ARTchitects: the architects of ART

Few directors have shaped the look of rock music videos like Mark Pellington, our guest for Volume 10 of The Directors Series. 

Through his celebrated work for artists like Pearl Jam, U2, Foo Fighters, The Fray, Nine Inch Nails, The Flaming Lips, Alice in Chains, Public Enemy, INXS, Leonard Cohen, and many more, Mark has crafted a highly influential and completely singular style. His video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" swept the 1993 MTV VMAs, including Video of the Year, and remains one of the defining videos of the era. Beyond music videos, Mark has directed feature films including Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, Henry Poole Is Here, The Last Word, and Nostalgia.

Emma and Jason sit down with Mark for a career-spanning conversation.

Watch Mark's selections from the screening here.

Devonté Hynes, known to many as Blood Orange, is Volume 9 of The Directors Series. Watch his work here.

A multi-faceted musician and visual artist, Devonté has developed a deeply personal and strikingly beautiful visual universe through his self-directed music videos, one that exists in seamless dialogue with his acclaimed body of music. Beyond his own work, he has directed videos for Beck and Mykki Blanco, and composed scores for films including Palo Alto, Queen & Slim, Passing, Mainstream, Master Gardener, and the upcoming The Invite.

Emma and Jason sit down with Devonté for a career-spanning conversation about the relationship between music and moving images, alongside a program of videos selected by Dev himself.

The Directors Series is back with acclaimed director Grant Singer. Watch Grant's work that was screened here. 

Through his electrifying work for artists like Lorde, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Slowdive, Skrillex, Troye Sivan, Ariana Grande, Ariel Pink, Sky Ferreira, Camila Cabello, Future, Taylor Swift, and numerous others, Grant Singer has become one of the modern music video’s most influential filmmakers. He is also the director of the hit Netflix movie Reptile. 

Emma and Jason sit down with Grant for a career-spanning conversation. 

The Directors Series returns with the legendary Mark Romanek. Watch his music videos here.

Since the late 1980s, Romanek has been responsible for some of the most influential music videos of all time, crafting unforgettable visuals for Nine Inch Nails, Fiona Apple, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Johnny Cash, Beck, and many more.

His boundary-pushing approach has earned him 20 MTV Video Music Awards and a reputation as one of the greatest music video directors in history. Beyond music videos, Romanek has also directed the feature films Static, One Hour Photo, and Never Let Me Go. He’s also Volume #4 of the original Palm Pictures’ Director’s Label DVDs.

Join Emma Higgins and Jason Lester as they sit down with Romanek for a rare career-spanning conversation, discussing his creative process, his most iconic work, and the evolution of music videos as an art form.

Volume 6 of The Directors Series is here, featuring the iconic Floria Sigismondi. Watch her work here. 

Floria’s audacious music-video imagery and trademark style have made her one of the most acclaimed directors in the genre’s history with videos for artists like Rihanna, Bjork, David Bowie, Sigur Ros, The White Stripes, Interpol, Leonard Cohen, Fiona Apple, The Cure and Christina Aguilera. 

Most recently, Floria’s video for Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras, “Unholy,” won Video for Good at the MTV EMAs; Video of the Year at the Juno Awards and the New York International Fashion Film Festival. It received five nominations at the MTV VMAs including Best Direction and Video of the Year. Previously, Floria’s video for Justin Timberlanke’s “Mirrors,” won the MTV VMA Video of the Year as did her video for Sigur Ros, “Untitled,” at the MTV EMAs.

Spectacle, the first museum exhibition to celebrate the art and history of the music video, showcased Floria’s enormous influence. Her videos for David Bowie, “Little Wonder” and “Dead Man Walking,” have earned permanent spots in New York’s MoMA PS1. In 2023, Floria was awarded at Camerimage Festival for Directing Achievements in the Field of Music Videos. 

Marc Webb might be most famous now for his work in the world of feature films (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man) not to mention his prolific work in television. However his work in music videos has made no small impact either. Marc is the force behind some of the most iconic videos for artists like My Chemical Romance, AFI, Greenday, Fergie, Nelly, Evanescence, Maroon 5, Weezer, All American Rejects and many many more.

The Directors Series will be announcing more live events soon, so stay tuned to @wedirectmv to keep up. 

The Directors Series returns with the legendary Director X. Since the late 1990s, Director X has been a force behind some of the most iconic videos of the era for artists like Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Nelly, Usher, Justin Bieber, Rosalia, DMX, Kanye West, and numerous others, cumulatively garnering billions of views. Emma and Jason sit down with X for a career-spanning interview.

Watch Director X's music videos here.

The Directors Series will be announcing more live events soon, so stay tuned to @wedirectmv to keep up.

We're back for episode 2 of The Directors Series. This time Emma and Jason are honored to be joined by filmmaker Hiro Murai. Over the last 15 years, Hiro has been the mastermind behind videos for Childish Gambino, FKA Twigs, Earl Sweatshirt, Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar, Michael Kiwanuka, Massive Attack, Chet Faker, Spoon, The Shins, St. Vincent, and numerous others, as well as a creative force on TV series like Atlanta, The Bear, and Barry.

Check out Hiro's music videos here.

The Directors Series will be announcing more live events soon, so stay tuned to @wedirectmv to keep up. 

We're excited to be hosting The Directors Series on the ARTchitects feed! The Directors Series is a new music video screening and conversation event created by We Direct Music Videos. Taj introduces Emma Higgins and Jason Lester — the program's hosts — and gets into their conversation with renowned director Warren Fu (Daft Punk, The Strokes, Dua Lipa, Phoenix, The 1975, Doja Cat, SZA and more).

Check out Warren's music videos here.

The Directors Series will be announcing more live events soon, so stay tuned to @wedirectmv to keep up.