SKINNY (directing team)
Encyclopedia
SKINNY is a directing team based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 that specializes in music videos. It is composed of David Hache, Marc-Edouard Leon and Dori Oskowitz. SKINNY is known for developing its concepts through the use of creative methods that are deeply rooted in mysticism. These include meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

, trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...

, self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis is a form of hypnosis which is self-induced, and normally makes use of self-suggestion . Listening to pre-recorded audio or other media is often mistaken for self-hypnosis, but is just another form of hypnosis....

, secret teachings and the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

.

The directing team is devoted to creating a spiritual renaissance in the arts and has close relationships with yogis, Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 medicine men, occultists and cabbalists. On top of this, SKINNY's work often features intricate makeup, elaborate set design, vibrant colors, eroticism (including male and female nudity), a sense of humor, references to Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 art, and homages to underground
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...

, cult
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...

 and international film.

In 2008, SKINNY signed to the acclaimed music video and commercial production company Partizan
Partizan
Partizan is the Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, and Slovene term for a partisan. It is usually used in those languages to denote a member of the World War II resistance movement, the Yugoslav Partisans, which are always mentioned in those languages without the adjective "Yugoslav", i.e...

. Since being signed to Partizan, SKINNY has directed music videos for major labels. Yet the directing team continues to work with unsigned musicians and is dedicated to helping the careers of independent artists.

Music videos

  • "Losers, Boozers, Jacuzzi Users" by Rock&Roll
    Rock&Roll
    Rock&Roll is an indie rock band from Paris, France, formed in June 2005. The band is made up of singer Gricha Berekachvili, drummer Paul Louis Viguier, bassist L.A.M.F, guitarist Matthias Cadeac d'Arbaud and tambourine man Vincent-John Soimaud. In 2006, the band released their first EP, First Class...

     (2007)
  • "Carmensita" by Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...

     (2008)
  • "Beguiling" by Jackie Tohn
    Jackie Tohn
    Jaclyn "Jackie" Tohn is an American actress and musician. She is also known for taking part in American Idol season 8 making it to Top 36 on season 8...

     (2008)
  • "Soothsayer" by Gray Kid (2008)
  • "Burn Burn" by Nico Vega
    Nico Vega
    Nico Vega is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of lead singer Aja Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler and drummer Dan Epand. Comparisons have been made to The White Stripes in that they have never had a bass player...

     (2008)
  • "Beyond Therapy" by Courtenay Green (2008)
  • "Cartoons and Forever Plans" by Maria Taylor
    Maria Taylor
    Maria Diane Taylor is an American singer/songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray with Orenda Fink, as well as the band Now It's Overhead, both of which are signed with Saddle Creek Records...

     featuring Michael Stipe
    Michael Stipe
    John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

     (2009)
  • "Me Siento Solo" by Adanowsky (2009)
  • "You Are the One" by Adanowsky featuring Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...

     (2009)
  • "We All Want To Be Prince" by Felix Da Housecat
    Felix da Housecat
    Felix da Housecat is an American DJ and record producer, mostly known for house music and electroclash. His name was inspired by Felix the Cat....

     (2009)
  • "WAYDWYL" by The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy is a psychedelic/indie punk band from Seattle, Washington, consisting of three members: Scott Yoder , Brendhan Bowers , and Stefan Rubicz . They also have been known to record with a wide array of other instruments including strings, horns, and many different types of...

     (2009)
  • "Coldest Morning Light" by The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy is a psychedelic/indie punk band from Seattle, Washington, consisting of three members: Scott Yoder , Brendhan Bowers , and Stefan Rubicz . They also have been known to record with a wide array of other instruments including strings, horns, and many different types of...

     (2009)
  • "Backstabber
    Animal (Kesha album)
    Animal is the debut studio album by American pop singer Kesha. The album was released on January 1, 2010, by RCA Records. Kesha worked with a variety of producers and writers such as Lukasz Gottwald , Benny Blanco, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, and others...

    " by Ke$ha (2009)
  • "Devil Is In The Details" by Courtenay Green (2009)
  • "Song Away" by Hockey
    Hockey (band)
    Hockey is an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon.-Members:Until October 2010, the band consisted of singer Benjamin Grubin, guitarist Brian Stuart White, bassist Jeremy Reynolds, drummer Anthony Stassi and touring keyboardist Ryan Dolliver, and have been compared in their sound to bands...

