
• label: Virgin/Capitol
• director(s): Shane Drake
• production co: Red Van Pictures
• rep: Labuda Management
• commissioner: Colin Wyatt

WATCH IT: Deadmau5 "Ghosts N' Stuff"

The song title is "Ghosts N' Stuff," so no surprise that the video is exactly that: Ghosts n' stuff. Joel Zimmerman — aka the esteemed dance music DJ Deadmau5 — dies in the opening moments of the clip, only to be reanimated as a low-rent, but decidedly friendly ghost. --> watch "Ghosts N' Stuff"

Deadmau5 "Ghosts N' Stuff" (Virgin)
Colin O'Toole, director | Ben Sullivan, producer | Pulse Films, production co | David Lanzenburg, DP | Ross Hallard, editor | Ben Roberts @ Glassworks, telecine/colorist | James Hackett, commissioner|

IN DEPTH: Alice In Chains "A Looking In View"

Too bad Alice In Chains already burned the title, "Get Born Again;" it's a perfect description of what they've managed to accomplish with this unlikely, yet artistically solid comeback. After disintegrating in the wake of original singer Layne Staley's drug addiction and subsequent death in 2002, guitarist Jerry Cantrell and the other members of Alice In Chains slowly, slowly, slowly began picking up the pieces in 2005 by beginning to tour with new singer William Duvall. Now with a pending release of Black Gives Way To Blue — the band's first album of new material in 14 years and first with Duvall on vocals — Alice In Chains ain't gonna deviate from the slow, yet steady progress that has brought back to life.

Lead single and video "A Looking In View" is about as non-commercial as possible: The song is seven minutes long and the video doesn't feature the band at all (and, there's nudity, which I guess makes it not safe for work, but only really if you work in a monastery). Director Stephen Schuster delivers a dark meditation on individuals who seem unable tot escape their mental obsessions: A young man can't break away from the mechanical tinkering that allowed him to while away time during an abusive childhood; a beautiful woman can't see herself as she really is; and an older man torn between religious dogma and lustful desires.

Stephen Schuster, director: "'A Looking In View' is an epic track that they wanted to release virally along with a music video/short film, which was perfect since the song clocks in at a bit over 7 minutes. After sitting down with the band, it became clear that the song dealt with the idea of people really struggling and dealing with intense psychological issues, finding themselves trapped within their own heads and often solely holding the key to their own freedom. That was the basic platform I stepped off from as I started to look at all the physical and mental issues that people deal with.

After all the writing and research, the video ended up being about the lives of these three individuals all locked inside rooms of their own design with a single wall separating each of them.  It was more the idea that though we are all individuals and we all deal with our own screwed-up issues and disorders, there are others around us that are also dealing with their own issues. The young male struggles with the obsessions of time, symmetry, arrangement, numbers, and the fear of causing harm to the person he loves. The female struggles with body dysmorphic disorder - the idea that she looks older or heavier than she is and the burdens that society instills within her. The older male is a religious zealot with struggles with the white washed lie of holiness and the lustful manifestations of his own sins. In the end, Jerry and William really wanted to show this as a redemptive song and how, as individuals, we can find freedom from within ourselves.

It was a great opportunity to work with Alice In Chains on their first video after their extended hiatus through Danny over at Capitol Records. It is always amazing to sit poolside with a band that have long established themselves not only as legends in the music industry, but also leaders in the shaping of music history. It was a monumental opportunity to collaborate with Alice In Chains, Velvet Hammer, and Virgin/Capitol Records."

--> watch "A Looking In View"

Alice In Chains "A Looking In View" (Virgin/Capitol)
Stephen Schuster, director | Bucks Boys/Danny Lockwood, producer | Jonathan Becker + Joshua Greenberg, executive producer | Bucks Boys, production co | Michael Lohmann, DP | Ryan McGuire, editor | Elvis Strange, production designer | Jake Blecha, art director

BOOKED: Ben Harper/Relentless7 - Meiert Avis, director

To support White Lies For Hard Times, the debut album from Ben Harper's new group, Relentless7... Video shooting in NYC.

