When country music superstar Carrie Underwood won her third straight Country Music Television “Video of the Year” award on Wednesday, she praised Eric Welch, who directed her “See You Again” video.
“I love this song. And it had such a great message and great meaning to me. I had the idea of what I wanted to do and he made it all make sense,” Underwood said on stage after receiving her award, according to CMT.com “So, thank you so much, Eric. Oh I’m so nervous! My heart’s still beating really fast! God bless you guys. God bless country music and its fans. You guys are so amazing to all of us. Thank you so much. Thank you, CMT!”
Welch, who is a part of Passcode Creative, a firm based in Nashville — outside the D.C. Beltway and bubble — that has produced some of the best political spots in recent years, is also Palin’s primary videographer.
Welch has directed some of the most memorable videos of the last four years, including the “Mama Grizzly” spot during the 2010 election cycle in which the women-powered Tea Party movement gave Republicans control of the House and the “Iowa Passion” spot that was nearly universally hailed for capturing the essence of Palin’s resonance and magic in Iowa. Welch and PassCode Creative have been praised praised for their fresh approach to making political videos that resonate with voters instead of D.C. insiders who just want stale, safe, lazy, and soft cookie-cutter productions.
Welch and PassCode Creative have made some fun spots as well, like one where Bigfoot‘s endorsed Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney in 2012. They made a video titled “Lemonade” about how dangerous the country’s debt is to its children. The Romney campaign must have appreciated his work, because Welch also made a video for the campaign in the general election that featured Kid Rock’s appearance for Romney and Paul Ryan in Colorado.
(Photo: Shealah Craighead)
Palin was also effusive in praising Welch, who is regarded in the industry as one of the genuine and decent “good guys.”
“Ah, pay attention to the mind behind the videos! A big Alaskan Grizzly shout out to the supremely gifted Video Director Eric Welch on Carrie Underwood’s win for ‘Video of the Year’ at the Country Music Television Awards!” Palin wrote in a congratulatory Facebook note. “Eric is the soft-spoken, oh-so-hip, covert creative force behind many of our videos. As Carrie Underwood just announced from the podium, he deserves a HUGE ‘thank you, Eric!'”
Palin said “Eric’s humble acknowledgement of God’s blessings” is “so impressive.” She said that Welch “knows his far-above-par talent is God-given, so he uses it to help make the world a better place.”
She even praised Welch’s family and the creativity that runs in it.
“And after meeting this adorable cowboy’s wildly fun family, I’m convinced creativity is in Eric’s DNA – his mom and sister’s artsy business Amber Marie & Company, proves it! Check them out: https://www.facebook.com/AmberMarieAndCo
Palin linked to Welch’s work for some of the biggest names in the music industry and the videos he has made for SarahPAC.
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