     (2009)
  • "Attack Of The 5-Foot Hipster" by Riot In Paris (2009)
  • "Get Away With Murder" by Jeffree Star
    Jeffree Star
    Jeffree Star is an American model, fashion designer, make-up artist, DJ, and singer-songwriter residing in the Beverly Hills area...

     (2009)
  • "Mess Of You
    Mess of You
    "Mess of You" is a pop rock song written by Alana Grace and Michael Ochs for Grace's second studio album With One Word . It was released as the album's first single as a digital download....

    " by Kimberley Caldwell (2010)
  • "Ke$hawood" viral by Ke$ha (2010)
  • "I Am Not A Robot
    I Am Not a Robot
    "I Am Not a Robot" is a song by Marina and the Diamonds. It was the lead single from her second extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, released on 22 June 2009. It was also re-released as the third single from her debut studio album, The Family Jewels, on 26 April 2010. The single was added to BBC...

    " viral by Marina And The Diamonds (2010)
  • Concert visuals for Marina And The Diamonds (2010)
  • "Me Siento Solo (Alternative Version)" by Adanowsky (2009)
  • "So So Fresh" by Nico Vega
    Nico Vega
    Nico Vega is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of lead singer Aja Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler and drummer Dan Epand. Comparisons have been made to The White Stripes in that they have never had a bass player...

     (2010)
  • "Gravity" by Ashtar Command
    Ashtar Command (band)
    Ashtar Command is the name of an indie music band currently composed of Chris Holmes and Brian Liesegang...

     (2010)
  • "Walking the Dog" by Fun
    Fun (band)
    Fun is an American indie pop band based in New York, New York that was formed by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format. After the 2008 breakup of The Format, Ruess left Arizona to develop his career in New York City. Ruess then formed Fun with Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train...

     (2010)
  • "No One's Gonna Love You
    No One's Gonna Love You
    "No One's Gonna Love You" is the second single from Band of Horses' second album Cease to Begin, which was released on February 25, 2008. The single received significant radio airplay, particularly in Seattle where the band formed...

    " by Cee Lo (2010)
  • Concert visuals for Ke$ha: "Stephen (Ke$ha song)" and "Animal (Ke$ha song)" (2010)
  • "Take It Off
    Take It Off
    Take It Off may refer to:*Take It Off , an album by Chic**"Take It Off", a song by Chic from Take It Off*"Take It Off" , a song by Ke$ha*"Take It Off", a song by 8Ball & MJG from Ridin High*"Take It Off", a song by Andrew W.K...

    " viral by Ke$ha (2010)
  • "The Truth" music video by PNAU
    Pnau
    Pnau is an Australian dance music duo originating from Sydney, Australia. The duo consists of musicians Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes...

     (2011)
  • "2.0
    2.0
    The term 2.0 originated with software versioning and refers to the second version of a computer program or standards. The trend to apply it to concepts other than programs started with Web 2.0.- Modern usage :...

    " music video by Jump Jump Dance Dance (2011)
  • "I'm A Hunter" music video by ASKA
    Aska
    Aska can refer to:*ASKA , an American heavy-metal band*Aska Hundred, or Aska härad, was an hundred of Östergötland, Sweden.*Isuzu Aska, a Japanese car....

     (2011)
  • "Show Me
    Show Me (Jessica Sutta song)
    "Show Me" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Sutta. It was released as her first official single from her debut album Sutta Pop . The song was written by Alex Geringas, Paddy Dalton and songwriter Busbee, which lyrically talks about how actions talk louder than words. Musically, the...

    " music video by Jessica Sutta
    Jessica Sutta
    Jessica Lynn Sutta is an American dancer, showgirl, singer, recording artist, model, and actress. She is best known as a member of the American pop girl group and dance ensemble, the Pussycat Dolls. She left the group in January 2010 to embark her solo career. She is currently finishing up her...

