Production Company

Intergalactic Studios

Music Video Preservation Society returns to the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle on Friday, October 16th for a special night of audiovisual entertainment - with the directors of videos for Mercury-nominated artists Suede and Knats.Presented as one of the Mercury Fringe events leading up the 2026 Mercury Prize ceremony in Newcastle on Oct 22nd, <a href="https://tynesidecinema.co.uk/event/music-video-preservation-society/" target="_blank">Music Video Preservation Society: The Art Behind The Song</a>&nbsp;will showcase the best videos and other visuals that have accompanied this year's nominated albums.MVPS host David Knight has also invited some special guests - directors of videos by two of the nominated artists - to talk about their work.Chris Turner is a hugely experienced music video director - working under his monicker Favourite Colour: Black - who directed two great videos last year for Suede’s stunning return to form with the album Antidepressants. Chris will talking about how he captured the legendary Britpop outfit in full flow - and engaged with their avid superfans - for those videos, and reflect on more than a decade making videos for a wide range of artists, from folk-rocker KT Tunstall to new girl group Say Now.And rising director Lulu Vicedomini has been working with Knats, Newcastle’s very own exciting young jazz prodigies, who are also Mercury-nominated this year. As a director and creative director working at the band’s label - and also signed&nbsp;as a director at <a href="https://tynesidecinema.co.uk/event/music-video-preservation-society/" target="_blank">Intergalactic Studios</a> - we will hear how Lulu has been integral to the visual art accompanying their album A Great Day In Newcastle&nbsp;and the opportunities for young creatives in UK music.There will be lots more too - including videos from this year’s nominated artists, including Olivia Dean, Dave, Florence + The Machine, JADE, Kojey Radical, Paul McCartney and RAYE. And there will be a special report on the visual content accompanying nominated album HELP 2, created for the War Child charity, supervised by Oscar-winning director (and music video legend) Jonathan Glazer.• Tickets for Music Video Preservation Society: The Art Behind The Song are available now at the Tyneside Cinema box office <a href="https://tynesidecinema.co.uk/event/music-video-preservation-society/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Favourite Colour: Black

Lulu Vicedomini

Octopus Inc

MVPS Mercury Prize special in Newcastle - with directors Favourite Colour: Black and Lulu Vicedomini

Much-touted Irish-Cornish&nbsp;band Girl In The Year Above's very catchy tune gets a smart performance video by Dylan Friese-Greene, where singer Jennifer's tattoos come magically to life.The video for meme-friendly Wet Paint is as warm and inviting as the song, the band playing in a sun-drenched apartment. The winning device are the animations that replicate Jennifer's performance and the key message of the song:&nbsp;'wet paint... don't touch.'&nbsp;"We had a few naysayers about the animated tattoos," reveals&nbsp;Friese-Greene.&nbsp;"But that only spurred us on to see if it were possible."I'm grateful to all the crew and band limbs that were donated for the experiment!"[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Dylan Friese-Greene

Studio RM

Girl In The Year Above 'Wet Paint' by Dylan Friese-Greene

-Girl-In-The-Year-Above--'Wet-Paint'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Maxi McLachlan directs a striking promo for pop singer-songwriter Bea, where the artist remains firmly at the centre&nbsp;of an evolving story.&nbsp;The video for Ballet Pumps features a dazzling montage of vignettes with Bea (formerly known as Bea and her Business)&nbsp;at the centre, faking her enthusiasm through a slew of social situations.&nbsp;"The song is all about forcing a smile to appease the expectations of those around you," explains McLachlan. "In order to visually strike that emotional chord we needed a concept we could create with our limited resources. Thus we constantly rotate around Bea, when she faces one way she is 'on' having to perform and play happy, as she turns around we reveal how she truly feels 'behind the scenes'."[imgtoken data:1]As the camera orbits around her, we get a peek behind the curtain of what's really going on, before a big cathartic moment at the end.&nbsp;"I wanted it to feel dizzying and at times overwhelming so that there is a real sense of force and pressure on Bea, one that we can experience with her," continues McLaghlan, adding&nbsp;that match-cutting between each location required careful planning and precision."Of course that all goes&nbsp;out the window when you're on set and hours behind. At that moment you're playing a game of chess with yourself on set, trying to think six steps ahead to save yourself a nightmare in the edit.&nbsp;Thankfully we had the best team helmed by my producer, Rhory Danniells, and DP, Léa Taillefer, without whom there would be no spark to this project."Léa pushed us to think big and cultivate a classic Hollywood look using classic Hollywood equipment (e.g. anamorphic 16mm and tungsten lighting) while Rhory made it all happen on a shoestring budget."&nbsp;Ultimately, it's&nbsp;brilliant showcase of creative cinematography and sharp direction, with Bea's performance as the anchor for the entire concept.&nbsp;&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Maxi Mclachlan

Singer-songwriter

Bea 'Ballet Pumps' by Maxi McLachlan

Bea--'Ballet-Pumps'-by-Maxi-Mclachlan

Sekou Abineri directs an atmospheric promo for Zambian-Scottish DJ and producer&nbsp;KILIMANJARO, featuring vocalist Rahh and the Thanda Choir.&nbsp;The video for Stumble boasts a fervent, gospel-like quality, anchored by confident performances from the artists. In the studio setting where the choir are statuesque figures surrounding the central partnership of&nbsp;KILIMANJARO and Raah, the video picks up on the light and dark within the track.The message of the song is inspirational: it's not the stumble, it's what you do afterwards&nbsp;that really counts. And that has inspired an&nbsp;emotive and cinematic video.[imgtoken data:1]

Sekou Abineri

Leethal Reppin

Dance

Gospel

KILIMANJARO ft Rahh 'Stumble' by Sekou Abineri

-Kilimanjaro-'Stumble-Ft.-Rahh-'-by-Sekou-Abineri

With the help of tennis great Andy Murray and the music of Memotone, James Humby takes a refreshingly different approach to often predictable field of sports footwear advertising for Hylo.Directed by Humby and co-produced with Intergalactic Studios and Untold Studios, the project is a humorous and impactful promotion of the expanding relationship between Andy Murray and Hylo, the performance shoe&nbsp;using bio-based materials including corn and castor beans.With deadpan, tongue-in-cheek humour - an approach&nbsp;the director has applied successfully in his Molten Jets live music series (as Ja Humby) -&nbsp;the film draws on&nbsp;Andy Murray and Roger Federer’s well-known rivalry as a springboard for a playful clash between Hylo and its more established competitors.[imgtoken data:1]There is an unpolished, behind-the-scenes feel as&nbsp;Murray is presented at a press launch for the new Hylo shoe where,&nbsp;to his frustration,&nbsp;the press only want to talk about his on-court rivalry with Federer, the tennis legend&nbsp;now associated with rising Swiss sportswear brand On.Titled It’s Not About Him, the film uses this dynamic to cleverly subvert expectations, turning sporting rivalry into a comedic device that drives attention to a product built not just for output, but with material innovation and environmental impact in mind. And Humby's mockumentary-style approach, completely different to a&nbsp;traditional brand campaign, underlines the statement that&nbsp;the future of performance wear is sustainable.&nbsp;“I’m drawn to things that aren’t immediately obvious, so leaning into Andy’s dry, deadpan humour, the candid documentary-style approach, understated performances, and slower pace (than you’d expect from an ad) were ways of counterbalancing the slapstick with a sense of observational realism," explains Humby."Memotone’s music and Jake Ashwell’s mix helped to shape a kind of fever dream, reflecting Andy and Hylo’s anxiety around the partnership, with nods to Roger Federer’s successful investment in On serving as an inside joke for the runners these high-performance shoes are aimed at.”

