God bless the Internet. With free music videos available all over the Web, sites like YouTube, Vimeo and countless blogs have filled the visual void left in MTV's realty-show-driven wake. But it's not only standard video fare that has kept fans entertained. Thanks to the limitless realm of cyberspace, directors are now free to take much more risk. One such director is 28-year-old Frenchman Vincent Moon, who has stunned indie rock fans with his groundbreaking The Take-Away Shows, a video series that brings performers out of typical music venues and places them in more public and unique locations. From spine-tingling clips of Yeasayer singing a cappella on the Paris Metro to Alamo Race Track busking on a busy New York street, Moon has reinvigorated the formulaic, and let's face it, often boring, medium of the music video. Now the prodigious Parisian director takes his Take-Away series to gorgeous new video site Crackle.

What inspired you to create The Take-Away Shows, such a simple yet groundbreaking video series?
I have always been a huge music fan, and I've always loved cinema. I was trying to think about how these two mediums have been previously filmed and why there were only very few movies that were interesting to me in the manner music was depicted — the way the music and sound is mixed together. Today, most music videos remind me of the 1980s, but that doesn't effect me at all. People have in mind that is how music is seen, and that is a terrible idea, and I am against the tradition. But there was one film that influenced me. It was a movie made by two Swedish guys … the name escapes me right now. It treats music beautifully. It is hard to explain. You have to watch it. It is the very simple naked way about music. So I have been trained to use all the new tools and the new technology, but I've decided to bring back a manner of presenting music — music on the streets — that is fresh, human and very simple.

Before the series had an established name, were bands apprehensive about performing in the street when you approached them?
No, I mean it wasn't difficult to convince them, but some refused to have an acoustic session. It was a musical challenge for bands to play in this condition. They would say, "What the fuck am I doing here singing in the street?" But I don't think music is naturally fit in a new venue. So it's, What would be the most naked way to present music? Outside, in the street, amongst the people. It can really change bands like that. When I brought the Shins to Montmartre, they were like, "Whoa that was really fun. This is the first time we've done this." I was like, "What? No way? You should do this all the time!" You know at first it was difficult, but it is always an interesting experience.

The large white font you use to introduce each video has become fairly iconic. Was that a conscious choice?
Surprisingly enough, I really thought a lot about it. I was really inspired by this old book of New York photography that used that type of font — the huge letters. That was my favorite book for years. It just really impacted me. Plus, the really fat fonts look great on small screens.

Here in New York, it can be a real pain for us if we want to shoot in public places. It can be really hard to get permission. How about shooting in Paris? Are they really laid-back on where you shoot?
Well maybe Parisians are just not as open to asking for permission. [Laughs] People in New York are just more open to it. In Paris, it isn't really a problem about the backdrop, but it is about the people in the front of the camera that is really a problem. We had a fight once. A man told us to get away from his property, and he actually hit the woman I was filming! She had to cancel her show that evening. But I really enjoy shooting in New York. It's really incredible. I had a lot of great reactions.

What makes for a good Take-Away shoot?
It depends on the band and how I want to shoot it this day. I think it would be great without certain people in the street. I think it would be great without this randomness. But my variations to the videos are better off on their own. It is not all about the spectacular direction. I am not trained to work in directing with people all around. I don't want it to be too spectacular. Like when you watch the Kooks video of them walking in the streets and into the crowd. I mean it's ridiculous. Sure it's funny, but it bothers me. They are acting when people are around, and that is really something I try to avoid.

Do you have an ideal or dream place you would like to shoot one day?
Everywhere. On my next project I would like to be traveling all over the world. I mean, I shoot at the glacier. My next film I am going to shoot in Mexico. On every project I like to go in a different direction.

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