Although Chris Applebaum has always been on the short list of really solid directors, I kind of consider him underrated. Lately he's most associated with pop videos — impeccably created pop videos for tween idols like Vanessa Hudgens, Aly & AJ and Hilary Duff, to name a few — but his resume is way broader than that. As an early twentysomething director signed to the late, great Satellite Films — the former home of Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek, Kevin Kerslake, etc. — Applebaum cut his teeth on alternative videos for the likes of Possum Dixon, Eve's Plumb, Green Apple Quick Step, Ween, Superdrag and too many others to name. And, while these are probably pretty unknown names to you unless you were really paying attention in the Years When Punk Rock Broke, they were all once considered "next big things." Anyway. Jumping ahead, we get to a couple of groundbreaking, totally genius and undeniably successful videos:
- Semisonic "Closing Time" - A masterful, perfectly executed split-screen video.
- Fountains Of Wayne "Stacy's Mom" - One of the few videos in the past five years to actually make an impact on the general public. Even more improbably, it almost allowed video MILF Rachel Hunter to stage a comeback.
The point of all this background info is mainly to show that Chris Applebaum has paid his dues and if he's propelled into the upper echelon of video directors on the heels of winning the 2007 MTV Best Video VMA for his dazzling Rihanna "Umbrella" video, it's pretty well deserved.
name: Chris Applebaum
company: Reactor Films/Three Foot Giant
job: director
first video: It was for Material Issue. They were an alternative rock band from Chicago. This was in 1992. At the time, they were managed by Jeff Kwatinetz who now runs The Firm. Maybe he owns The Firm? The budget was $11,000 and my apartment in NYC was the hair and make-up trailer for the shoot. I got the video by cold-calling Annette Mitchell at Mercury Records. She wanted to do the video for $10,000 but we got another grand out of her for fold up chairs & lunch on set. [watch Material Issue "Everything"]
strangest video: The first video I shot for Britney Spears was prepped in the hospital. I had a sudden stomach ailment and was in Cedars Sinai for four days. The doctors told me I’d be OK for the shoot, so I had the art department, my location scout, my producer and executive producer Mike Sarkissian all camped out in the room, prepping the video with me. I was fairly jacked from a sweet morphine drip. Add the bonus of being in the hospital and it’s the perfect recipe for a director to get whatever they want. Usually costs and logistics become the biggest issues to haggle over. In this case, no one wanted to fight me. I’d recommend it to any director...even if you don’t have a particular ailment, but have spectacular health insurance. Fake it. Pop into one of the "suites" at Cedars three, maybe four days before the shoot, and just start demanding cranes, helicopter shots, and gigantic lighting packages. [watch Britney Spears "Overprotected"]
what's next: Besides a few commercials and some feature film projects, I am really interested in just getting back to basics. I love music and I’ve always thought I’d shoot music videos for the rest of my career. The state of music is pretty bad right now… the worst I’ve ever seen. I’m really just looking for a great track I can sink my teeth into and shoot a wildly creative video for it, no matter what the budget. I’m the kid who bugged my parents to get MTV when it launched in the '80s and watched the same Cars and Asia videos over and over again. When I saw Duran Duran’s "Rio" video I decided that’s exactly what I wanted to do with my life. So, if anyone reading this has a hot new band with awesome haircuts and willing to wear pastel colored satin jackets and fly to Martinique to shoot a video, send them my way.
Visit ChrisApplebaum.com for full credits and details...
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