Ja Humby

Untold Studios

Hylo 'Its Not About Him' by James Humby

"It's not about him"

Dylan Friese-Greene directs an evocative&nbsp;promo&nbsp;for singer-songwriter Lucy Rose that's&nbsp;focused upon a part of the body crucial to our social connectiveness - our hands.&nbsp;The video for Scared Of Loving Wild Again is packed with vignettes where people are using their hands to communicate and connect with each other. It was shot on the director's own 16mm Canon Scoopic camera, which gives the video a documentary look and raw, intimate aesthetic.&nbsp;An abstract, artistic and beautiful piece, the video takes everyday moments - using the hands of Friese-Greene's friends and family - and elevates them to a cinematic scale, lingering on body language instead of words.&nbsp;A perfect complement to the melancholic track.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alt Pop

Singer songwriter

Lucy Rose 'Scared Of Loving Wild Again' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Lucy-Rose-'Scared-Of-Loving-Wild-Again'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Callum Lloyd-James directs a tender promo for&nbsp;Grace Gachot.&nbsp;The video for Naked centres around Gachot's intimate performance, shot in a gentle, almost candid way.&nbsp;Stripped back but beautifully executed, the video builds to a moment of catharsis, punctuated by dazzling light effects.&nbsp;It's a stirring, powerful visual, imbued with a sense of escapism.[imgtoken data:1]

Callum Lloyd-James

Grace Gachot 'Naked' by Callum Lloyd-James

Grace-Gachot--'Naked'-by-Callum-Lloyd-james

Rubii gets revenge on some bad guys after suspecting some dodgy dealing in a card game, in&nbsp;Sekou Abineri's slick&nbsp;showcase for the Birmingham-born&nbsp;alt-R&amp;B singer.Taking no prisoners - but a couple of hostages in vibrant red hoods - we follow Rubii as she plans her revenge in the video for Forgive &amp; Forget. Within the setting of a palatial home, she taunts&nbsp;the men with the prospect of a grisly fate between performance setups.&nbsp;It's a fun visual, blending crime thrillers&nbsp;with music video aesthetics, and feels like a natural yet elevated accompaniment to the track.&nbsp;Great work by Sekou Abineri - who has also directed visualisers for the sultry Rubii.&nbsp;

UK Rap

Rubii 'Forgive & Forget' by Sekou Abineri

RUBII - FORGIVE & FORGET (Official Music Video)

Shame frontman Charlie Steen rides the Wall Of Death for Cutthroat - the band's third impressive team-up with director&nbsp;Ja Humby.Steen takes to the legendary Wall on his motorbike, wearing a dog collar and no shirt - can he really be doing his own stunts? - as the band perform beneath him (which also looks quite dangerous).&nbsp;And when he's not on his bike he's parading in the arena wearing gold shorts like a puny bodybuilder in front of some quizzical spectators - and still wearing the dog collar.It's a characteristically pugnacious&nbsp;performance from Shame's frontman in a Humby-directed visual, having previously played a manic wannabe influencer in the <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/11/21/shame-fingers-steel-ja-humby/79364" target="_blank">Fingers Of Steel</a> video. And as the first video from their new album its&nbsp;also a fine introduction to the band's new edgy garage rock direction.[imgtoken data:1]

Rock

Shame 'Cutthroat' by Ja Humby

Shame--'Cutthroat'-by-Ja-Humby

Jasmine De Silva directs an all-singing, all-dancing&nbsp;promo for Cian Ducrot, marking an uplifting new direction for the Grammy-winning Irish singer-songwriter.&nbsp;Inspired by classic Hollywood musicals, the video for Who's Making You Feel It sees Cian at the centre of a series of&nbsp;playfully choreographed sequences, building to a cinematic climax.&nbsp;Packed full of charismatic charm and breezy vibes, it was also something of a departure for Jasmine De Silva, who had never attempted a choreography-based film before this project. But she was able to conjure an impressive old-school musical on a New York-style backlot stage, working with choreographer Liv Lockwood.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"It was so much fun being part&nbsp;of Cian Ducrot's campaign, entering his new era," says De Silva. "He was awesome to work with from the beginning, with amazing energy and an inspiring dedication to step out of his comfort zone.<blockquote>We wanted to create the sense that Cian sparks joy in the characters he encounters.</blockquote>"I pitched something that excited the hell out of me. I wanted to create a Kodachrome colour explosion, an Old-Hollywood-inspired mini musical, reminiscent of Singing In The Rain, La La&nbsp;Land and The Wizard of Oz - with a sprinkle of Michael Jackson's Thriller video. "Given that I’ve barely watched musicals, have never worked with a choreographer, and can't dance, it made no sense for me to pitch this, but that made it a testament to the magic that can happen when you leap into new territory, and let the powerful net of collaboration catch you.[imgtoken data:2]"Working with the incredible choreographer&nbsp;Liv Lockwood opened my eyes to the true meaning of less is more, by allowing the movement to tell this story. We wanted to create the sense that Cian sparks joy in the characters he encounters, and no matter how many times I saw the choreography with Cian and our wonderful dancers flying through the space, I just felt pure joy."Together they put so much work into it, yet it looks effortless. All of this was tied together with the seamless and mesmerising cinematography by Jed Darlington-Roberts, capturing the retro-Hollywood aesthetic with a twist. "Filming in a New York backlot is a dream I didn't think would come true just yet. It was scary yet epic to have the luxury of working in a large set, when I'm so used to controlled studio environments. The backlot was a big part of building the world. Although it looks pretty realistic, I loved the idea of it appearing theatrical and hyperreal to amplify the musical approach."

Jasmine De Silva

Cian Ducrot 'Who’s Making You Feel It' by Jasmine De Silva

Cian-Ducrot--'Who’s-Making-You-Feel-It-'-by-Jasmine-De-Silva

Rhory Danniells directs a stunning performance promo for the return of Stereophonics.&nbsp;The video for&nbsp;There's Always Gonna Be Something&nbsp;opens with a montage of on-set BTS footage, before diving into a red-tinged performance by the band led by the seemingly ageless Kelly Jones - filmed to replicate the look of Kodak Aerochrome infrared film - within a Georgian-style summerhouse.&nbsp;"When I was asked to pitch an idea for the Stereophonics with a Kodak Aerochrome infrared film look I was pretty excited - but also had no idea how to achieve it," admits Danniells. "Kodak Aerochrome was originally developed in the 1940s for military reconnaissance. The stock was discontinued in 2007 so the solution needed to be found digitally."We used Arri's modified Alexa that allows the full spectrum of light, from ultraviolet to infrared. This was used in combination with an IR Chrome filter to get us closer to the Aerochrome look."Being able to do this in-camera digitally and not in post was a gamechanger&nbsp;but also came with its problems. I really want to thank DoP Stephen Dunn, his crew and everyone at Arri rental for all the time and effort that went into this project."

