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Paper-Magazine Long Live the Video StarText and pictures by Daiana Feuer | Summer 2011....Fighting to get them paid is Danielle Hinde, found of the production and talent agency, Doomsday, who explains that right now every corporate entity is looking towards the L.A. music director scene for new talent. Theyre saying, Fuck, we wanna get in on the music game! If you look on YouTube, the majority of the views are on music videos. One of my directors makes a music video, then suddenly hes hired for a commercial and a film management company, just for this one video that gets him exposure and starts his career. As companies like Xbox and T-Mobile continue pursuing long-form music video-oriented commercial designed for the Internet, all of the artists will start getting paid. Representing more than 100 music video makes and production teams, Hinde says she wants to create a home where these people can grow. And shes in L.A., because thats where things are happening right now.

LA-Times MOCA's 'Art in the Streets' gets its documentary close-upPost by David Ng | Photo Credit: Credit: The Levi's Film Workshop / Turner PR | LA Times Blog - Culture Monster | May 2011A new documentary movie about the Museum of Contemporary Art's exhibition "Art in the Streets" is coming to a website -- and maybe television screens -- near you. "Outside In" is a 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of MOCA's street-art show and features interviews with many of the key artists, including Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Neckface, Geoff McFetridge, Revok and Invader."Outside In," directed by Alex Stapleton, screened for the first time Tuesday evening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The film is a glowing portrayal (some might say commercial) of the making of "Art in the Streets" but it wasn't produced by MOCA, strictly speaking. The movie was an initiative by The Levi's Film Workshop, a temporary project housed at the museum's Geffen Contemporary space that offers filmmaking resources and equipment to the public.The director said she and her crew spent about three weeks at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary filming the artists at work prior to the April opening. The film touches on some of the legal problems that many street and graffiti artists face. ("We've all got criminal records," says one artist in the movie. "Now we're being celebrated.")Both Invader and Revok were arrested by police around the opening of "Art in the Streets." Invader, sometimes referred to as Space Invader, was released and has returned to his native France. Revok was sentenced last month to 180 days in jail after a judge found that he had violated the terms of his probation in a previous vandalism conviction.Noticeably absent from the documentary is any discussion of Blu, the artist whose outdoor mural in downtown L.A. was removed by MOCA. (The director said Blu declined to comment for the movie.) The documentary also avoids addressing charges that the exhibition has brought unwanted graffiti and vandalism to the surrounding neighborhood.Jeffrey Deitch, the director of MOCA, said in an interview after the screening that he plans to put the documentary on the museum's website and on YouTube. He said that "Art in the Streets" will evolve when it opens next year at the Brooklyn Museum."The core of the show is the same but it will be revamped," Deitch said. For example, he plans to include work by two Russian street artists in the show, to reflect the thriving Russian immigrant community in Brooklyn. He also said there is interest in the show from art institutions in Europe and Latin America.Link to the Article

The French artist known as Invader, in a scene from the documentary "Outside In."

LA-Weekly Street Art Documentary Outside In Premieres at the Egyptian Theater LA Weekly - May 2011Outside In premiered on Tuesday, May 24, at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The film is a documentary look into the Museum of Contemporary Art's innovative exhibition "Art in the Streets." The doc showcased many of the talents from the show, including Shepard Fairey, Ben Eine, Invader, Revok, Swoon and more. The night included a Q&A with director Alex Stapleton, a DJ set by artist Shepard Fairey and screenings of short films made in collaboration with the Levi's Film Workshop by Swoon, Kenny Scharf and Neck Face.Link to the Article