     (2011)

Happenings

SKINNY releases each new video by the means of a happening that underlines the directing team's commitment to supporting the arts. These events generally have a costume theme, feature bands and have a strong spiritual slant. For their "Spirit Animal" happening, Sioux and White Mountain Apache tribes performed traditional drum and dance ceremonies to hundreds of spiritual revelers dressed as their spirit animals.
SKINNY's "New Year's Eve Ball" took place at Hollywood's legendary haunted Vogue Theater, which was closed for ten years and used to study ghosts and other apparitions by the International Society for Paranormal Research. The theater was said to have seven ghosts, including that of Fritz, the projectionist, who died there in the '80s. SKINNY's happening included performances by Nico Vega
Nico Vega
Nico Vega is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of lead singer Aja Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler and drummer Dan Epand. Comparisons have been made to The White Stripes in that they have never had a bass player...

, Saint Motel
Saint Motel
Saint Motel is an indie pop band from Los Angeles. They have been described as "garage glam", "hard pop", "indie prog" and more by those including The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times who wrote recently that they have "reanimated power pop"....

 and Japanther
Japanther
Japanther is an art project, established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and has collaborated with a diverse pool of artists such as gelitin, Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, Dan Graham,...

 as well as a midnight invocation of the Vogue Theater's ghosts by the Amalgamated Order of the Rex Moribund.

Media attention

SKINNY's music video for Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...

's song "Carmensita" garnered a lot of public attention thanks to the presence of actors Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...

, Kat Dennings
Kat Dennings
Katherine Litwack , better known by the stage name Kat Dennings, is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House...

 and Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...

. In particular, news that Devendra Banhart and Natalie Portman began dating after meeting on the set of the video was reported in the tabloids. The music video, which pays homage to Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 films and TV shows of the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

 and 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

 based on ancient Indian epics of Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

 and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, has since become one of the most celebrated videos of 2008. It was featured in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, Subterranean
Subterranean (TV series)
Subterranean was a weekly music show on MTV2 dedicated to alternative, indie, and underground music and artists. The show was made as the modern-day continuation of MTV's 120 Minutes...

, Time Magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

, People Magazine, Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...

 and E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...

 Moreover, Spin Magazine
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

 voted the video the 10th Best Video of 2008 and MTV's indie rock music video show Subterranean
Subterranean (TV series)
Subterranean was a weekly music show on MTV2 dedicated to alternative, indie, and underground music and artists. The show was made as the modern-day continuation of MTV's 120 Minutes...

 included it in its Top 15 of 2008.

Community

SKINNY is part of a new wave of Los Angeles-based artists that frequently help and assist each other. This circle includes:
  • Makeup Artist and Muse Sarai Fiszel
  • Events Organizer, Photographer and Muse Adarsha Benjamin
  • Stylist and Director Emily de Groot
  • Performance Dancer and Costume Designer Ryan Heffington
  • Photographer, Stylist and Muse Yasmin Than
  • Director John Christopher Pina
  • Director Ace Norton
    Ace Norton
    Ace Norton is a music video and commercial director.-Biography:Norton grew up in Venice, and is the son of writer/director Bill Norton Junior and grandson of motion picture screenwriter William Norton Senior.Norton spent most of high school shooting short films...

  • Model, Comedian, and Muse Alice Gardin
  • Collective People-Food
  • Events Organizer and DJ Ana Calderon
  • Actor and Muse Riki Lindhome
    Riki Lindhome
    Riki Lindhome is an American actress and musician. She is best known for television roles in shows including Gilmore Girls, House, The Big Bang Theory and United States of Tara and is also one half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel And Oates...

  • Actor and director Akihiro Kitamura
    Akihiro Kitamura
    is a Japanese actor and director, who appeared in The Human Centipede .-Early life:After moving to the United States at the age of 18, Kitamura studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse for five years...

  • Actor and Muse Mick Page
  • Actor and Singer Soko
    Soko
    Sokoband, formerly known as Soko, is a jazz fusion duo, featuring pianist Michael Sokolowski and bassist Houston Ross. The group formed as a trio in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991, with Sokolowski, Ross, and drummer John Gilmore. The group performed live for several years, then released their...