Rhory Danniells

Company 3

Stereophonics 'There's Always Gonna Be Something' by Rhory Danniells

Stereophonics--'There's-Always-Gonna-Be-Something'-by-Rhory--Danniells

Lucy Rose finds a very capable stand-in performer in the&nbsp;video for Sail Away: none other than&nbsp;Danny Dyer.Dyer - who is a big fan of Lucy's - offered to be in the video, and director Dylan Friese-Greene has responded to the challenge by providing a marvellous showcase for both the artist's song and in revealing a previously unseen side of one of Britain's best-loved 'hard men' actors.Friese-Greene's video&nbsp;features an impressive lip sync performance from Dyer at the beach, as he floats above the water and leans into the surreality of the moment.&nbsp;With relaxing sunset vibes and a calming, transcendent concept, it's a&nbsp;tour de force&nbsp;of creative experimentation, and works brilliantly alongside the track.&nbsp; "I wanted to put Danny in a setting that felt a bit different and incongruous to places we’d seen before," explains Friese-Greene."We discussed playing it like he was on some mad trip, taking in the world in a really sensory way. Kudos to him for lip-syncing someone else’s song at double speed over the side of a boat."[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Indie

Lucy Rose 'Sail Away' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Lucy-Rose-'Sail-Away'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

<h3>Ja&nbsp;Humby has established&nbsp;a reputation for directing live music videos driven by idiosyncratic concepts. Now he's made&nbsp;a superb live film for Yard Act, by exploiting the potential of virtual production to place the band's performance in an ironic, lo-fi animated 'Utopia'. We talked to Humby to find out more about the project.&nbsp;</h3>It's been the hallmark of James 'Ja' Humby's Molten Jets series to build a multi-song performance by a band&nbsp;around an intriguing, off-kilter concept. And that itself has usually pushed the artists&nbsp;he's worked with to new heights.Like, for instance, King Krule performing in spacesuits on the Moon; or Franc Moody in the crowded 'lift to the stars' of a strange&nbsp;hotel, accompanied by aliens; or a mock-doc about Shame's return to action, where they play a show in the nearly empty Brixton Academy.&nbsp;Humby builds intriguing visual worlds around the bands' live shows - and draws out authentically great performances from them in the process.He also takes great care about the recording of the music itself. It's so well done, in fact, that&nbsp;XL released the recording of his&nbsp;Live on the Moon&nbsp;film for King Krule as a limited edition picture disc vinyl LP.Now Humby has welcomed the Mercury Prize-nominated rock band Yard Act into his Molten Jets universe - and pushed the envelope creatively and technically on the live video concept with Live From Utopia,&nbsp;a live performance of six songs from Where's My Utopia?, the band's acclaimed new album.&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]It places the band within a version&nbsp;of the album's cover illustrations, created&nbsp;by artist Tom Robinson, which subtly changes through the course of session. Established with the first song, An Illusion, the band are caught between painted waves and an apocalyptic landscape - crashed plane, crumbled tower blocks, dead tree&nbsp;- against a blue sky, elevated above the look of a small theatre stage show with elements of animation, such as the motion of the waves.With the next track&nbsp;Fizzy Fish, the sea in front of&nbsp;the band comes alive with flying fish; in Dream Job the sky begins to turn pink, with blue hands reaching out of the waves; then&nbsp;in Grifter's Grief the cartoon sun, sinking in the sky, gets ever larger, redder and angrier.&nbsp;In the confessional&nbsp;Down By The Stream, it's nighttime, and lightning strikes before falling into complete darkness, illuminating only singer James Smith's face.Finally for Vineyard Of The North, it becomes a more benign illuminated nighttime scene where lighter flames illuminate the foreground and background.&nbsp;And none of this&nbsp;detracts from the performance itself, which captures a band at the top of their game, revealing the increasing sophistication of their sound and musical ambition.&nbsp;It was achieved by shooting the session on a virtual production stage, MARS Volume in West London,&nbsp;with Humby introducing new unexpected ways&nbsp;to utilize the state-of-the art screen technology, employing Unreal Engine for real time animation&nbsp;and a good old-fashioned studio set build, to create his own charming and leftfield&nbsp;version of Utopia.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yard Act - Live From Utopia&nbsp;has just been&nbsp;released in full, so we&nbsp;spoke to Ja Humby about the project, about the future of live videos, and more...[imgtoken data:1]Above: Ja Humby (second right), plus crew and band, on the set of 'Live From Utopia'<blockquote>I’d wanted to do a virtual production... so I attempted a modern twist&nbsp;on a DIY set build.&nbsp;</blockquote>How did the Yard Act project begin? What was the brief?JA HUMBY: They wanted me to bring the Where's My Utopia? album artwork to life with a Molten Jets-style live film that was inventive and striking, but not overly polished. There was a suggestion of taking inspiration from early film set builds for a DIY feel.&nbsp;How did you end up using a virtual production studio? Tell us about that process.JH: I attempted a 'modern twist' on a DIY set build, because I’d wanted to do a virtual production for a while. Rather than creating the photoreal environments conventionally displayed on LED screens, we applied slapdash 2D animation to illustrations pulled from the&nbsp;various forms of album artwork created by Thomas Robinson. He even gave&nbsp;up some evenings to do bespoke illustrations for our environment before the shoot.[imgtoken data:2]Above: Production designer Lyndon Ogbourne's plan for the 'Live From Utopia' setThese artwork&nbsp;assets were animated in Unreal by my friend Tom Flavelle at No Ghost and printed for the physical set by production designer Lyndon Ogbourne.&nbsp;I’d already used Unreal Engine in a weird/wrong way for the backgrounds&nbsp;in a spoof Chabuddy G music video I directed for Kurupt FM&nbsp;with the guidance of VFX don Simon Legrand. He’s&nbsp;full time at a production company I work with a lot, but kindly gave up some free time to help me out as a virtual production supervisor on this one.That’s how we ended up shooting at the MARS Volume, so it could’ve been entirely different without Simon. He'd never seen this much animation in a VP shoot before and that's down to our Terry Gilliam-inspired approach of simple jerky movement, allowing Flav to get loads done without trying to perfect anything.[imgtoken data:3]Above: Yard Act frontman James Smith (right) with producer Rhory Danniells (second left), and VFX supervisor Simon Legrand (third left) on set of the 'Live From Utopia' shootIt’s hard to tell where the physical set build ends and the digital world begins. Your art department and VFX artists must have worked closely together?JH: Although they were using the same source material, they actually barely spoke. Flav&nbsp;is massively overqualified for this style of animation, but&nbsp;he had loads to do in just a few days. We’ve known each other&nbsp;since our teens, so to avoid dwelling on pointless nostalgia, I just tried to let him get on with it.The set designer Lyndon had a clear vision and made clever use of limited funds to arrange the physical set in a way that really complimented the virtual environment.&nbsp;We knew any inconsistencies between the virtual and physical sets&nbsp;would help ensure&nbsp;it wasn't 'overly polished'. Colourist Adam Clarke did a great&nbsp;job of giving DoP Jed Darlington-Robert’s digital footage a warm 'film' aesthetic too.[imgtoken data:4]Above: Stage at MARS Volume, shooting 'Live From Utopia'There’s a very visual narrative happening around the band through the six songs, can you elaborate on what’s going on?JH: The progression from morning to night informed the colour changes for each track. There’s also some album theme references within the virtual environment, particularly with stuff like the fire and the behaviour of the confident sun getting charged up and angry, while the&nbsp;anxious moon reflects on mistakes.James Smith [frontman of Yard Act]&nbsp;wanted a glimmer of hope to remain, so I left one surviving leaf on the tree after it was struck&nbsp;by lightning. The sea is a bit like a festival crowd, with more hands gathering around the rocky beach stage as the performance progresses, although you might just think it's people drowning.Much like the album artwork, it’s open for the audience to decipher meaning from it. But you're meant to look at the band anyway!<blockquote>XR/VR seems like the future, with opportunities for more immersive experiences for fans.</blockquote>How was&nbsp;working&nbsp;with Yard Act?JH: They’re really friendly and easy to work with, exactly as you'd expect from [a band from] up north. James's&nbsp;lyrics are a treasure trove for music video ideas. But after slipping down an ‘ancient Greek&nbsp;orator's platform’ rabbit hole for a few hours, I had to rein it in and focus on the decent performance capture they were after.Their mix of cynical humour and sometimes serious themes allowed contrasting looks throughout and the upbeat music was asking for an energetic cut.[imgtoken data:5]Above: Still from 'Live From Utopia'High concept live&nbsp;videos are a staple of the music video landscape now. What do you think the future of live videos is?JH: XR/VR definitely seems like the future. It's still early days, but with real-time rendering offering the ability to broadcast VFX-heavy productions live, there's definitely&nbsp;opportunities for more immersive experiences for fans. The main hurdle is always budget. The&nbsp;possibilities are endless, but kids seem happy with&nbsp;TikToks, so I'm hardly counting on Elon Musk's investment.&nbsp;Your music video for Shame was brilliant and nominated for a UKMVA last year. Will we see you directing more music videos alongside live projects?JH: Thanks a lot. Yeah I was really chuffed with that nomination. Music videos have a clear advantage over live films when it comes to storytelling. The Fingers of Steel vid allowed the kind of social commentary I can't quite shoehorn into a live performance, so I'll definitely be doing more of that.&nbsp;• Ja Humby is represented by Intergalactic Studios. Check out more of his work <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/directors/ja-humby" target="_blank">here</a>