Director: Alex Stapleton

Rolling-Stone Rolling Stone - Hot List April 2011

Flux Who is Daniels Posted by Dayna Crozier in Who is..., Music Video | Photography by Marla Aufmuth | Flux - Sept. 2010ProfileNames: Daniel Kwan (Daniel 1), Daniel Scheinert (Daniel 2)Created on: June 2009Location: Los Angeles, CAHomepage: DanielsDomain: Filmmaking, Hot Dance MovesWhen you visit Daniels homepage, youre greeted with clean design and cheerful, yet sarcastic nudges in statements like, "Your internet is broken. Go outside and play." Or "We are also freelance babysitters and back-up dancers so you have no excuse to not hire us." So it comes as no surprise that this clever filmmaking duo, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, while new on the scene, are already turning heads with their latest video for The Hundred in the Hands "Pigeons". The video which documents a girls drunken night out, in which vomiting fireworks and vertigo-inducing moves are accepted realities is a glimpse into what we have to look forward to with their irreverent storytelling and agile style.Kwan (Daniel 1) and Scheinert (Daniel 2), who are currently located on Los Angeles' East side, met in Boston while at film school, where Daniel 1 flashed some great animation skills, attracting Daniel 2, who had been in an improv troupe and made comedy videos. But the two prefer to leave those days of working individually behind and focus on building their new empire together. They value the relative anonymity of filmmaking under the Daniels moniker and consider themselves interchangeable, which fits in with their mixture of live action and animation, and the sense of humor apparent in both their films and personae. Daniels, who are represented by Warp and PRETTYBIRD, are already busy at work on their new video endeavors, so were optimistic there wont be much babysitting in their future. And your internet is actually working just fine, so you have no excuse to not watch them!Tell us about your backgrounds. What inspired you to become filmmakers?Daniel 2: I come from a theatre background, and when I graduated high school, my theatre director, whom I respected immensely, told me I would have to be a director because I would roll my eyes and clench my teeth whenever he was directing. Basically, he told me I was a bad actor. And then I caught the film bug through the awesome Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in Birmingham, AL.Daniel 1: My dad is a consumer of all sorts of mass media and will watch everything from foreign art films to Glee. On the other hand, my mom is probably one of the most critical people I know when it comes to art and media. Not necessarily in an academic way, but still very critical. So I basically grew up in a household where there was always something playing in the background while my mother would tell us why it was "so stupid!" Except for Dancing with the Stars. My mom loves that.How did you guys meet and become filmmaking partners?Daniel 1: We actually met in a computer animation class and instantly left bad impressions on each other.Daniel 2: Daniel Kwan was a real, overeager dork with a beaded necklace. But I noticed he worked 24/7 and was a decent animator. Ripe for exploitation.Daniel 1: And Daniel Scheinert was in an improv troupe where everyone made fun of him for being gay and Southern. So what organically came out of us working together was a mix between the frantic process of improv and the careful forethought of animation.Daniel 2: To my father: I'm not actually gay.Describe your creative dynamic. Do you both have very different roles and styles that you bring to the table?Daniel 1: Generally, we sit in a room with an idea, and when we get excited, we run around and yell things at each other until it makes sense. It's hard to tell who really comes up with what.Daniel 2: It's the most collaborative work I've ever done. I would never make the same kind of movies by myself.What was the inspiration behind your Pigeons video for The Hundred in the Hands?Daniel 1: We always try to let the track inspire us. So this video came out of listening to the song and talking with the band. The main concept was having a hilarious, terrifying night of being way too drunk. And we wanted to find a way to capture that so viewers would feel like they were drunk too.There are so many fascinating elements in that video, from the sparks to the impossible-looking physical motions. Can you describe the creative process?Daniel 2: We are'nt precise effects artists with detailed storyboards. We love to experiment and work with actors. So "Pigeons" was a very freeform shoot in which we could work with our wonderful actress, Lola, and discover fun moments. We had a trampoline, a stunt mattress, a climbing harness and smoke machines, plus a good actress and a laundry list of ideas.Daniel 1: Maybe too many ideas! Lola was completely worn out afterward.Daniel 2: She would leap through the air onto a crash pad or hang from a climbing harness and we would remove the props and manipulate the motion and camera in post.Daniel 1: The funny thing is, she was scheduled for ankle surgery the next week. She's a star.Daniel 2: We have'nt talked to her since. She might be dead.How did you create the fireworks? Were they animated or were they actual sparks?Daniel 1: There's a rumor that fireworks are illegal in New York so we decided to play it safe and shoot all the fireworks practically after the principal photography while back in Los Angeles, where they are also illegal. We composited various real fireworks onto the footage to create the effect.Manipulating time and people's bodies and motions are a theme in your work, often to grotesque and/or hilarious effect. What about that is attractive to you guys?Daniel 1: I love that we can explore what seems like a ridiculous idea and take it so seriously that, while it becomes grotesque and hilarious, it becomes beautiful at the same time. Our last two videos have a bunch of people dancing ugly in their underwear (for "Underwear" by FM Belfast) and a drunken hipster chick puking fireworks. It sounds so silly!Daniel 2: We're very self-aware filmmakers. We love beautiful imagery and storytelling, but we have a hard time taking ourselves seriously. (Can you tell?) So the most honest thing to do is to dissect the stories we're telling, show the ugly side, make a joke, and highlight the contradictory moments. But were also teetering on being PIGEONholed (get it??) into a specific aesthetic and we're eager to do something totally new.Daniel 1: Oh, and I just texted Lola. She's not dead.Well, that's a relief! There are two handsome guys who show up a few times in your videos. They keep coming back for more abuse...Daniel 2: I'll stop you right there. We both have twins, and we love to cast them in our movies.Daniel 1: For the record: We never act in our own movies.Daniel 2: So pretentious.Tell me about the inspiration for the Swingers short.Daniel 2: Dan had a new camera and I was learning After Effects.Daniel 1: Daniel had a new swingset and I was learning to have fun.Daniel 2: It's an homage to our favorite kinds of super-cinematic, super-stupid comedy. The Lonely Island, Tim and Eric, Michael Bay.Daniel 1: Oh and the 1996 film Swingers starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. Big inspiration.o, what are your plans? Do you think you might do a feature film someday?Daniel 1: We both want to do so many different kinds of things, and ideally, not too much of any one thing. We like to discover things that are challenging that we haven't done yet and do those things the best way we possibly can.Daniel 2: We try to stay as ambitious and busy as possible. We want to create an action/comedy TV show about tiny tigers living inside a dead boys body, and were hopefully shooting a short film later this fall. And we are working on a feature film concept right now! It's a drawing room comedy (which are all the rage with teenagers) currently called Behavior Unbecoming of a Girl Becoming a Woman Becomes You. So cross your fingers and look out for that one in 2030!Daniel 1: We never really planned to become music video directors. So were excited to be surprised again.Daniel 2: Hopefully it's a good surprise.Link to the Article

