Chris Brown Video Director Calls VMA Noms 'Crazy'

Colin Tilley has been having a heck of a year directing videos for Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Diddy-Dirty Money and Justin Bieber. Now, the California native finds two of his works nominated for the 2011 VMAs.

Tilley's clip for Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" is up for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Collaboration, while his video for Justin Bieber's "U Smile" garnered a nod in the Best Male Video category.

"It's crazy to see the videos that we've been doing getting awards, actually nominations in general, from the VMAs. It's pretty amazing," Tilley told on Tuesday when we visited the set of Wiz Khalifa's upcoming "No Sleep" video.

"As far as the hip-hop [category], 'Look at Me Now,' in general, is an amazing song. I remember when I got that song, I was like, 'Jeez, this is a hit right here. This is just going to win some awards,' as soon as I even I heard the song," Tilley recalled of the vid that features both Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. "The video just naturally and very seamlessly came together and we created something that I think is really cool."

While the director has worked most frequently with Brown — directing a number of his videos, including "Deuces," "She Ain't You" and "No BS" — Tilley also built a nice working relationship with Bieber after directing his 2010 visual for "Never Let You Go."

" 'U Smile' was a very special video because I got to see Justin grow up. So we definitely went for this cinematic, stylized feel that really just showcased him as an iconic artist, as an icon in general," the lens master said. "That was a really special experience. I remember the night before he had some award and he came to the set and he was really feeling himself. It was awesome."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live on Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for your favorites in the general categories by visiting VMA.MTV.com.