Vulture Premieres the War on Drugs’ Video for ‘Brothers’

1/26/12 By Amanda Dobbins

Last summer's Slave Ambient, the second album from Philly rockers the War on

Drugs, was kind of like an old-school Americana lesson in snazzy twelve-song form.

So it makes sense that the visual for "Brothers" goes back to the American basics: a

cowboy, two firearms, some strategically placed duct tape. (There might even be a

hostage involved.) "We kept picturing it as the soundtrack to a dark Western, like Pat

Garrett & Billy the Kid or Unforgiven," explains Brewer, the directing team behind the

video. "That is where the deranged TV cowboy character came from." But does the

crazy cowboy win his standoff?! No spoilers! Check it out below.

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1/20/12 By Jenn Pelly

Odd Future members Syd the Kyd and Matt Martian recently released Purple Naked Ladies, their debut album as the Internet. The video for "Fastlane", directed by Matt

Alonzo, takes the collective's horrorcore concept to a new level.

Syd and actress Jasmine Flemings appear as gun-loving, money-counting serial kill-

ers, cruising down a highway in the desert, sticking up diners, gas stations, and fellow

drivers. The "Fastlane" video is a prequel to the Internet's preceding "Cocaine" clip,

according to LA Weekly, and it ends with a glimpse of the first video's carnival scene,

featuring a quick Tyler cameo.

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‘CROWN’

OFFICIAL SELECTION SLAMDANCE 2012

A short film about youth.

Written & Directed by AG Rojas.

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'Ladi Dadi'

1 / 1 1 / 1 2 B Y L A U R E N L I P S A Y

Dance producer Steve Aoki teams up with "Dirty Talk" songstress Wynter Gordon on

"Ladi Dadi," the second single from his album Wonderland. The track's sultry house

sound is punctuated with grinding dubstep notes on the chorus, adding some drama to

the four-on-the-floor beat.

The music video for "Ladi Dadi" further ratchets up the drama - Aoki and Gordon play

characters straight out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, taking turns trying to seduce and kill one

another. "This was the first time I ever got to do action [in a music video]," says Aoki. "I

loved the entire experience, especially our amazing balcony-diving, stair falling stunt

doubles!"

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1/9/12

Rooms Filled With Light, the new album from London band Fanfarlo, arrives next

month. And now we have the video for their song “Shiny Things,” in which director Tim

Nackashi sheds light on an issue that’s been ignored for far too long: The problem of

ballet dancers turning into solid gold mid-audition. It’s pretty weird! Watch it below.

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Nabil Elderkin’s video for Bon Iver’s Holocene received #3 slot on 2011

Pitchfork Readers Poll! Also his video for Frank Ocean Novacane made the

list on Pitchforks The Top Music Videos of 2011!

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YouTube Top 10 Most Watched Videos of the Year (from major music

labels) announced TAJ’s video for J Lo feat. Pitbull “On The Floor” as

the #1 spot with 454,305,629 views! Emil Nava’s video for Jessie J ft.

B.o.B “Price Tag” received the #7 spot! Floria Sigismondi’s video for

Katy Perry feat. Kanye West “E.T.” also scored big at #9.

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Penguin Prison Filming Video For "Don't Fuck With My Money" at Occupy Wall Street

10/14/11 By Camille Dodero

Another addition to the growing list of musicians supporting Occupy Wall Street: Chris

Glover, the native New Yorker behind the electro-pop project Penguin Prison will be

filming a video for the song "Don't Fuck With My Money" tomorrow morning. The synth

-wiggle track has been around longer than the Zuccotti Park drum circle, but it's an

uncanny crossover, so he and director Jake Sumner will be meeting prospective ex-

tras at Maiden Lane and Broadway around 8am, heading over to Liberty Plaza, and

then marching to Times Square at 11, all while shooting a video.

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Congratulations the nominees for the 2011 Plus Camerimage Awards – the

biggest & most prestigious international film festival devoted to cinematogra-

phers. LARK directors AG Rojas, Jake Scott, and Yoann Lemoine all have

videos in the competition.

Gil Scott-Heron, Jamie xx ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’

DoP: Michael Ragen

Directors: Jamie-James Medina, AG Rojas

Massive Attack ‘Pray For Rain’

DoP: Christopher Soos

Director: Jake Scott

William Fitzsimmons ‘Beautiful Girl’

DoP: Larkin Seiple

Director: AG Rojas

Woodkid ‘Iron’

DoP: Mathieu Plainfossé

Director: Yoann Lemoine

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Best of 2011 (Behind the Scenes): Floria Sigismondi on working with Katy Perry on

'E.T.' and 'The One That Got Away'

12/16/11

By Lanford Beard

As 2011 comes to a close, EW.com wanted to honor some of the hardworking names

and faces from behind the scenes for their outstanding achievements.It was a mas-

sive year for Katy Perry, and Floria Sigismondi (who has directed iconic videos for

Christina Aguilera and Marilyn Manson, as well as 2010′s The Runaways) was no

small part of that success. Helming “E.T.” and “The One That Got Away,” two of Per-

ry’s most evocative videos, Sigismondi discussed how she stepped away from Perry’s

candy-coated style and see the finished product.

