Foundation Content, an Indie Advertising and Production Collective specializing in cross-platform marketing for a diverse array of clients, has announced that its in-house Directing Team, the Focus Creeps (Ben Chappell and Aaron Brown), have been nominated as “Best New Directors” for 2012 by the UK’s Music Video Awards. Winner will be announced in the UK on Nov. 8th. Samantha Hart, CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Foundation Content, made the announcement.
Said Hart, “The Focus Creeps have truly found a niche in the music video world. Without question, they are playing a real role in helping to define an era through their natural insight into emerging trends in music and fashion.”
During this past year, the Focus Creeps directed a number of high profile music videos, both in the UK and in the U.S., working in tandem with Foundation Content producers Stacy Paris and Evan Cohen. Said the Focus Creeps, “We did a lot of UK music videos this past year. England seems to have a little more appreciation for current music than here in the U.S., so there’s more support for emerging bands over there.”
The 2012 Focus Creeps music video projects included:
• The entire campaign for Arctic Monkey’s "Suck It and See" album last year. The band performed during the opening ceremonies of this year’s Olympics. To view this video, please visit Vimeo page here.
• Shooting a music video for the band Garbage, which Focus Creeps’s Aaron Brown co-directed with photographer Matt Irwin. The theme was based on old surrealist films and photos. See it on Vimeo here.
• Filming a short poem with John Cale (originally from the Velvet Underground) at his studio, with music he wrote with Danger Mouse. See: www.focuscreeps.com/welcome-to-the-nookie-wood
• Working with a newer band, Django Django. For Django Django, the Focus Creeps experimented with old tube cameras from the 1984 Olympics, trying to get the cameras to malfunction, and creating some strange color trails in the process. The Focus Creeps later realized that the 1984 Olympics logo also had color trails, wondering if that, too, was based on the original video footage.
See: www.focuscreeps.com/storm
• For the band Spector, the Focus Creeps filmed a stereotypical British band on a stereotypical U.S. Tour, until at the end of the video it’s revealed that they’re actually transporting contraband for the Mexican cartel. The viewer eventually sees that crew members for the music video interrupt the shoot, revealing the fact that nothing illegal is happening—the action is actually on a music video set. See: www.focuscreeps.com/chevy-thunder
• A music video promoting The Beach Boys. “We think the Beach Boys are the most influential band in the U.S., like the Beatles were originally in the UK. They have stuck together over the decades and therefore they have influenced every decade of rock and roll. We wanted to demonstrate that point (which we realized while trying to shoot, was kind of abstract) within our visuals. The point being that every decade that influences style and fashion today, the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., are personified in the video. This was our way of paying homage to this legendary band.” See: www.focuscreeps.com/thats-why-god-made-the-radio
Said Foundation Content Senior Producer Stacy Paris, “We’ve watched the Focus Creeps grow over the past three years, from shooting music videos for their friends’ bands, to working with such major musical acts as k.d Lang and The Beach Boys. It’s been such an incredible pleasure to watch their transformation, especially this past year. They are no longer just a couple of guys with cameras in their hands. They’ve become an amazingly talented team of directors – a team that I’m proud to work with on a daily basis.”
Foundation’s VP of Production, Evan Cohen, adds, “It’s great to see Aaron and Ben getting recognized for their work as the Focus Creeps. Both legendary as well as emerging bands trust them implicitly with their images. It’s a testament to their creativity that the music video industry has begun picking up on their talent.”
About THE MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
Currently in its 5th year, the UK’s Music Video Awards celebrate the very best of British and international music videos and the talent behind them, with a range of over 30 categories. The event brings together well-established and up-and-coming directors, cinematographers, producers, editors, stylists, art directors, visual effects artists, animators, colorists and others for one night, to celebrate the most innovative and successful music videos of the past 12 months. This year’s event will be held at the Empire in Leicester Square on Nov. 8, 2012. For more info, please see: www.ukmva.com
About Foundation Content
With offices in Culver City (CA) and Chicago, Foundation Content was founded by Samantha Hart and James Levon Lipetzky in Chicago in 2004 as an “Indie Advertising Collective” that specializes in the conception, production and delivery of compelling advertising and marketing campaigns for a diverse group of clients. In conjunction with its creative partners, the Foundation Content team focuses on collaboration and efficient execution, helping brands find new and innovative ways by which to get their message across to their target audiences. The company is a Certified WBENC Minority/Womens’ Business Enterprise.
Foundation Content houses producers, directors, writers, editors, 2D/3D motion graphics artists, sound designers, along with smoke and color rooms, and shooting stages on the premises of each location. The company specializes in handling projects from inception to exhibition—and any stage in between. As an “Indie Advertising Collective,” Foundation Content exudes the energy of an indie film company, the experience of an established production & post production house, and the vision of a design boutique.
Foundation Content’s clients include Walmart, Sony Electronics, Nissan, Whole Foods, vitaminwater, United Way, Radical Skincare, and many others. For more info, please see: www.foundationcontent.com and also see Facebook here.
