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MUSIC VIDEOS www.postmagazine.com 17 POST AUGUST 2016 KORN — ROTTING IN VAIN Director Dean Karr (www.deankarr.com) recently completed work on a new music video for the 'nu metal' band Korn, which ties into the band's forth- coming album, "The Serenity of Suffering," scheduled for release on October 21 st . Karr had written music video treatments for the band a number of times in the past, but the Rotting In Vain project marks the first successful collaboration. Karr was very active in the music video business ear- lier in his career, but says in the past 15 years, budgets and expectations have changed considerably. Today, he selectively picks and chooses which projects he wants to work on. For example, back in November, he traveled to Croatia to work on a music video he found interest- ing. He continues to work as a photographer and fine artist, as well as directs commercials and features. In the case of Korn, the band's management contacted him and asked him to write a treatment. He spent approximately two days developing the concept for Rotting In Vain. "I like to get into lyrics and what (Korn singer) Jonathan (Davis) is talking about," says Karr of his creative process. "This was more of a free-form, old- school, artistic piece. It's a simple story and it came out great. I am so happy with it." The video stars Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) and is set in Victorian-era United States. Flanagan's character finds relief from life's stresses by secretly in- haling gas up in his attic. With each hit, one of the band members is brought to life elsewhere in the house. A number of small animals, preserved through taxidermy, populate the space. The video was shot using a Red Dragon camera at a one-time brothel in Los Angeles. "It's a place I never even knew was there," says Karr. "I've shot everywhere downtown that I can think of in the last 25 years. It was an old brothel that has only been available to film crews for the last two years. It's amazing! I could go back there five times and make it look different each time." Karr brought in all the props, including vintage clocks and medical devices, along with the taxidermy. In addition to the music video, Karr also shot the still photography that will be featured in "The Serenity of Suffering" album. "It was one very-long, 17-hour day," he recalls. Adam Santelli served as director of photography. "He's pretty much done the last 10 years of anything I had done," says Karr. "He's the greatest and makes everything look so delicious. I love to hear what he'd like to propose. And if I want to operate a camera, he's always understanding." The project made use of just a single camera. "That location was so tight, I wouldn't have even known where to put a second camera," Karr laughs. The edit was performed by Jonathan Covert using Adobe Premiere. "He had always been my main editor's assistant," Karr explains. "I gave him a chance with this one. He is a huge Korn fan and I knew he would do a great job. We set up at my house and it was really con- venient and fun to work at home." The video was shot in early July and the final edit runs 3:59. The online was completed using Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve. It premiered on Friday, July 22 nd on the Rolling Stone Website and was posted to Korn's site the following day. GEMINI SYNDROME - ANONYMOUS Brian Cox of Flarelight Films (flarelightfilms.com) recently created two new music videos for the al- ternative metal band Gemini Syndrome. A long-time friend of drummer Brian Medina, Cox was already on board to direct and edit the band's Remember We Die video from the upcoming release "Memento Mori," but used the opportunity to pitch an ambi- tious 360-degree shoot for the track Anonymous, which he'd offer to direct, shoot and edit. "They asked me, 'Can you do that?' and I said, 'Yeah.' But I had never done it before," Cox laughs. He went online to see what existed in the way of VR music videos, and to learn more about VR camera rigs, ulti- mately purchasing a mount from Freedom 360 (www. freedom360.us). The videos would both be shot at The Escarpment in Huntington Park, CA. "I said, 'I think we can pull this off,'" says Cox of the VR project. "I came up with the whole concept. I had never done [a 360 shoot] before. It was nerve-wracking. I didn't have a monitor connected to the GoPros and when I stitched it all together, there was a lot of little dead spaces, even THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - DARK NECESSITIES Working through Anonymous Content, actress Olivia Wilde recently directed the new music video for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Dark Necessities features the band, crashed out in a run-down house. Several women are also in the house, recovering from a night of skateboarding, with bruises and scrapes covering their knees and elbows. The band and the girls seem unaware of each other's presence. The video begins with singer Anthony Kiedis, bass player Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer sleeping in the living room, each buried under an assortment of old couch cushions. With daylight just start- ing to break through the windows, the band awakens and begins to perform. The house's depressing condition and décor adds to the dark mood. Footage of the band is intercut with footage of the girls, who spent the previous day and night skateboarding and getting tattoos in the shady part of town. Dark Necessities was shot by DP Chris Blauvelt using an Arri Alexa Mini camera. Arcade's (www.arcadeedit. com) Paul Martinez edited the music video on an Avid, with Pete D'Andrea and Laurel Smoliar assisting. Timber provided VFX services with Miles Kinghorn, Brian Shneider, Chris DeCristo and Jason Giamara serving as Flame artists and Eddie Anton han- dling Nuke compositing. Beau Leon of Framestore gave the video its color treatment, with Jonah Braun assisting. Director Dean Karr (above) collaborated with Korn on Rotting In Vain, which stars actor Tommy Flanagan (left).