Nelly Furtado “Powerless (Say What You Want)” music video, directed by Bryan Barber for FM Rocks, recently won the 2004 MUCHMUSIC video award: "BEST POP VIDEO". The single is the first release from Furtado’s second album, “Folklore,” which debuted November 25, 2003 on the Dreamworks SKG label.

The video revolves around a classic psychological metaphor: Nelly trapped inside a box from which she seeks to escape. Inside, the box is plastered with posters that act as doors or windows for the artist’s imagination. Her situation is a metaphor for being both defined and confined by the illusory commercial reality of her celebrity and beauty.

With little time to prepare and working with a tight schedule, Moneyshots designed graphics effects for approximately 25 posters for the “Powerless” video which conveys much of the song’s message through the free spirited visual sojourns. The challenge Moneyshots faced was to animate the posters with emotion and imagination, capturing Nelly’s youthful enthusiasm and colorful personality as she sings a song that affirms the diversity and individualism inside everyone.

“They wanted the video to have a look and feel that was eye-catching and upbeat,” said Moneyshots’ creative director Elad Offer. “As often happens during a production, the ideas about what specific elements worked best evolved and changed. They were worried about how everything would come together in the end and be on time. But we were given a great concept and an almost a clean slate to work with.”

The video was shot on various sets and dressed locations, and in a large customized box crate, which were all created by production designer Aaron Goffman. Using Photoshop and Illustrator, Moneyshots designed the posters and graphics that surround Nelly in the box and added the transitions that transport Nelly back and forth between the imprisoning box and the poster environments that signify the escape self-expression can bring.

With literally only three days of pre production, and over a weekend, Goffman was asked to create a number of sets that fit the concept, the tight schedule, and the budget. After initial design decisions were made, Goffman employed three teams of prop buyers/dressers to work in tandem in order to accommodate the tight schedule. One set, a large European-style fish market, required over a ton of fresh fish to be trucked in.

The producers were Tom Fanning and Amanda Field, and the editor was David Checel. The Director of Photography was Tim Ives and the Production Designer was Aaron Goffman; Set construction was provided by Set Solutions.

Post Production Effects: Money Shots. For Moneyshots: Chris Eckardt was the executive producer; Creative director Elad Offer was lead for the team of Inferno artists which included Tetsuo Yoshida and Rene Simen; Eric Dehaven was lead compositor and Christopher Peza compositor; Kenn Min was the graphic designer.