SHOT: Paramore - Marcos Siega, director

artist: Paramore
song: "That's What You Get"
label: Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic
director(s): Marcos Siega
production co: Hungry Man
rep: Lanette Phillips Management

SHOT: Feist - Anthony Seck, director

Feist returned to her old Calgary stomping grounds to not appear in, but rather record the making of an elaborated video for "Honey Honey," directed by Anthony Seck and featuring the work of Calgary's Old Trout Puppet Workshop. And, since Feist is officially the most famous person from Calgary (sorry Elisha Cuthbert), there's a lengthy Calgary Herald article about the local "Honey Honey" shoot.

artist: Feist
song: "Honey, Honey"
label: Cherrytree/Interscope
director(s): Anthony Seck Productions
production co: Anthony Seck Productions

NEW RELEASE: The New Pornographers "Myriad Harbor"

Ever wonder how The New Pornographers are able to churn out a seemingly endless series of charming and extraordinarily catchy gems? Maybe it's the hair. Samson got power from his unruly coiffure, so maybe  singer/songwriter Dan Bejar gets his pop smarts from a hairdo that ranges in this animated clip from a neat fro to something that has a life of its own. Whatever you do, Dan, don't trim that shit. We need more hits. --> watch "Myriad Harbor" (Quicktime)

The New Pornographers
"Myriad Harbor" (Matador)
Flourescent Hill, directors | Revolver Film Co, production co

SHOT: Yung Berg - Taj, director

artist: Yung Berg
song: "Do Dat"
label: YB/Epic/Koch
director(s): Taj
production co: AntiParticle

SHOT: Stank - Taj, director

artist: Stank
song: "East Stank"
label: Vista
director(s): Taj
production co: AntiParticle

NEWS: 2008 SXSW Music Video Winners

With SXSW underway and Video Static hopelessly distracted, we will be taking a break through Monday. We leave you, however, with the music video winners from the 2008 SXSW Film Festival:

Winner:
TV on the Radio "Me-I"
Mixtape Club & Daniel Garcia, directors
full credits and hi-res Quicktimes at www.mixtapeclub.com/projects/tvontheradio/

Special Jury Award Winner:
Group Sounds "Temporarily in Love"
Randy Scott Slavin, director
full credits and Quicktime via Group Sounds Videostatic.com posting

Special Jury Award Winner:
Cornelius "Fit Song"
Keigo Oyamada & Koichiro Tsujikawa, directors
flash version via Everloving Records Brightcove player

SHOT: Natasha Bedingfield - Alan Ferguson, director

artist: Natasha Bedingfield
song: "Pocketful Of Sunshine"
label: Epic
director(s): Alan Ferguson
production co: Anonymous Content

New Release: ASHES dIVIDE "The Stone"

Although A Perfect Circle was essentially the brainchild Billy Howerdel, the presence of vocalist Maynard James Keenan meant that the band would always be known as a Tool side project. There's zero chance of that with his new band, Ashes Divide since Howerdel sings and plays almost every instrument except drums. Director P.R. Brown exerts similar control over the video, which he shot, edited and oversaw all the effects. Control seems to be the theme of the actual video, as well, depicting Howerdel strapped to a contraption that takes him down a vortex and into a suburban sprawl. --> watch "The Stone" (YouTube)

ASHES dIVIDE "The Stone" (Island Def Jam)
P.R. Brown, director/DP/editor | Christina Wagner, producer | Anonymous Content, production co

SHOT: Avril Lavigne - Wayne Isham, director

artist: Avril Lavigne
song: "The Best Damn Thing"
label: RCA 
director(s): Wayne Isham
production co: Merge @ Crossroads

SHOT: Simple Plan - Wayne Isham, director

artist: Simple Plan
song: "Your Love Is A Lie"
label: Atlantic
director(s): Wayne Isham
production co: Merge @ Crossroads

SHOT: Fergie f/ John Legend - Marc Webb, director

artist: Fergie feat. John Legend
song: "Finally"
label: A&M/Interscope
director(s): Marc Webb
production co: DNA

PHOTO: Disturbed and Nathan Cox

Director Nathan Cox and Disturbed  singer David Draiman on the set of "Inside The Fire." This will be the first video off the band's forthcoming Reprise/Warner Bros. album, Indestructible.

The video was produced by Oracle Films. Nathan Cox is signed with Merge @ Crossrads and repped by Labuda Management.

NEW RELEASE: Lil Mama/T-Pain/Chris Brown "Shawty Get Loose"

Lil' Mama and guests Chris Brown and T-Pain pay homage to the original futuristic collaboration video — Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson's "Scream" — in this sleek clip for "Shawty Get Loose." Just as tricky as wrangling three stars onto the set was the CG work, which included "building" what's really just a virtual console that T-Pain manipulates. -->watch "Shawty Get Loose"

Lil' Mama"Shawty Get Loose" (Jive/ZLG)
R. Malcolm Jones, director | Steven Johnson, producer | Factory Features, production co| Brandon Cox, DP | Zuk, editor | Baked Goods, effects

COMMENTARY: Dr. Harding's Test

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the flashing lights.

There's been a lot of news this week about how the new Gnarls Barkley video "Run" has been "banned" by MTV due to something called the Harding Test.

Here's the deal...

Perhaps you remember all those stories from a few years back about kids going into seizures while watching Pokemon. That story was about as overblown as this one, but there is indeed a small chance (1 in 17,500 to be exact) of a child — especially one with epilepsy — experiencing a seizure due to photosensitivity.

The most notable effort to stem this problem in the U.S. was requiring video games to come with warnings about the epileptic risk. U.K. broadcasters have taken a stricter approach, requiring all televised content to be pre-screened to ensure that any flashing lights and repetitive patterns do not surpass certain thresholds that may make it more likely to induce seizures. The test most often used is called the HardingFPA Flash and Pattern Analyser.

Since many videos consist of flashing lights and patterns, it is not uncommon to have problems when submitting them to MTV UK and other English channels. The videos are not "banned," they just need to either be re-edited or have the strobe intensity toned down to pass this test. It's not a big deal, really.

So, the Gnarls Barkley video "Run" has not been "banned" by MTV or MTV UK. It did, however, reportedly fail a broadcast test that all UK channels run in order to minimize the chances of causing seizures among a very small percentage of viewers.

If you are a music video producer, here is what you need to know:

• If there is a chance the video will be on MTV UK, you should be somewhat cognizant that  excessive flashing lights and dizzying patterns may cause the video to fail the aforementioned Harding Test.
• If it does fail, you can either re-edit or do a color correction in order to minimize the intensity of the objectionable parts. (The Harding Test actually tells you the exact timecode and images that are in violation of the acceptable levels)

If you are a music video fan, here is what you need to know:

• Absolutely nothing. Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the pretty pictures and call a doctor if you start to feel funny.

If you are a manager or a publicist or a record executive, here is what you need to know:

• Applying the word "banned" and "MTV" is guaranteed news. So, the next time your video doesn't pass standards at MTV, don't just quietly re-edit. Leak out word that the video has been BANNED and watch the news and blog mentions roll in.