Anthem INCOMING: TAYLOR COHEN DIRECTS BEST COASTBy Kee Chang | Photography by Jordana Sheara | Anthem Magazine - September 2010Best Coast's ascendancy into becoming one of indie music's most promising new acts has been little short of meteoric. Still in their infancy having formed just a year ago, the surf-pop trioBethany Cosentino, Bobb Bruno and Ali Koehler (the band's newly-minted drummer)won over critics the world over at an alarming pace with their pitch-perfect summer jams. Not to be outdone on the "we found them first" front, NME recently crowned them with the title of "Best New Band of 2010."The Angelenos are now gearing up for the release of their "Boyfriend" music video to promote the lead single off their full-length debut LP, Crazy for You. At the helm is Taylor Cohen, the envelope pusher who brought us Matt & Kims all kinds of naked "Lessons Learned" videoa project of a decidedly ambitious scope that picked up the Breakthrough Video Award at the MTV VMAs in 2009.Far from being artistically overwrought, Cohen steers away from smug pictorial flourishes in his work. "I suppose my overall style is to try and tell a story or convey an idea rather than make pretty pictures," he says. "I wrote a treatment for Best Coast based on their interest in doing a video with a strong California Vibe. We all live in the same area in Los Angeles where every weekend there are dozens of quinceañera parties in public parks. I thought it would be fun to have the band perform at one of those parties."The shoot took place at Kenneth Hahn Park in Los Angeles earlier this month. Although there's no word on when the video will premiere just yet, we snapped some exclusive set photos to wet your appetite. Hit the gallery tab above!Link to the Article

Boards Ben Harper "Skin Thin"Boardsmag.com - May 13, 2010Daniel Stessen shot Ben Harper's latest, about two souls in the night, with no actors, a Canon 5D and just a DP as crew.Link to the Video

New-York-Magazine The YouTube Generation: Fourteen Music-Video Directors to WatchBy Amos Barshad | New York Magazine - May 2010In the magazine this week, Logan Hill breaks down the return of the music video, writing, "Without MTV, the record labels already terrified of downloading eliminated videos almost entirely, focusing instead on video-game soundtracks, ringtones, and licensing. Up-and-coming bands best hope was landing a spot on an iPod ad. And MTVs star directors had mostly moved to ad work or film ... But then a funny thing happened: In the last couple of years, music videos came back. 'Its a little bit like the evolution of a species,' says Michel Gondry. 'Videos found a new niche thats habitable for them: the Internet.'" Now, meet some of the folks who have led the charge a motley crew of art-school grads, fiery documentarians, and absurdist comedians for the resuscitated medium.Link to the Article

Three Doomsday directors are acknowledged in this article - Ray Tintori (Partizan), Vincent Moon (Warp _ Mighty8) and Eric Wareheim. (Warp _ Mighty8).

