BLACKSBURG, Va. – Music video director Mel Soria went from the mountains of Blacksburg to the Hollywood Hills.
Soria (left) with the members of Fall Out Boy at the shoot for the “Champion” video. (Photo by Ariel Fisher, courtesy of Virginia Tech)
Soria, a 2003 graduate of Virginia Tech’s Industrial Design program, is nominated for his second MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best Rock Video for Chicago-based band Fall Out Boy’s “Young and Menace,” which he directed with longtime collaborator Brendan Walter.
Other nominees for the category include Coldplay, Twenty One Pilots, Green Day and Foo Fighters. VMA winners are selected by popular vote on MTV’s website.
Soria won the same award he is currently nominated for in 2015 for Fall Out Boy’s single “Uma Thurman” off of their 2015 album “American Beauty/American Psycho.” In addition to directing videos for Fall Out Boy, Soria has also done visuals for Train, Panic! At the Disco and New Politics.
His work has also been recognized in respected publications such as American Cinematographer and Rolling Stone. He credits his education at Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies as the “secret weapon” that allowed him “to hack into the world of film and distinguish myself as a director.”
“The important thing is the nomination, because winning is subjective,” Soria said. “Everyone who gets nominated is amazing at their job. As long as you’re in the same breath as those nominees, you’ve already won.”
MTV will air its 34th Video Music Awards ceremony on August 27. It will be hosted by pop singer and nominee Katy Perry.
