Director's Series Vol. 7 - Work of Director Stéphane Sednaoui

Sednaoui’s career took off with the phenomenal success of his videos for Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give It Away" and U2’s "Mysterious Ways" in the early 1990’s and ever since he has been redefining music videos and photography with his stylish and unique work.

According to Bono, "He’s much cooler than anyone in his videos." That’s high praise indeed as French filmmaker/photographer Stéphane Sednaoui has conjured up many of music’s hippest clips. Glitter, mirror balls, metallic paint--if it glows, shines, or sparkles, you can bet he's incorporated it into one of his projects.

Read our interview with Stéphane Sednaoui.

Sednaoui's background in fashion permeates every production, so it's no wonder he's worked with such stylish performers as Bjork and Garbage's Shirley Manson. (Like Anton Corbijn, celebrity portraiture is also part of his purview.) Fortunately, his are more than pretty pictures, but concentrated capsules of mood, as in his melancholy meditations for Massive Attack ("Sly") and Tricky ("Pumpkin"), and movement, as in his ecstatic explorations for the Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Give It Away"), U2 ("Mysterious Ways"), and Bjork ("Big Time Sensuality"). And yes, trivia buffs, that's Sofia Coppola in the bad trip video for the Black Crowes' "Sometimes Salvation." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Be sure to check out The Director's Label Boxed Set Vol. 2, featuring The Work of Stéphane Sednaoui, and volumes by Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn.