Tony Petrossian is an American commercial and music video director of Armenian descent, based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his work with rock and metal acts on the Roadrunner Records label, most prominently Slipknot, as well as directing television commercials for brands, including Nike, McDonald's, Subway, and Barbie. His music videos have won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance for Slipknot's "Before I Forget" and Slayer's "Eyes of the Insane" and his music video work also earned him nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards and the Much Music Video Awards, while his commercial output earned recognition from the CLIO advertising organisation and coverage from outlets including The New York Times and Forbes, along with an "Ad of the Day" citation from Adweek and a #1 placement on SHOOT magazine's annual "Best of the Best" review. For feature films and television projects in the United States, Petrossian is represented by William Morris Endeavor.
Career
Early career and music videos Petrossian began directing music videos in 2002, with Vem Miller, as part of the directing team "Vem & Tony," on a run of hip-hop, rock, and rap-metal videos, including "Shhh…(Hope Diggy)" for The Apex Theory, "Daddy Get That Cash" for Styles P, and "Remember Me" for Hoobastank. Through 2003 the pair directed a further run of videos together, among them songs for Powerman 5000, Alien Ant Farm, Cam'ron, DMX, and Pharrell Williams. A full list of these early credits appears in the filmography below.
Later he become associated with Rockhard Films, a Los Angeles-based production company run by director Marc Klasfeld. He quickly established a reputation for visually arresting, high-energy work with rock and metal acts.
His breakthrough came in 2004 when he co-directed the music video for Slipknot's single "Duality" alongside percussionist Shawn Crahan. Filmed on 27 March 2004 at a fan's house in West Des Moines, Iowa, the video featured the band performing in close quarters as hundreds of fans progressively destroyed the interior of the property. The production cost between $300,000 and $500,000. In 2010, Roadrunner Records ranked "Duality" the greatest music video in the label's history, with label video authority Elias Chios writing that it captured the raw energy and chaos of the band's performance. The same Roadrunner countdown placed a second Petrossian-directed video at number four of all time "Through Glass" by Stone Sour giving him the top and fourth positions simultaneously.
In 2004, Petrossian directed the videos for Slipknot's "Vermilion" and the Gene Simmons single "Firestarter," as well as directing "The End of Heartache" for Killswitch Engage.
In 2005, Petrossian directed the video for "Before I Forget", the third single from Slipknot's album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The video was notable for being the first time the band had performed on camera without their masks; Petrossian used tight framing and strategic camera angles to obscure the members' faces, while their masks were displayed beside them during the performance. In an interview with Music Video Wire, Petrossian recalled that the concept had first been discussed with Crahan during the "Duality" shoot the previous year, when Crahan had expressed a desire for the band to unmask on camera. "Before I Forget" went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006, Slipknot's first Grammy win after six consecutive nominations in that category. The video was also voted "Most Rocking Video" by the Scuzz audience in the channel's Top 100 Most Rocking Videos countdown of 2007.
2006–2009: Continued music video work The period from 2006 to 2009 represented Petrossian's most prolific phase in music video direction, during which he collaborated with a wide range of rock, metal, and hip-hop artists.
For Slayer, Petrossian directed the video for "Eyes of the Insane", filmed in the Los Angeles area in August 2006. The video presents the scene as a close-up of a soldier's pupil and iris, which reflect images of war, flashbacks of his family, and ultimately his death. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman told the metal publication Metal-Rules.com that the band was enthusiastic about the concept and that he personally found the video striking. The song subsequently won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Petrossian also directed the video for Avenged Sevenfold's "Beast and the Harlot" (2006), taken from the band's album City of Evil. His director's commentary on the video was included on the band's 2007 DVD release All Excess.
A music video for Stone Sour's "Through Glass" was shot by Petrossian and posted online at Yahoo! Music Canada on 9 July 2006.