Pitchfork Top Music Videos of 2009Staff ListBy Pitchfork | Pitchfork - Nov. 2009In the past few years, truth be told, it's sometimes felt like we've had to stretch in order to put together a collection of the year's best videos; this time around, however, it was difficult to trim it down to a crisp 40. And hell we're even cheating: Thanks to a patio of great fanmade clips and a jaw-dropping late night TV performance, three of our favorite videos of the year are accompanied by alternate versions.As always, the clips we've selected show the full range of moodier music videos, from big-budget successes to the homemade to viral goofs. Some were picked because they're the work of boundary breaking directors (clips by Patrick Daughters, Dougal Wilson, and newcomer Keith Schofield), some because the images perfectly match the song (clips for songs by Bat for Lashes, Washed Out, and Girls), and some because they, uh, have nudity (videos by Flaming Lips, Matt & Kim). But in each case these are videos we think you'll want to watch on your computer, perhaps over and over. Technical precision matters but entrainment value matters most of all. Thankfully most of these 40 accomplish both.Major Lazer: "Pon de Floor" [dir. Eric Wareheim] [NSFW]Matt & Kim: "Lessons Learned" [dir. Taylor Cohen, Otto Arsenault, and Matt Johnson] [NSFW]MGMT: "Kids" [dir. Ray Tintori]Chairlift: "Evident Utensil" [dir. Ray Tintori]Link to the Full Article

Three Doomsday directors acknowledged in this article - Eric Wareheim (Warp _ Mighty8), Taylor Cohen and Ray Tintori (Partizan).

Fader My SelectorPartizan/The Directors Bureau - CURATORS Danielle Hinde and Lana Kim (Interview)By Eric Ducker | Photography by Jason Nocito | The Fader - Dec. 2008FROM A CIRCLE of girls sloppily passing the kiss as Simian Mobile Disco's "Hustler" plays, to Feist's elegantly elaborate musical numbers, some of the greatest visual statements of the past ten years have come from music videos. Many of The FADER's favorite video directors from this decade--Saam, Nima Nourizadeh, Rozan & Schmeltz, Patrick Daughters, Shynola, Andy Bruntel, etc.--are on the rosters of either Partizan or The Directors Bureau. The music video rep at each of these companies not only get their clients jobs and make the videos happen, but bring the directors to the agency in the first place. Danielle Hinde at Partizan and Lana Kim at The Directors Bureau answered our questions about how they find new talent and the current state of making music videos.What do you look for in a director?Danielle Hinde: Innovation and a fresh/ inspired perspective. Also, vision, sense of humor, oral hygiene and they have to know how to dance or at least know that you clap on the twos and fours.Lana Kim: Amazing work and good healthy teeth. Really, it's just a gut feeling that you have when you watch someone's work. Something can look really great with some production value behind it, but if it doesn't have a good idea to support it or it doesn't move you, well then ...On average, how many new directors do you check out a week?DH: I get about five to six emails a day from unsigned directors, a few reels mailed in every week and a bunch online, so about thirty-nine point five six to be exact.LK: Because it's always been very important that the Bureau keeps a manageable-sized roster, I don't actively look for new directors, even though I get sent about thirty or so director's reels a week. I really wish I had time to watch them all. I do watch new videos when I can, and when I see something good from a new director, I'll keep secret track of them.Is now a good time or a bad time to be a music video director?DH: It's the best time ever to be a music video director, aside from the '80s. I would have really loved to have been on the Duran Duran "Rio" set. It's a good time, if you keep your day job.LK: If making a living off being a music video director is important to you, then it is not such a good time to be a music video director. Declining budgets have not been good for business and have added a lot of awful videos into the world, but at the same time it has forced the good directors to be more creative and has opened the door for a lot of non-established directors.What's the best video ever and why? And don't say "Thriller." I know it changed the game, but I hate how MTV would always say "Thriller" in their countdown specials.DH: Spike Jonze's video for Wax's "Southern California," Michel Gondry's video for Daft Punk's "Around the World" and Traktor's video for Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At?"LK: Don't worry, I won't say "Thriller," but to make this easier, I'll stay within the Jackson oeuvre and just say The Jacksons' "Can You Feel It."

Paper-Magazine

LA-Times

LA-Weekly

Rolling-Stone

Flux

Anthem

Boards

New-York-Magazine

Pitchfork

Fader

Three Doomsday directors profiled in Paper - Skinny (Partizan) and Ben Fee (The Masses)

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