Nate Weaver’s favorite parts of Southern California remind him of Indiana.

The music video director talks up nature, not fortune and fame, as a “worthwhile” reason to live there.

“I can drive five minutes north and be in a place that’s like Brown County,” says Weaver, who moved to California in 2000. “Streams, rocks and no people.”

He lives in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles known for the Rose Bowl football stadium. The home of Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth — who, coincidentally, spent his early years in Bloomington and New Castle — is a landmark on Weaver’s favorite bicycle route.

Indoors, he’s an active message-board participant on local Web site www.indianapolismusic.net.

“I’m always trying to keep my eye on Indianapolis,” says Weaver, who returned in January to work on a Hoosier Lottery commercial. “There’s a chance I might move back, and I guess I’m interested in what’s going on with bands here.”

The 37-year-old frequently works with pop-punk acts associated with the Vans Warped Tour, which makes sense for someone who made skateboard videos as a kid in his hometown of Goshen.

How did you get your start?

Answer: I worked on a couple of “Rescue 911” episodes in high school. They were made near Elkhart and Mishawaka, but all the crew came from Indianapolis. I met a gaffer named Mark Somers, and his brother, Craig Somers, who runs Somers Films in Zionsville. I worked for that company throughout the ’90s.

How’s life in the music-video business?

Only now am I getting to the point where I’m doing a video every month or every other month. The busiest directors are doing one or two a month. Music videos are ubiquitous, but along the way they became devalued. There’s hardly any such thing as an “event” music video anymore.

I’m interested in anything that has emotional content of any sort. I only start to get a little bummed when it’s just fluff music.

You’ve worked with bigger names lately. Are they really just like the rest of us?

I never wonder why people like Britney Spears go (loopy). The one thing that happens to all music stars is that someone always wants something from them. Always. If you understand their life is filled with somebody wanting something from them at all times, maybe you can figure out a way to give them something else.

What do you miss about Indiana?

I think it’s a little bit easier to connect with people in Indiana. It’s really easy to be intimidated in Los Angeles and go to get-togethers that some people would say pass for Hollywood parties. There is a hustle, and it becomes counterproductive and cartoony if you’re looking at the worst people doing it.

Where do you see your career in five years?

I would like to say I’ve shot a movie or two. I don’t mean something big necessarily, but I need to get my feet wet for a future beyond music video.

Nate Weaver’s credits

- Directed concert DVDs for rock band Taking Back Sunday, released in 2006 and 2007.

- Directed 2008 Against Me video “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart.”

- Directed 2008 Rocket Summer video “Do You Feel.”

- Upcoming: Videos for pop-punk bands the Maine and Pierce the Veil.

- For more information, visit www.nateweaver.net