Ja Humby on Yard Act's Live From Utopia: 'They wanted something inventive and striking.'

Yard-Act-'Live-From-Utopia-'-by-Ja-Humby

Ja Humby directs a hypnotic live session for Yard Act, as part of his noteworthy Molten Jets series.&nbsp;Surrounded by real-time visual effects based on the original album artwork, the immersive session is a&nbsp;tour de force&nbsp;of performance and innovative filmmaking.&nbsp;A playful, eccentric and fun concept, anchored by delightful performances all-round.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Studio Island

Alternative

Yard Act 'Live From Utopia' by Ja Humby

Rhory Danniells and the band's vocalist Clari Freeman-Taylor direct an eerie live promo for up and coming alt-rock trio Mary In The Junkyard.&nbsp;Following the imaginative lo-fi promo for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2024/03/22/mary-junkyard-ghost-clari-freeman-taylor-rhory-danniells/85787">Ghost</a>&nbsp;- also co-directed by Danniells and Freeman-Taylor -&nbsp;the video for Marble Arch sees the group perform in a pitch black basement, captured in night vision in a continuous handheld one-shot.&nbsp;It's an arresting visual, evoking horror films such as Rec. It's&nbsp;also a fun spin on the live video format and a testament to the creativity of the director and band.&nbsp;Don't be afraid of the dark - unless you come across this lot playing in your basement!&nbsp;

Clari Freeman-taylor

Alt Rock

Mary In The Junkyard 'Marble Arch' by Clari Freeman-Taylor, Rhory Danniells

Mary-In-The-Junkyard-'Marble-Arch'-by-Clari-Freeman-taylor,rhory-Danniells

Ja Humby returns to his inventive Molten Jets live series - previous subjects have included King Krule, Franc Moody and shame - with a highly&nbsp;entertaining live performance&nbsp;by Yard Act&nbsp;in an&nbsp;unusual set.The Leeds band play&nbsp;A&nbsp;Vineyard For The North - from just-released new album Where's My Utopia? - amid a virtual set build which&nbsp;takes inspiration from vintage animation, surrealism and the album cover. The group perform with confident gusto within this setting, establishing an atmosphere that's captivating - both vibrantly live yet also slightly uncanny.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;an ambitious marriage of technology, creativity and performance craft, and the result is a&nbsp;very distinctive, even unique, live video.[imgtoken data:1]

Yard Act 'A Vineyard For The North (Live from Utopia)' by Ja Humby

Yard-Act-'A-Vineyard-For-The-North-(live-From-Utopia)'-by-Ja-Humby

A strange tale of transformation&nbsp;unfolds in an imaginative video for alt-folk&nbsp;trio Mary In The Junkyard, co-directed by Rhory Danniells and&nbsp;the band's vocalist&nbsp;Clari Freeman-Taylor.The whimsical video for Ghost follows the journey of an intrepid moth&nbsp;into the lives of the band as they chill out at home, his invasion of Clari's body, and the&nbsp;resulting metamorphosis within the house.With a range of lo-fi techniques, including shadow puppetry, Danniells and Freeman-Taylor find a charming space between reality and fantasy, childlike wonder and something darker, as the themes of&nbsp;Kafka and David Cronenberg's The Fly arrive in leafy London suburbia...&nbsp;

Mary In The Junkyard 'Ghost' by Clari Freeman-Taylor, Rhory Danniells

Mary-In-The-Junkyard-'Ghost'-by-Clari-Freeman-taylor,rhory--Danniells

2023 was a year of award-winning work and roster expansion for Intergalactic Studios. Now the London-based company has kicked off 2024 by announcing the addition of three new directors:&nbsp;Jasmine De Silva, Lulu Vicedomini and Duncan Lewis.Jasmine De SilvaJasmine De Silva (above, centre) has directed music videos for Ellie Dixon, Lyza Jane and Luxury Goods and the fashion film How To Build Your Human, in the process creating immersive worlds in a playful pop-art style.&nbsp;She studied fashion photography at the London College of Fashion, and has won awards for emerging talent in both photography and directing.“Jasmine’s sparkly feminine worlds and concepts are so captivating,"&nbsp;says Intergalactic co-MD&nbsp;Rhory Danniells. "We’ve worked on a number of projects with her now and it’s always fun to walk onto a set that’s instantly recognisable as a Jasmine De Silva shoot - not just in look, but energy too. Her good vibes are infectious.”&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]“I'm super excited to join the Intergalactic roster!" adds De Silva. "When I first saw their work a few years ago, I instantly loved the playful range of directors they team up with and the vibrant projects they get their hands on. Having collaborated with them a few times now, I've always felt so supported&nbsp;creatively right from the start and can't wait to see what the next year brings as we work together more.”• Watch Jasmine De Silva's work on Intergalactic Studios' website <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/directors/jasmine-de-silva" target="_blank">here</a>.Lulu VicedominiRecent Italian transplant Lulu Vicedomini (above, left) caught the attention of Intergalactic with her (literal) bird’s eye view video, Sud Italia for Giovanni ti Amo. She has also directed acclaimed videos for D-Ross and Delicatoni in her native Italy.The director and production company have now collaborated on her first UK-shot video, building a miniature village theme park and a life-sized funhouse for indie supergroup FIZZ's The Secret To Life, where the band discover they are starring in a sitcom against their will and subsequently escape their film-set-prison through a magic wormhole discovered on their smoke break."I’ve never read anything as complicated as Lulu’s scripts, and I got through most of The Da Vinci Code," comments Intergalactic's other co-MD, Tom Ringsby. "You have to fully immerse yourself in her vision and leave conventions behind. Her films feel hand-made and free. She’s indifferent to music video trends and is more likely to reference Japanese arthouse and Italian soap operas, which is why we consistently hear from commissioners that she delivers the most unique interpretations on briefs."We’re super excited to sit on more calls with Lulu acting out her scripts to clarify which shots are flashbacks and which ones are dream sequences.”[vidtoken data:1]“I am very grateful for Intergalactic’s unwavering support and guidance in my creative journey," adds Lulu&nbsp;Vicedomini.&nbsp;"I am excited to join their roster and looking forward to work on more fun, surreal projects together. In the words of ‘the man from another place’ let’s rock.”• Watch&nbsp;Lulu Vicedomini’s work on Intergalactic Studios’&nbsp;website <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/directors/lulu-vicedomini" target="_blank">here</a>.Duncan Lewis&nbsp;Since starting out filming his friends performing Jackass-stunts in their teens, Duncan Lewis has progressed to&nbsp;working with some of the world's leading brands and publications, including Motorola, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Barbour&nbsp;and Vogue.His energetic visual&nbsp;style has also translated from fashion and commercials into music videos, with Lewis directing promos for rapper p-rallel's Can't Get Enough and Get Down.&nbsp;“Duncan’s a director we’ve been circling for a while now," says Danniels.&nbsp;"Each video he's put out, be it for brands or musicians, raises the bar on his previous&nbsp;work and that's what's so exciting about&nbsp;having him with us at this stage. Watch this space.”[vidtoken data:2]“I’m really excited about starting 2024 by joining Intergalactic," adds Lewis. "After meeting them it was clear that we shared a strong passion for making stand-out films. Intergalactic had an excellent year in 2023 and I can’t wait to get started with them and join their journey while also being able to take my projects to the next level!”&nbsp;• Watch Duncan Lewis's work on Intergalactic Studios’&nbsp;website <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/directors/duncan-lewis" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;