• artist: Ben Harper & Relentless7
• song: "Fly One Time"
• label: Virgin/Capitol 
• director(s): Meiert Avis 
• production co: Pusher 
• rep: Labuda Management

WATCH IT: Lenny Kravitz "Dancin' Til Dawn"

Lenny Kravitz reflects upon last night's carnality in this dark and steamy (and teensy bit explicit) video directed by fashion photographer Jean Baptiste-Mondino — who's also a very notable music video icon, having directed the massive hits Don Henley "Boys Of Summer" and Madonna "Open Your Heart." This simple clip is essentially Kravitz resting in bed and singing along to a Stonesey funk vamp after an evening spent with a sexy undulating lady and a camera to capture the memories. And you thought he may have been dancin' the hora til dawn? --> watch "Dancin' Til Dawn"

Lenny Kravitz "Dancin' Til Dawn" (Virgin/Capitol)
xxx, director | Christophe Nader, producer | DNA/Bandits, production co | Arno Potier, DP | Nini, editor | Didier Le Fouest, colorist/telecine

BOOKED: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Tony Petrossian, director

artist: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
song: You Better Pray"
label: Virgin/Capitol
director(s): Tony Petrossian
production co: Rockhard Films
rep: Robin Frank Management

SHOT: Royworld - Vince Haycock, director

artist: Royworld
song: "Brakes"
label: Virgin UK
director(s): Vince Haycock
production co: Streetgang Films
rep: Free Agent UK / Lanette Phillips Management

SHOT: The Kooks - Charles Mehling, director

artist: The Kooks
song: "Shine"
label: Virgin (UK)/Astralwerks (US)
director(s): Charles Mehling
production co: Streetgang Films
rep: Free Agent UK / Lanette Phillips Management

SHOT: Ava Leigh - Vincent Haycock, director

Shot in San Francisco...

artist: Ava Leigh
song: "Mad About The Boy"
label: Virgin (UK)
director(s): Vincent Haycock
production co: Streetgang Films
rep: Free Agent UK/Lanette Phillips Management

IN DEPTH: 30 Seconds To Mars "A Beautiful Lie"

Jared Leto and director Elliott Lester have seemingly figured out how to transform music videos into event for Leto's band 30 Seconds To Mars. Their 2006 clip "From Yesterday" was a big-budget extravaganza shot on-location at The Forbidden City in China. That feat gets one-upped with the band's new video "A Beautiful Lie," shot in the Arctic in order to directly show his fans the effects of global warming. Co-director Elliott Lester shares the adventure in this In Depth...

Elliott Lester, co-director: Jared had the original concept. He wanted to go see the part of the world that's really being affected by global warming. Where you could see those glaciers melt and all that natural beauty literally disappear into the sea. The effects are very noticeable up there, unfortunately.

It took six months to get off the ground since most production companies didn't want to take on the liability and passed on the project. After we got involved, I spent a month there for pre-production and shooting. Flew from L.A. to Baltimore to Greenland and then took a helicopter to these glaciers about 200 kilometers into the Arctic Circle. We had a tiny crew. You could never do something like this in such a remote place with 35mm and Technocrane. That said, we did have a renegade paparazzo that got on a helicopter somehow. We threatened to leave him on the iceberg.

The Inuit man you see in the intro lived in the village near where we shot. He's the real deal —a fisherman hunting whales and seals there his whole life. Most of the Inuit were quite shy, so it was hard to get somebody to come out in traditional garb and be on camera.

Of course we were very careful to carbon offset whatever our production caused and all the money from the track is going to charity. I can't speak for Jared, of course, but I think this was his way of making a contribution to the environmental cause by making sure 30 Seconds To Mars fans knew what was going on. --> watch the video and learn more about the cause at aBeautifulLie.org

30 Seconds To Mars
"A Beautiful Lie" (Virgin)
Angakok Panipaq & Elliott Lester, directors | Yamani Watkins and Edy Enriquez, producers | Karma Kollective, production co | Casper Tuxen, DP | Richard Alacron, editor

NEW RELEASE: Dave Gahan "Kingdom"

Over the course of a quarter century — largely as the frontman for the almost-legendary Depeche Mode — Dave Gahan has taken part in enough classic clips to be rightfully called a music video master alongside his usual partner-in-crime, director/photographer Anton Corbijn. For his latest solo single "Kindgom," director Jaron Albertin steps up to the synth-rock plate and delivers a modern, hypnagogic clip which is more than just pretty lights blinking on and off. Albertin's use of lights — in the garage, in the house, amongst the trees — signals a threshold being torn apart between what's real and what's yet to be. "Is there a kingdom beyond it all?" Gahan asks. Is there a reality that has yet to show itself? In this clip, that could be the case. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "Kingdom"

Dave Gahan "Kingdom" (Virgin/Capitol)
Jaron Albertin, director | Patrick Duguid, producer (UK) | Luke Joerger, producer (US) | Rokkit (UK)/SnapFilms (US), production co's | Kaspar Tuxen Andersen, DP | Paul Hardcastle @ Trim Editing UK, editor

BOOKED: Lenny Kravitz - Marc Webb, director

Lenny Kravitz returns with this video in support of his forthcoming album It's Time For A Love Revolution, due out February 5. "I'll Be Waiting" is set to shoot in NYC.

artist: Lenny Kravitz
song: "I'll Be Waiting"
label: Virgin/Capitol
director(s): Marc Webb
production co: DNA