Recognition and awards AwardCategory / NotesYearResultGrammy Award for Best Metal PerformanceSlipknot – "Before I Forget" (directed by Petrossian)2006WonGrammy Award for Best Metal PerformanceSlayer – "Eyes of the Insane" (directed by Petrossian)2007WonMTV Video Music AwardsBest Director—NominatedMTV Video Music AwardsBest Editor—NominatedMuch Music Video AwardsVideo of the Year—NominatedMVPA AwardsRock Video of the Year (US)—NominatedMVPA AwardsEuropean Rock Video of the Year—WonSouth by SouthwestAudience Award—WonClio AwardsRecognised as "groundbreaking"——Addy AwardsGold Addy—WonAddy AwardsSilver Addy—WonSource Award——WonSHOOT New Directors ShowcaseSelected2007—Roadrunner Records All-Time Top 10 Videos#1 – "Duality" (Slipknot)2010—Roadrunner Records All-Time Top 10 Videos#4 – "Through Glass" (Stone Sour)2010—Scuzz Top 100 Most Rocking Videos"Most Rocking Video" – "Before I Forget" (Slipknot)2007WonAdweek"Ad of the Day"——SHOOT "Best of the Best" annual review#1 placement——
Filmography
Music videos (selected) YearSongArtistNotes2002"Shhh…(Hope Diggy)"The Apex Theory2002"Daddy Get That Cash"Styles PWith Vem Miller2002"Remember Me"HoobastankWith Vem Miller2003"Action"Powerman 5000With Vem Miller2003"Glow"Alien Ant FarmWith Vem Miller2003"Are We Cuttin'"Pastor Troy feat. TimbalandWith Vem Miller2003"Rock N Roll"Fam-Lay feat. Pharrell Williams and the ClipseWith Vem Miller2003"Bout It Bout It"Cam'ron feat. DipsetWith Vem Miller2003"Blackout"(hed) p.e.With Vem Miller2003"I Keep It Gangsta"B.G.With Vem Miller2003"Freetime"KennaWith Vem Miller2003"Luv Me Baby"Murphy Lee feat. Nelly & Jazze PhaWith Vem Miller2003"Smothered"SpineshankWith Vem Miller2003"Who Gives a F**k Where You're From?"DJ Kay Slay and Three 6 MafiaWith Vem Miller2003"It's All Real"Pitch BlackWith Vem Miller2003"Where Da Hood At"DMXWith Vem Miller2004"Duality"SlipknotCo-directed with Shawn Crahan; #1 in Roadrunner Records all-time top 102004"Vermilion"Slipknot2004"The End of Heartache"Killswitch Engage2004"Firestarter"Gene Simmons2004"S.A.N.T.A.N.A."The Diplomats2005"Before I Forget"SlipknotGrammy Award for Best Metal Performance (2006); voted "Most Rocking Video" by Scuzz (2007)2005"I'm On A High"Millionaire2006"No Tomorrow"Orson2006"Beast and the Harlot"Avenged Sevenfold2006"Bright Idea"Orson2006"Graduation Day"Head Automatica2006"Tears Don't Fall"Bullet for My ValentineCo-directed2006"Through Glass"Stone Sour#4 in Roadrunner Records all-time top 102006"Pain"Three Days Grace2006"Liar (It Takes One to Know One)"Taking Back Sunday2006"Eyes of the Insane"SlayerGrammy Award for Best Metal Performance (2007)2006"Prayer of the Refugee"Rise Against2007"Never Too Late"Three Days Grace2007"I'm Not Jesus"Apocalyptica feat. Corey Taylor2007"Empty Walls"Serj Tankian2007"Fake It"Seether2007"Scream, Aim, Fire"Bullet for My Valentine2008"Sky Is Over"Serj Tankian2008"Rise Above This"Seether2008"Breakdown"Seether2008"How We Do It In The A"Lloyd feat. Ludacris2008"What You Look For"Sam Beeton2008"You Better Pray"The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus2009"Not Meant to Be"Theory of a Deadman2009"If This Is It"Newton Faulkner2009"Careless Whisper"Seether2012"The Crazy Ones"Stellar Revival
Commercials (selected) ClientCampaignLocationFuturoscope"Robotic Seats"Paris, FranceNike"Beijing Ballers"Beijing, ChinaZoo York"Tough"New York, NYZoo York"Spread the Word"New York, NYEnvironmental Defense Fund"Grounded"Los Angeles, CASubway"Fence"Charlotte, NCDannon"Into Thin Air" (flamingo campaign)New York, NYBeeline Telecom"Sea of Communication"Kiev, UkraineBeeline Telecom"Hockey"Moscow, RussiaBeeline Telecom"Tattoo" (Cambodia launch)Bangkok, ThailandSony EricssonAINO global launchBarcelona, SpainSony EricssonSATIO global launchBarcelona, SpainSony Ericsson"Space Hopper Invasion" (viral film)Barcelona, SpainManchester United F.C. / Beeline TelecomFeat. Wayne Rooney & Javier HernándezManchester, EnglandManchester United F.C. / Beeline TelecomFeat. Wayne Rooney & Park Ji-sungManchester, EnglandNike"Change Sport"Taipei, Taiwan & SingaporeAlexander Keith's Beer"Moving Walls"Prague, Czech RepublicAlexander Keith's Beer"Conveyor Belt"Prague, Czech RepublicBeeline Telecom"Magnetism"Bangkok, ThailandMcDonald's"Real Fruit Smoothies / Paint Ball War"Los Angeles, CAMcDonald's"Photos"Los Angeles, CAMcDonald's"Piñatas" / "Real Fruit Smoothies"Los Angeles, CAMinute Maid"Lion Dance"Shanghai, ChinaCoca-Cola (Burn Energy Drink)"The Cap"Los Angeles, CA & Moscow, RussiaTennessee Dept. of TransportationAnti-drunk-driving campaign, "Backseat"Nashville, TNCape Cod Chips"Seagulls"Los Angeles, CAKey Bank"Beach Balls"Los Angeles, CASingtel"Surprise Pop Performance"SingaporeLance Crackers"Keepin' It Real"Los Angeles, CADemix Sportswear"Fitness Girls"Los Angeles, CANokia"Ashes"Kiev, UkraineMerrell Shoes"Car v. Bike"Los Angeles, CASportmaster"Snowman"Los Angeles, CAMerrell Shoes"Weather Dogs"Los Angeles, CAIndiana Lottery"Fellow Bingolians!"Indianapolis, INIndiana Lottery"Hoosier Lottery"Indianapolis, INMoschino Barbie—Los Angeles, CAMerrell Shoes"Snow Dogs"Los Angeles, CABarbie"Spy Squad"Los Angeles, CAMcDonald's"Create Your Taste"Los Angeles, CABarbie"Mix & Color"Los Angeles, CAVonage"Family Phone"Portland, ORMaryland Lottery"Baseball Bucks"Baltimore, MDGazprom ("G-Drive")Feat. Ilya KovalchukSt. Petersburg, Russia
References
External links Taking Back Sunday's "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)" video directed by Tony Petrossian About Tony Petrossian