Duncan Lewis

Directors Jasmine De Silva, Lulu Vicedomini and Duncan Lewis join Intergalactic Studios

Ellie-Dixon-'Swing!'-by-Jasmine-De-Silva-

Fizz-'The-Secret-To-Life'-by-Lulu-Vicedomini

p-rallel - Get Down (Official Video) ft. Kasien

In her first video since arriving at Intergalactic Studios, Lulu Vicedomini directs an unhinged fever dream for indie-popsters FIZZ.in the promo for The Secret To Life,&nbsp;Vicedomini creates 'Fizzville', a tabletop-sized themepark, before introducing the band as characters within this setting.&nbsp;But this scenario soon unravels, lines between fiction and reality blur, and things start to get supremely silly.&nbsp;When the band take a ciggie break, they&nbsp;begin to realise they are appearing in a video when they find the storyboards. After that the crew need to do everything to keep them within the video.&nbsp;&nbsp;

FIZZ 'The Secret To Life' by Lulu Vicedomini

Dylan Friese-Greene directs an effervescent promo for Lucy Rose.Incorporating abstract art and textures into the performance setups, the video for The Racket&nbsp;has a vintage vibe with an anachronistic, ethereal&nbsp;aesthetic.&nbsp;The dazzling vignettes feel inspired by&nbsp;vintage photography and experimental art, with offbeat cutaways that add an eccentric je ne sais quoi&nbsp;to the concept.&nbsp;

Lucy Rose 'The Racket' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Lucy-Rose-'The-Racket'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Tom Ringsby disrupts&nbsp;the conventions of capturing classical music&nbsp;performance in an ambitious promo for one of the world's greatest young pianists, Yunchan Lim.&nbsp;The video for Franz Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 "Love Dream" was shot using&nbsp;a thirty-panel lighting rig, transforming the studio space into an atmospheric setting fit for Lim's breathtaking performance.&nbsp;Captured in a single take, with a constantly moving camera&nbsp;and flickering lights - often in sync with the performance - the video is a fresh, unique take on classical music promos, and is a perfect balance of traditional and contemporary vibes.&nbsp;

Tom Ringsby

Classical

Yunchan Lim 'Franz Liszt: Liebestraum No. 3 "Love Dream" (Live Performance)' by Tom Ringsby

Yunchan-Lim-'Franz-Liszt:-Liebestraum-No.-3-"love-Dream"-(live-Performance)'-by-Tom-Ringsby

Sahra Zadat directs an extravagant and ambitious live promo&nbsp;for pop singer-songwriter&nbsp;Griff's return - featuring performances of five new songs: Vertigo, Into The Walls, 19th Floor and Astronaut - all shot on 16mm at a stunning palatial location.&nbsp;The live performances for&nbsp;Vert1go Vol. 1 opens&nbsp;with a low-angle perspective of a winding staircase for the first song, and moves through the grand building to an outdoor space. It&nbsp;is well-executed in its progression, and the changes in location allow Griff to showcase her multifaceted talents as a performer.&nbsp;Textural and intimate, the video contrasts the location with a personal performance, allowing the music and concept to co-exist in a gentle yet alluring way.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Sahra Zadat

Griff 'Vert1go Vol. 1 (Live Performance)' by Sahra Zadat

Griff-'Vert1go-Vol.-1-(live-Performance)'-by-Sahra-Zadat

Dylan Friese-Greene directs an abstract performance promo for Lucy Rose.The perpetually-dynamic video for Could You Help Me features the artist performing at a piano, appearing at different positions in a blank studio space via the help of&nbsp;camera trickery&nbsp;and edit effects.&nbsp;Experimental and fun, the video features cutaways of a zoetrope - and similar style graphics - to create a dizzying rhythm of endless revolutions in the space.&nbsp;Hypnotising and stirring, and a perfect match to the track.&nbsp;

Lucy Rose 'Could You Help Me' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Lucy-Rose-'Could-You-Help-Me'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Dylan Friese-Greene pays homage to classic horror cinema in his hypnotic promo for Felixthe1st.&nbsp;Taking place at a spooky, blood-soaked prom, the video sees the artist perform amongst a cast of horror icons and mysterious masked guests.&nbsp;Intercut with stylish freeze-frames and conceptual photography, the video is an otherworldly trip just in time for Halloween.&nbsp;

Felixthe1st 'Friday 13th' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Felixthe1st-'Friday-The-13th'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Dylan Friese-Greene directs a captivating multi-format promo for Chartreuse.The video for All Seeing All The Time interweaves gritty exterior portraits with stark document scans, which relate to eye diagrams&nbsp;and highlighted words from the lyrics.&nbsp;Blended together with&nbsp;eye-test performance setups, it's the perfect example of an abstract concept elevated to its full potential, and is hugely watchable.&nbsp;The relatively everyday visuals are cut together in&nbsp;an offbeat, eerie way, which matches the enigmatic soundscapes in the track, and creates a haunting vibe throughout.&nbsp;

Cinelab Film and Digital

dark pop

Chartreuse 'All Seeing All The Time' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Chartreuse-'All-Seeing-All-The-Time'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Biig Piig wakes on the morning after the night before and stirs her buddy Kojaque by unconventional means in Dylan Friese-Greene's highly enjoyable visual for WOOF.&nbsp;Emerging from a slurry of hungover friends and party leftovers, the Irish rapper and Anglo-Spanish singer quickly return to the mood of last night's festivities. The pair dance around the messy living room, before the flashbacks begin - snatches of last night's party in full swing under strobe lights.It's a classic concept executed perfectly, putting&nbsp;a more fun spin than&nbsp;usual on the 'morning after' experiences with playful performances from both artists and solid art direction. An impressive addition to Dylan Friese-Greene's work in music videos over the past couple of years.

