We're ticking off the days until the MMVAs by profiling 2010's Video of the Year nominees.

The Video: "I'd Come For You," Nickelback

Poor, old dad. His teenage daughter is growing up fast, and the two of them just aren’t spending as much quality time together as they used to – having family dinners, playing daddy/daughter softball, listening to Nickelback. When daughter skips out on dinner to hang out with her boyfriend, it looks like dad’s left to another night of mashed potatoes for one. But maybe his little girl still needs him after all…

Director: Nigel Dick

Notable Credits:

"...Baby One More Time," Britney Spears

"Wonderwall," Oasis

"Gotta Be Somebody," Nickelback (Nominated for video of the year at last year's MMVAs)

Where the Concept Came From:

Credit is due to Nickelback, according to Dick. The director pitched the band an idea for the Dark Horse single, “which is very often what I do,” he says. “It got rejected by the band and the band said ‘We’ve got a better idea.’

“It’s fairly standard procedure with these guys and I’ve gotten used to it,” says Dick, adding that he’s “quite happy” about that arrangement. “I think what they like to do is they like to see if someone else has an idea so they don’t have to go through the aggravation of having to come up with one [concept] themselves,” he laughs.

As for how the video’s focus on a father/daughter relationship came to be, Dick explains that the band “wanted to have a bit of a twist.”

“I guess if you heard the song on your own you’d assume it was a boy/girl situation. And so they said, ‘Why don’t we try something that’s a bit different.’ A bit of a curve ball if you like.”

Another influencing factor: someone close to the band had a celebrity connection that would have been a perfect dad-type. “I think one of their organization has a relationship with Kevin Costner and there was talk at one point of trying to get Kevin involved,” says Dick – though that’s clearly not the former Prince of Thieves clobbering his daughter’s skuzzy boyfriend in the clip. “For whatever reason he wasn’t available,” says Dick, “but it [the story] just sort of stuck. Everyone by that stage had just sort of fallen in love with the idea.”

And if you’re wondering why Nickelback themselves don’t figure all that prominently in their own video, popping up every once in awhile to interrupt the narrative with in some performance clips, Dick says the band is much more comfortable sticking to what they know: music. “By in large, they don’t want to be actors, and it’s not just them,” he says. “We’ll leave the acting to somebody else.”

The Moment to Watch For:

Watch for the actor who plays “Dad” in the clip, Don Broatch. Not only could he beat up your dad (or at least all your deadbeat boyfriends), his performance in “I’d Come For You” particularly impressed Dick. “I love the dad’s performance,” the director says when asked about his favourite moment in the video. “Not to say that I don’t like the performance of the others, which I also think are great. He’s sort of understated, but through my eyes, my obviously completely biased eyes, there’s not a moment where I don’t believe he doesn’t care for this person, his child.”

The fact Broatch had to deliver his performance without a word – or grunt -- of dialogue impressed Dick all the more. “There’s no grunt, or sigh, or intake of breath or any of those things to register the normal emotions which an actor gets to do in a movie. You don’t realize how important those little inflectons are when you see a film but they are actually enormously helpful.” Who needs Kevin Costner?

Biggest Challenge:

The video’s most emotionally difficult moment was the most difficult for Dick to film, he says. Not on a technical level, but because of the charged content it depicts.

“The scene I found difficult is the scene where the boy is essentially supposed to be, you know, assaulting the girl, because on some level we’re all very aware this is a story and whatnot, but there is a point when you say to actors ‘Action!’ but it’s not just a play of the boy assaulting the girl, there is the reality of this man assaulting this woman.”

Dick says that he always makes sure to open the lines of communication on set prior to shooting such a scene to help diffuse the situation. “I find it very essential for me to ask the actress’ permission, even though she’s signed on for the part,” he says. “If you don’t bring the subject up there’s no way to know that there’s not somebody on set who’s going ‘I feel kind of weird about this’ and that person may very well be the actress concerned.”

Why He’ll Always Remember This Shoot:

“I’d Come For You” was shot around North Vancouver, on soundstages and at various locations in the area. Dick’s shot several videos in the city – many of them for Nickelback – and he says, “it rains fairly nearly every time we shoot.” But this visit was memorable for one reason, and he even made sure to record that fact for his own benefit. “The note [about the video] on my website is ‘A first for me. The only time it never rained a drop during production in Vancouver.”

Better yet, the weather he got turned out to be ideal for filming. “When we were lighting the exterior on the day, this huge cloud of mist just rolled in and it was very atmospheric, it helped with the lighting on the set.”

The Nickelback Video He's Proudest of Directing: “Savin' Me”

Bear in mind that Dick has been at the helm of more Nickelback videos – 14 – than those for any other artist (which is noteworthy considering his hand in creating pop culture iconography for artists ranging from Britney Spears to Guns N’ Roses over his three decades of making music videos). “I’m really happy with the way we shot it. I think it’s a really intriguing story,” Dick says simply of “Savin' Me.” “And surprisingly, it’s the only one of their recent videos that’s never been nominated.”

The 2010 MMVAs are broadcast Sunday, June 20 on MuchMusic.

© Copyright (c) dose.ca