  • DJ / Literary Agent Danny Gabai
  • Alternative Creative Director Petecia Le Fawnhawk
  • Stylist Cassandra Kellogg
  • Wildfox Couture designer Kimberley Gordon
  • Photographer Shelby Duncan
  • Photographer Ashley Haber
  • Photographer Rony's Photobooth
  • Photographer Autumn de Wilde
    Autumn de Wilde
    Autumn de Wilde is an American photographer best known for her portraiture and commercial work photography of musicians.-Early life:...

  • Director of Photography Starr Whiteside
  • Director of Photography Ross Riege
  • Post-Production House Ghost Town Media
  • Art Director Isaac Gabaeff
  • Writer Mandy Kahn
  • Artist Alia Penner
  • Director Benjamin Kutsko
  • Director Matt Ornstein
  • Woodworker Lili Jackson
  • Promoter Dave Young
  • Artist Mekenzie Kay Schneider
  • Filmmaker and Photographer Maximilla Lukacs
  • Actor and DJ James Oliver
    James Oliver
    James Oliver may refer to:*Jamie Oliver , English chef*Jamie Oliver keyboards player of Welsh band Lostprophets*James C...

  • Editor Graeme Pereira
  • Flaunt
    Flaunt
    Flaunt is a monthly American fashion culture magazine founded by the current editor-in-chief, Luis Barajas, and creative director, Jim Turner, also the founders of Detour magazine. Long Nguyen, a third founder and style director, also was working on Detour for four years...

     Magazine
  • Flaunt
    Flaunt
    Flaunt is a monthly American fashion culture magazine founded by the current editor-in-chief, Luis Barajas, and creative director, Jim Turner, also the founders of Detour magazine. Long Nguyen, a third founder and style director, also was working on Detour for four years...

     Magazine Editor-In-Chief Andrew Pogany
  • Radio DJ Josh Frankfort
  • Bollywood Dance Choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan
    Nakul Dev Mahajan
    Nakul Dev Mahajan is an American Bollywood dancer and choreographer best known for his choreography on So You Think You Can Dance...

  • Musician and Promoter Daniel Merlot
  • Musician Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Banhart
    Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...

  • Musician Nico Vega
    Nico Vega
    Nico Vega is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of lead singer Aja Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler and drummer Dan Epand. Comparisons have been made to The White Stripes in that they have never had a bass player...

  • Musician Saint Motel
    Saint Motel
    Saint Motel is an indie pop band from Los Angeles. They have been described as "garage glam", "hard pop", "indie prog" and more by those including The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times who wrote recently that they have "reanimated power pop"....

  • Musician Adanowsky
  • Musician The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy
    The Pharmacy is a psychedelic/indie punk band from Seattle, Washington, consisting of three members: Scott Yoder , Brendhan Bowers , and Stefan Rubicz . They also have been known to record with a wide array of other instruments including strings, horns, and many different types of...

  • Musician Gray Kid
  • Musician Jenny O.
  • Musician Tyler Steele And The Helping Thieves
  • Musician Voxhaul Broadcast
  • Musician Entrance
    Entrance (musician)
    The Entrance Band is a band started by Guy Blakeslee . Their style of music has been described as psychedelic rock or stoner rock....

  • Musician Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros
    Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
    Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released July 7, 2009, digitally and July 14, 2009, physically on Community Records...

  • Musician Rainbow Arabia
    Rainbow Arabia
    Rainbow Arabia is an electronic duo based in Los Angeles, California consisting of Future Pigeon and Whisky Biscuit keyboardist Danny Preston and wife Tiffany Preston....

  • Musician Lion Of Panjshir
  • Musician Japanther
    Japanther
    Japanther is an art project, established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and has collaborated with a diverse pool of artists such as gelitin, Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, Dan Graham,...

  • Musician Warpaint
    Warpaint (band)
    Warpaint is an American art rock group from Los Angeles, formed in 2004. The band's members are Emily Kokal , Theresa Wayman , Jenny Lee Lindberg , and Stella Mozgawa . The band's membership has also included actress Shannyn Sossamon and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer...

  • Musician Hecuba
    Hecuba
    Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War, with whom she had 19 children. These children included several major characters of Homer's Iliad such as the warriors Hector and Paris, and the prophetess Cassandra...

  • Musician Megapuss
    Megapuss
    Megapuss is a band with the following members: Devendra Banhart, Gregory Rogove , Fabrizio Moretti , and Noah Georgeson...


External links

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