Kojaque ft Biig Piig 'WOOF' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Kojaque-Ft.-Biig-Piig-'Woof'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Sarah Dattani Tucker directs an atmospheric video for Puma Blue which sees the artist - real name Jacob Allen - running away from a mysterious force.The gritty monochromatic promo for Dream Of You is captured in a single shot, filmed at dusk, from a low angle body rig attached to Allen as he moves across a beach, attempting to evade this force. And it turns out with good reason:&nbsp;when the silhouetted character finally catches up with him, we realise he is in the unmistakeable clutch of Death.&nbsp;It's a stirring vision, and one that comes with a lot of subtext to unpack. Whilst the details of what are&nbsp;going on are left quite abstract, the overall concept explores acceptance in a beautifully rich way.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"Jacob had this idea about running away from Death until Death eventually catches up with him," says Sarah Dattani Tucker.&nbsp;"I wanted to create a visual that evokes a dreaminess in the narrative and the song. The angle, rig and frame-rate we chose to capture the running were all designed to create a sense of lucid dreaming, a consciousness in a dream state, forcing a movement that feels slow and unavailable."The moment the camera spins around Jacob is an exploration of this dreamlike environment, adding unexpected movement in the one shot video to capture the surreal-ness of it - like in&nbsp;Enter The Void&nbsp;when the camera POV almost becomes its own character.""This is one of my favourite videos we’ve ever done," says Allen. "I’m always trying to say more with less, but it’s much harder in practice than in theory. Working with Sarah and her team was such a positive experience, everyone was so sweet to each other during this tempestuous, coastal downpour as we were losing light&nbsp;and Mia Gill chased me up and down the grey dunes as Death."This video hurt a lot. Physically, the rig was heavy enough that I had bruises on my ribs and sides the next day; everyone was shivering and soaked through by the end of the night. But I also experienced a painful loss when I returned home, and seeing the video back for the first time brought me to tears. It was almost too real."

Sarah Dattani Tucker

Puma Blue 'Dream Of You' by Sarah Dattani Tucker

Puma-Blue-'Dream-Of-You'-by-Sarah-Dattani-Tucker

Directing duo&nbsp;NWSPK create an effortlessly slick promo for Ragz Originale.With a breezy, nostalgic aesthetic and a focus on pure performance, the video feels filmic and intimate, which is reflected in both the shoot style and format, as explained below:"We wanted to create a flowing endless movement to reflect the smooth vibe of the track," say NWSPK."We eventually settled on a mix of slowly spinning camera moves, taking inspiration from classic Spike Lee films such as 'Mo' Better Blues&nbsp;and his signature dolly shots."Ragz is always adamant on shooting 16mm film which is a joy when the artist&nbsp;pushes for this as much as we do. This helped us create a classic New York/Brooklyn 90s/00s feel which there are nods too in the track, but still felt uniquely UK R'n'B."

NWSPK

Sam E H Hooper

Experimental

Ragz Originale 'Pay Ur Bills' by NWSPK

Dylan Friese-Greene presents a hallucinatory analogue promo for Pale Blue Eyes.&nbsp;Framed by the contours of a vintage TV set, we see a vibrant, distorted montage of performance vignettes, blended with pixellated textures and overlays.&nbsp;Harking back to the nostalgia of early music videos, the whole thing feels delightfully abstract and experimental, and the trippy vibes build to a mesmerising climax.

Pale Blue Eyes 'Takes Me Over' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Pale Blue Eyes - Takes Me Over [Official Video]

Tom Ringsby directs a striking monochromatic promo for pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason.With sweeping camera movement, a stripped-back colour palette and a focus on pure performance, the video for Children's Corner is a stunning two and a half minutes, made under extreme time pressures - as explained by Tom Ringsby below:"[The video was]&nbsp;put together in five days following an email chain with the subject line 'urgent music video request'," he explains. "[We]&nbsp;only had 90 minutes with classical pianist superstar Isata, so focused everything into capturing a few key angles, subtly bringing the themes of time and memory to life by setting her Steinway Grand between the camera and key light as they revolve around her."Job done. It's a beautiful piece of work that doesn't hint at the time constraints in any way, and showcases&nbsp;Kanneh-Mason's immense gift with style and grace.

Isata Kanneh-Mason 'Children's Corner' by Tom Ringsby

Isata-Kanneh-mason-'Children's-Corner'-by-Tom-Ringsby

Devon Kuziw allows the inner joy of a proud father&nbsp;to express itself in dance, in this heartwarming promo for the latest single from alt-popster grentperez - the follow-up to his clever video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2023/04/06/grentperez-us-without-me-devon-kuziw/81083" target="_blank">Us Without Me</a>.In the video for When The Day Is Done, a Dad - played by Patrick Loh - lets himself be literally&nbsp;moved by his son's song, breaking out into a joyous dance in his suburban home.It all builds to a magical climax, where the feelings come to life via a beautiful barrage of floating white feathers.&nbsp;A really&nbsp;celebratory, charming video for a feelgood track.&nbsp;

Australia

Devon Kuziw

grentperez 'When The Day Is Done' by Devon Kuziw

Grentperez-'When-The-Day-Is-Done'-by-Devon-Kuziw

Dylan Friese-Greene riffs on the mortal thoughts of Skinny Pelembe&nbsp;- with the help of AI.The video for Deadman Deadman Deadman features over 500 AI-generated faces, but Friese-Greene uses the technology quite subtly, to reflect the musician/producer's&nbsp;musings on the big question: what's it all about?From the 'real' Skinny Pelembe, aka Doya Beardmore, in a photographic studio set-up,&nbsp;we get machine-created spin-offs of the artist, intercut with numerous older, craggier faces, that repeat and multiply. And throughout, there is the symbol of our inevitable destination -&nbsp;the skull -&nbsp;rendered in different forms and illustrations, including being cradled, Hamlet-like, by Pelembe.Friese-Greene's clever use of the technology gets to the heart of the matter - and it also does a great job in presenting Skinny Pelembe in an impactful&nbsp;way.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Skinny Pelembe 'Deadman Deadman Deadman' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Skinny-Pelembe-'Deadman-Deadman-Deadman'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Devon Kuziw explores life after heartbreak&nbsp;from a new, lighter perspective, in this playful&nbsp;promo for Aussie indie-pop artist grentperez.&nbsp;&nbsp;The video for Us Without Me follows the adventures of a red baseball cap, discovered by a variety of different characters as they go about their day-to-day lives.&nbsp;Utilising practical, in-camera techniques - placing the body of the camera in the mouths of each cap-wearing cast member - the video has a distinctive look. It places the hat centre-stage in frame and switching up the energy of the video with each different wearer.&nbsp;Kuziw's clever approach gives a&nbsp;easygoing but charismatic energy to the visuals, and fits nicely with grentperez's sweetly downbeat song.[imgtoken data:1]

Indie pop

grentperez 'Us Without Me' by Devon Kuziw

grentperez - Us Without Me (Official Music Video)

