Jaron Albertin

At first glance, the commercial appeal in Jaron Albertin's reel isn't immediately apparent. For the past five years, the 29-year-old director has traversed the dark side of storytelling, earning a rep in the music video world as a purveyor of foreboding, uneasy tension in promos for Emily Haines, Dave Gahan and Muscles.

Even "You Know Me Better" for pop star Róisín Murphy - arguably his most commercially-minded video - hints at mental instability by recasting the eccentric fashion icon as a cloistered, paranoid Cindy Sherman-like kept woman.

Fortunately for Albertin, Smuggler saw potential amidst the neurotic gloom and signed the London-based, Vancouver native for US rep (he's with Rokkit in the UK and Spy Films in Canada) last April. By the end of '08, the company had paired him with cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream) for the Muscles video "The Lake" and droga5 for the hit Guitar Hero World Tour web spot "Bike Hero".

As music video budgets continue to shrivel, Albertin says he hopes his new affiliation with Smuggler will help him realize bigger and more ambitious narrative ideas in the commercial realm. "If you try to do something too narrative in a music video, it's a hard thing to pull off," he says. "Róisín was an interesting video because I haven't worked with a pop artist before... image was almost the most important thing. How she looked took up a lot of my thinking. I kind of prefer the ugly over the beautiful."

"Bike Hero" was another challenge all together - more for its logistics than cosmetics. Aimed at Internet-addicted Guitar Hero aficionados, the three-and-a-half minute web film is shot seemingly in one take (there are about nine edits) from the point of view of a teen riding his bike through a real-world version of the game's interface. Since its debut last November, the ad has racked up nearly two million views on YouTube and sparked fierce "is it real or not?" debates online.

Droga5 ECD and partner Ted Royer was struck by the subdued moodiness of Albertin's reel and his ability to shock in his videos without being flashy or obvious, namely in "Dr. Blind" for Emily Haines (which earned him a spot in Boards 2006 Directors to Watch). Royer says that assuredness and simplicity was reflected in Albertin's treatment for "Bike Hero".

"Other treatments added too many layers and tried to be too clever. They seemed too complicated or too 'funny' but Jaron instantly understood what was acceptable and right," he says. "If you look just at the reel I can see how it would be a hard leap to a more commercial, visual language. But I think he's found the right group to market him in Smuggler."

Smuggler http://www.smugglersite.com
Jaron Albertin http://www.jaronalbertin.com