As told by: Floria Sigismondi On “E.T.,” I was a little bit skeptical that an artist of Katy’s stature would be an alien,

but she was so up for anything, which was fantastic. Half the video is her in alien form

and how she is shape-shifting from an alien to a human as she gets closer to earth to

save humanity through this kiss. Then she gets her signals crossed, and there’s a

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Keith Schofield has consistently showed himself to be a brilliant and bizarre filmmaker.

With this, his latest - about to be viral super-smash - he's gone to another level of

insanity. This is an hilariously messed up piece, a real throwback to when dance vide-

o's were prepared to be a bit nuts - Bassment Jaxx - Where's Your Head At, The Ava-

lanches - Frontier Psychiatry and most things created for Fatboy Slim all spring to

mind.

Where the hell does an idea like that come from?! Brilliant work.

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Best Dance Video – UK

Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey – Blind Faith

Dir. Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

Calvin Harris feat Kelis – Bounce

Co-Dir. AG Rojas (Caviar)

Best Indie/Rock Video – UK

The Shoes – Stay The Same

Dir. Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

Best Urban Video – UK

Chase & Status feat. Tinie Tempah – Hitz

Dir. AG Rojas (Caviar)

Tinie Tempah feat. Ellie Goulding – Wonderman

Dir: Robert Hales (HELLO)

Best Dance Video – International

Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand

Dir. So Me (Iconoclast)

Best Pop Video – International

Cassius – I Love You So

Dir. We Are From LA (Iconoclast)

Justice – Civilization

Dir. Edouard Salier (Paranoid)

Best Animation

Massive Attack – Atlas Air

Dir. Edouard Salier (Paranoid)

Best Art Direction & Design in a Video

Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey – Blind Faith

Plan B – The Recluse

Dir. Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

Justice-Civilization

Dir. Edouard Salier (Paranoid)

Best Choreography in a Video

SebastiAn – Embody

Dir. So Me (Iconoclast)

Best Styling in a Video

Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey – Blind Faith

Dir. Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

Woodkid – Iron

Dir. Yoann Lemoine (HSI Productions)

Best Visual Effects

Justice – Civilization

Massive Attack – Atlas Air

Dir. Edouard Salier (Paranoid)

Woodkid – Iron

Dir. Yoann Lemoine (HSI Productios)

Best Telecine in a Video

Plan B – Love Goes Down

Plan B – The Recluse

Dir. Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

The Innovation Award

The Shoes – Cover Your Eyes

Dir. We Are From LA (Iconoclast)

Best Producer

Tim Francis

Best New Director

Bob Harlow (Somesuch & CO)

Chino Moya (HSI Productions)

Best Director

Daniel Wolfe (Somesuch & CO)

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Specializing in integrating techniques like stop-motion, projection mapping, and pano-ramic technology into his videos, Nackashi has worked with artists like TV On The Ra-

dio, OK Go, and Death Cab For Cutie. We paired him up with Neon Indian to conceive a unique narrative for the classic cyber-punk jam.

“When I first heard ‘Polish Girl,’ it immediately called to mind images of someone travel-

ing through their own thoughts and memories as if they were floating in some kind of

physical, digital space,” says Nackashi, “or of someone trying to reach out through

screens and across wires to be close with someone else. I started thinking about how

new ideas for light-painting techniques with a tablet might be an essential part of the

storyline for this song. Maybe someone is drawing in the air with the data and memories

of someone they admire because it is all they will ever have.”

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DD: What were your main creative and artistic considerations on this project?

Dawn Shadforth: I’d seen YouTube clips of Florence performing live and noticed she

has this amazing energy while at the same time being very elegant and expressive

with those amazing long arms and legs. She can really move and dance and seems

very unselfconscious as a performer. First and foremost I just wanted to show that in

a video.

I spoke to Florence and she said that she wanted to dance and love dance routines in

videos so we went for it on that front. We also talked about playing on the lyrics which

have a kind of gospel feel and I mentioned the video for Like a Prayer as a reference.

We wanted to play with the sort of evangelical feel and mess around with the idea of

demonic possession or people speaking in tongues in church. We also looked a Ba-

roque paintings for movement ideas, dramatic posturing.

In the treatment I wrote two characters who corresponded roughly with the two per-

sonalities in the song. The music seems to express a tension between fear and lust so

I wanted to explore that through performance and dance rather than any narrative or

drama.

Aldene & Hannah Marshall, the designer, had the challenge of finding a look for these

two characters while keeping a sort of pop-meets-fashion edge to it. I didn’t want it to

feel like Florence was in costume. I loved it when we came up with the idea of the

short habit with the gold spangly knickers underneath.

In my treatment for the video I had this idea for a beautiful disco gargoyle, a descrip-

tion that Florence loved. She was supposed to look a bit like a demon or a gargoyle

from a medieval church, but a very disco glam version who dances! She's kind of the

brave fearsome wanton side, ferocious and animalistic. At the same time she’s also a

kind of Lucifer figure, a fallen angel. It’s all supposed to be a very tongue in cheek of

course. I really think Aldene & Hannah took that idea and made it into an amazing

costume. I couldn't have been happier with what they came up with.

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RSA’s Declan Whitebloom received a Best Music Video nomination at the 2011

Country Music Awards for Taylor Swift “Mean”!

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NABIL’s Stunning New Video For Bon Iver’s “Holocene” Will Make You Wish

You Were In Iceland

Bon Iver has just released the newest video from his self-titled album for the song

“Holocene”. The album isbeyond incredible, and has served as the perfect soundtrack

to so many of my best summer memories so far this year, but one of the biggest high-

lights of the album is “Holocene”. The song is so beautifully crafted that it would be a

tough challenge for any director to match the sound with the sublime visuals it rightful-

ly deserves, butNABIL has risen beautifully to the challenge with this gorgeous video

set in Iceland. We follow the early morning rise of a young boy as he puts on his

trusty wool sweater (where do I get that sweater?!) and heads out into the mindblow-

ingness that is the Icelandic landscape. The video culminates with the young boy

having a revelatory experience on a basalt crystal rock face as he gives his native

home a great big figurative bear hug — or is Iceland hugging him? Amazing job NA-

BIL.

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9 VMA Nominations!

Video of the Year, Best Male Video, and Best Pop Video : Bruno Mars “Grenade” directed by NABIL

Best Rock Video: Cage the Elephant “Shake Me Down” directed by Isaac Rentz

Best New Artist: Big Sean feat. Chris Brown “My Last” directed by TAJ

Best Art Direction: Death Cab For Cutie “You Are a Tourist” directed by Tim Nackashi (Art Directors: Anthony Maitz, Nick Gould, and Tim Nackashi)

Best Cinematography: Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” directed by Yoann Lemoine (DP: Paul Laufer)

Best Special Effects: Chromeo “Don’t Turn the Lights On” directed by Keith Schofield (Efx: The Mill LA)

Best Video With a Message: Taylor Swift “Mean” directed by Declan Whitebloom

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Burberry/Keane Live Stream by Nick Wickham

Splinter/HSI’s celebrated Live Concert Director Nick Wickham recently directed the

live broadcast of Burberry’s Beijing runway show and launch event. The runway show

featured a live set by Keane and was streamed online as well as into 50 key retail

stores. Perhaps the crowning achievement of the entire ordeal however, was the

“Burberry Acoustic Session” with Keane performing on the Great Wall Of China the

day before the main show.

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Creativity Top 50 selected Jorma, Jody, Kirsten, and

Yoann!

Creativity Online culls the best visual and idea-centric communication from around the world and the talent behind it, and every year they select the 50 most creative people in the industry. Four LARK CREATIVE directors made it on the list!

Yoann Lemoine (HSI Productions): Yoann is a multi-talented director, photographer, sculptor and painter. He’s also about to release his very first EP, under the name Woodkid. He directed a phenomenal music video for his first single “Iron” which was then picked up on the trailer for Assasin’s Creed.

Jody Hill (Caviar Content): Jody is the celebrated writer/director of HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers. Hill also recently directed award-winning commercials for Toyota “Swagger Wagon” and an integrated K-Swiss campaign featuring Kenny Powers.

Jorma Taccone (Caviar Content): Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone make up the comedy trio known as The Lonely Island, best known for their wildly pop-ular Digital Shorts for “Saturday Night Live.”

Kirsten Lepore (Caviar Content): Animator and director Kirsten Lepore earned Best in

Show for her 2008 short “Sweet Dreams” at LACMA’s Young Director showcase and a

special jury prize at SXSW. Her next short entitled “Bottle” brought more recognition;

the film won Best Animation at Slamdance and the first ever student award the Inter-

national Animated Film Society’s prestigious Annie Awards, among several other cita-

tions.

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The D&AD Awards are regarded is a major event in the world of design

and advertising, and it is a great honor to receive the board’s recogni-

tion. Caviar Content’s Daniel Wolfe has received 2 Best Music Video

Nominations for Chase & Status “Blind Faith” and Plan B “Prayin.” In

addition, Paranoid/Caviar Paris’ Edouard Salier was nominated for Best

Music Video Animation for his Massive Attack “Atlas Air” video, and will

be In Book for Massive Attack “Splitting the Atom.”

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The sexy newcomer channels Ann-Margret in a new video for the title track off

her forthcoming album.

Newcomer Lana Del Rey has released her first proper music video for the title track to

her forthcoming debut album, Born to Die (out Jan. 31) and it’s a hot one.

In the clip, directed by Woodkid (nee Yoann Lemoine, the French music video direc-

tor whose work includes Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and Taylor Swift's "Back to

December"), turns up her already off-the-chart sex appeal as she straddles a tattooed

love interest while wearing extra-short Daisy Dukes and a bikini top. The two share

what looks to be a joint (the accompanying lyric: "Let's go get high") and many tongue-

heavy kisses as they drive into a fiery blaze. Those dark scenarios are contrasted with a scene where Del Rey sits in a gothic ca-

thedral, two tigers at the base of her throne. Her lips, the subject of some controversy

as to whether or not they’ve been artificially plumped, are well-padded with cherry red

lipstick and she wears a white, flowing gown.

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