<h3>In the latest of our series asking British music video-makers about their experiences last year and thoughts on the coming year, we talk to Tom Ringsby (above right)&nbsp;- co-founder and EP at Intergalactic Studios.&nbsp;</h3>Having founded Intergalactic with Rhory Danniells (above left) just over two years ago, Tom reflects on the return of travelling overseas to shoot in 2022,&nbsp;and predicts that 2023 will be a big&nbsp;year... for lyric videos.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2022How would you describe last year in a few words?Less masks, more laughs.What was your favourite project or projects you worked on last year?Shame's Fingers of Steel&nbsp;- any reason to be around Ja Humby and baby oil.[vidtoken data:0]Above: Shame's Fingers Of Steel, directed by Ja HumbyAny other project you enjoyed that deserved more attention, or went under the radar?Depzman's Life Cut Short&nbsp;went viral, all the way to BBC News, but still deserved more attention. Also Jasmine De Silva’s wig-design for Ellie Dixon's Swing!What were the best aspects of the job last year?Three continents in one week.[vidtoken data:1]Above: Depzman's Life Cut Short, directed by BRIGHTNIGHT<blockquote>Depzman's&nbsp;Life Cut Short went viral, all the way to BBC News, but still deserved more attention.</blockquote>What were the most challenging aspects of the job last year?Getting stuck in a crawl-space with Anupam Tripathi.Best or favourite video or videos last year that you weren’t involved with?<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/06/16/joji-glimpse-us-dan-streit/76856" target="_blank">Joji's Glimpse of Us</a>.What was other cultural highlight (or highlights) of the year?Cate Blanchett&nbsp;in Tár.Any other personal experience that defines 2022 for you?Shot an experimental documentary project in Ghana that’s out soon. Watch out for&nbsp;Dragon Boys.<blockquote>[I expect to see]&nbsp;more lyric videos with set-builds and three-arc narratives.</blockquote>2023What are you looking forward to in 2023 – both for work and for other parts of your life?The Spanish desert.Have you set work objectives for this year and if so, what are they?Shoot in more exteriors with no signal.Who are the up-and-coming talents that you think will break through this year – or at least deserve to be successful?Dylan Friese-Greene, Claryn Chong, Caleb Johnson, NWSPK, Emalea Jones.[vidtoken data:2]Above: FelixThe1st's Who's On What, directed by&nbsp;Dylan Friese-GreeneWhat is your prediction for the direction of the industry in 2023? And what will be the big trends for the year ahead?More lyric videos with set-builds and three-arc narratives.Any other comments about the current environment for music video production and music video creativity? What are the issues that we should be most concerned with?Artists picking the lamest treatment.If you could ‘make a wish’, and reform or change the environment in which you work in one way, what would you wish for?Artists picking the best treatment.Have you made any personal New Year resolutions? And if so, how’s it going?Not letting Rhory win a single game of ping-pong.• Tom Ringsby is co-founder and MD of <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/" target="_blank">Intergalactic Studios</a>.

State of Play: Tom Ringsby, Intergalactic Studios

Shame-'Fingers-Of-Steel'-by-Ja-Humby

Depzman-'Life-Cut-Short'-by-Bright-Night

Felixthe1st-'Who’s-On-What?'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Dylan Friese-Greene directs the video for Cian Ducrot's I'll Be Waiting - the poignant story of two children of separated parents expecting their absent father to collect them for a day out. They are waiting - but will he show up?Friese-Greene sets the story in an undefined past, a time of home phones and answering machine messages, giving the sense that he is recalling Ducrot's own personal experience - intensified by him&nbsp;performing the song from the same family home.Stephen Dunn's nostalgic cinematography is among the contributions that make the Friese-Greene's latest video a accomplished work.&nbsp;

Cian Ducrot 'I'll Be Waiting' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Cian-Ducrot-'I'll-Be-Waiting'-by-Cian-Ducrot

Christy performs a live acoustic version of his track Without You, from the loft/green room above Peckham Liberal Club.Directed by&nbsp;Rhory Danniells, the video is a follow up to the brilliant <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/12/02/christy-denial-live-peckham-liberal-club-rhory-danniells/79560">In Denial</a>, which was released last month and filmed in the same location.&nbsp;Shot in an intentional, gentle fashion, in a single take, the video focuses purely on Christy's emotionally charged performance, whilst the unintrusive style of cinematography helps the whole project feel organic and natural.&nbsp;

Christy 'Without You (Live at Peckham Liberal Club)' by Rhory Danniells

Christy-'Without-You'-by-Rhory-Danniells

Rhory Danniells directs a captivating live video for Christy, shot at the Peckham Liberal Club - in which the Scottish soul singer and his band give a storming performance in front of a disinterested audience of local punters.&nbsp;This palpably live rendition of the soulful&nbsp;number In Denial is an striking display of the artist's vocal prowess and charisma. It's a joyful, uplifting song and the energy on stage is electric, so it wouldn't matter if the audience was empty or facing the other way. But their&nbsp;lack of interest in Christy and his excellent musicians&nbsp;- with the exception of one person - is a nicely daft&nbsp;conceit.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]The video is the first part of a trilogy of live films, and this one is so well executed - with impressive&nbsp;cinematography by Henry Gill and Steadicam work&nbsp;by Jayy Gomez - that it will be interesting to see how Danniels develops the narrative in this wonderfully atmospheric location, as well as hearing more groovy soul from&nbsp;Christy and the band.&nbsp;Will they eventually win over this typically hard-to-please South London crowd?

Soul

Christy 'In Denial (Live from Peckham Liberal Club)' by Rhory Danniells

Christy-'In-Denial-(live-From-Peckham-Liberal-Club)'-by-Rhory--Danniells

Ja Humby explores the lengths some bands will go to for success, in this rip-roaring satire on the modern day music biz&nbsp;for shame.&nbsp;The video for Fingers Of Steel reveals the 'truth' behind the group's hype... it's the work of evil&nbsp;genius front-man Charlie Steen, who has forcefully enlisted his bandmates in a click farm operation generating fake likes and comments on their own social media posts.&nbsp;Steen plays the villainous role to perfection, bare-chested and manic throughout, as self-obsessed as he is demanding, as he bullies his bandmates into submission. And their musical instruments go unplayed as they churn increasingly outlandish comments online.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Blending narrative with glitchy animation and a 90's thriller-esque colour scheme, the video is sharp, funny and works really well with the track - remarkably it was apparently turned around in a week -&nbsp;and Steen's hip thrusting will stay in your mind long after watching...&nbsp;It also represents a triumphant reunion between the band and Ja Humby, who worked together on the faux doc and live performance film, <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/03/10/shame-live-flesh-molten-jets-ja-humby/69817" target="_blank">Live In The Flesh</a>&nbsp;for the director's Molten Jets project."Conceived and delivered in one week with very little sleep, the frontman was somehow more narcissistic off-camera than he is on it - humping thin air between barrages of punches," claims Humby. "His hips would spasm when he caught himself in the mirror, despite the tantrum-induced snot bubbles no one dared to point out."Huge thank you to everyone involved in this brutally honest depiction of a modern band’s struggle for fame."

