Images for the Post-Video Age

Director Keith Schofield Makes Viral Video Stars

Comments (0) By Drew Tewksbury Thursday, Mar 11 2010

Appealing to Web audiences gave Schofield a new philosophy for creating videos in the post-video age. "I wanted to make videos that could never be shown on MTV, using nudity, brand names, drugs, whatever."

For Wintergreen's second video, "Can't Sit Still," Schofield pushed the drug theme beyond its limit, featuring a how-to guide for making crystal meth, which the band concocts and ingests. The recipes, made from kitty litter, bleach and other household ingredients, were entirely fictional, but the video stirred up serious controversy.

Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Schofield's video for "Heaven Can Wait"

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"We didn't get much reaction at first when we put it on YouTube, but when we titled it 'How to Make Meth,' the reaction was crazy. It was featured on a newscast about online meth recipes — even though it was fake."

Wintergreen singer/guitarist Drew Mottinger witnessed the effects immediately. "Some fans loved it. Some fans hated it. Most people believed it. Some parent coalition started a blog trying to get it banned. My parents definitely hated it. I still get e-mails from kids claiming they made the drugs and that they worked."

Now, as countless video sites populate the Internet, the computer is the main dispensary of music, and of the images that go along with it. Schofield helped to resuscitate music videos and adapt their content for an increasingly digital age. But for Schofield, it was no big deal.

"I'd hate for people to pretentiously think that there's some meaning behind it. I mean, it's not rocket science."