post punk

shame 'Fingers Of Steel' by Ja Humby

<h2>Deepfake is a magnet for controversy. But what if the technology&nbsp;could be used to make a positive impact? Elliot Lee and Rory Peyton-Jones aka BRIGHTNIGHT have done just that with a video that brings a young rapper back to life to highlight the tragic consequences of knife crime.&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2><h3>&nbsp;</h3>In the video for Life Cut Short, the grime artist&nbsp;called Depzman stands in a disused church addressing the camera with impressive confidence, rapping&nbsp;about his childhood and his career - and the day he died.The fact is that Depzman - otherwise known as Joshua Ribera - was a rising star in the London grime scene when he was stabbed to death, at the age of just 18, in 2013.&nbsp;But now, he has been brought back to life, via the eerily convincing power of Deepfake tech, in the video for a new track, Life Cut Short.Depz talks to camera, addressing a new generation who love grime - and leaves them with no illusion about the tragedy of his entirely avoidable demise. With knife crime having taken so many other young lives in the UK since his death, this is a film that uses technology that is often regarded as controversial in order to send a powerful, positive message, with the intention of preventing further tragedies.&nbsp;The film was commissioned by The Joshua Ribera Foundation, the charity that combats knife crime in his name that was&nbsp;founded&nbsp;by <a href="https://www.alisoncope.com/" target="_blank">Alison Cope</a>, Depzman/Joshua's mother; and also by SBTV, whose founder Jamal Edwards&nbsp;was integral in the creative conception before his death earlier this year. And since its release its been featured on BBC News and shared by leading grime artists&nbsp;Jaykae, JME and Skepta.&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]It was devised by Elliot Lee and Rory Peyton-Jones, a creative team at the ad agency McCann London, who also directed the video, under their directing alias, BRIGHTNIGHT, through Intergalactic Studios.&nbsp;Lee and Peyton-Jones&nbsp;were inspired to find a new way to talk to young people about knife crime through culture. But it was a long time in the making - a full three years from conception to delivery.That began in earnest with the writing and recording of the track, and recreating the voice and recognisable flow of Depzman.&nbsp;Midlands’ rappers ShadowCV and T-Roadz ghost-wrote the lyrics with support from Alison Cope -&nbsp;inspired by Depzman’s life and music, emulating the cadence and style of his rapping - and the track was produced by music company Native Music.Birmingham producer PhazeFX produced the instrumental in the style of grime from 2013 style with a 140bpm grime beat complete with choir sounds and melancholy piano.&nbsp;To bring the vocal to life a base recording was manipulated by Native Studios to recreate Depzman’s voice, combining samples, different voices and autotuning. They also reached out to Depzman’s old crew, Invasion, to make sure it was authentic, resulting in a sound that matched Depzman’s voice just before he died.We spoke to&nbsp;Elliot Lee and Rory Peyton-Jones&nbsp;about how they approached the&nbsp;next challenging stage of the project - creating the visuals to match the music, and their reasons for using Deepfake technology.<blockquote>Technology can always be used in a good or bad way. We think it’s important to showcase the good side of what can be achieved.</blockquote>PROMONEWS: At what point did you get involved in the project?BRIGHTNIGHT: We were involved from the very start of the project. Coming up with the idea, to delivering the final music video. It was an extremely daunting task to initially present this to Alison (Depzman’s Mum) being such a sensitive idea around her son. However her resilience, bravery and belief in this concept kept us going for three&nbsp;years!When was it decided to go the Deepfake route? It's often surrounded in controversy, so were you involved in that discussion?To be honest Deepfake seemed the only viable solution. For a few reasons. Being a charity project the budget was very limited (if any), and we just felt a CGI version of Depzman wouldn’t deliver the level of realism that we needed. This had to feel like he’s returned from beyond the grave.Over the three years of the project, Deepfake technology had grown exponentially and a couple of Deepfake artists were really pushing the boundaries of what could be done. For us technology can always be used in a good or bad way, and we think it’s important as directors and creatives to showcase the good side of what can be achieved.[vidtoken data:1]&nbsp;<blockquote>To create a compelling Deepfake you need to have lots of footage of the person you’re looking to copy.</blockquote>Technically speaking, what were the challenges here? What footage or material did you have to use to create Depzman for the video?The main challenges were definitely making sure we had enough data points of Depzman that we could feed into the deepfake AI system. Many of his old freestyle videos were 720p or lower, some maybe pushing HD.Luckily our deepfake artist MagicofBarca would send us tests regularly in order to make sure his system was learning. Overall from videos and old photos we managed to get over 22,000 different frames that were good enough to use and map against our body double.How did the footage that you had of Joshua/Depzman impact upon the shoot?&nbsp;&nbsp;Technically the shoot was actually fairly simple. When Tom [Ringsby] &amp; Rhory [Danniells] at Intergalactic found the church location we knew aesthetically that would do the heavy emotional lifting in terms of set design and art direction.We wanted the video to have the feel of an old SBTV freestyle - a rapper simply performing to camera but with added gravitas provided by the location of the weathered church. To achieve it we needed a body double for Depzman who could lip sync the lyrics and mimic Depz’s characteristic movement, down to the movement of the head and hands. A hard but necessary job to cast.Then Paddy [Cartwright] our wizard DOP was aware that we had to keep everything fairly stationary and no crazy camera moves to make sure the deepfake would stabilise in post. It was a really fun but challenging task as he usually likes to shoot things with loads more energy. He felt that shooting everything on 25mm and on a gimbal with just a slight bit of floaty movement would be enough to give the film interest, but again always aware of not interfering with the Deepfake process.[imgtoken data:1]Above: Alison Cope, anti-knife crime campaigner and mother of Depzman, appears in the Life Cut Short video, introducing the Deepfake version of her son.&nbsp;<blockquote>Alison Cope's resilience, bravery and belief in this concept kept us going for three&nbsp;years.</blockquote>Was it a difficult process to make a convincing likeness of him? Have you done anything like this before?No we’ve never done anything like this before. One thing that was important was we had to shoot our body double in three&nbsp;different types of lighting&nbsp; - natural, dark and spotlight. Capturing loads of stills and 360 footage around his face and body was key. What’s so great about the technology is once you capture your double with the desired light, then the AI tries to replicate this - which again is why we were keen to use deepfake over building a digital CG version of Depz to simulate that extreme level of realism.Who else was involved in the creation of the VFX?&nbsp;MagicofBarca, one of the top YouTube Deepfake artists is the man behind the technology.Is there a 'key ingredient' in making a good DeepFake?&nbsp;Data sets. In order to create a compelling Deepfake you need to have lots and lots of footage and imagery of the person you’re looking to copy. It’s the difference between when you see the really badly done versions that are shaking and falling off compared to the ones that look exactly like the person.The video has been shared widely by some top grime artists. What are your hopes for the project?&nbsp;Grime music and Deepfakes are both artistic mediums that have received a lot of criticism in the press but music, including Grime, can be an incredibly powerful tool to tell stories and tap into emotion. And Deepfake video is yet another filmmaking tool that can be used in many ways. In this case both have been used to make something powerful, positive and provocative. Hopefully it will save lives.• More from Intergalactic Studios <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/" target="_blank">here</a>

BRIGHTNIGHT

How BRIGHTNIGHT made Depzman's Life Cut Short - a Deepfake music video aiming to change minds

Depzman - Life Cut Short (Behind the Scenes)

Ellie Dixon laments&nbsp;her online haters, in&nbsp;Jasmine De Silva's&nbsp;promo for Swing!&nbsp;The vibrant visual sees Dixon appear in several baseball-inspired vignettes, shot in a studio to give a heightened, dreamlike feel.The eccentric, larger than life costumes and&nbsp;art direction mirror the internet's blurred lines between artificial and real worlds, and Dixon's captivating performance anchors the concept in a candid way."I wrote this song when I was feeling particularly beaten down by negativity from other people," she explains. "I’d had way too much social media so I switched my phone off for a week, shut myself in my bedroom, and let myself be silly and angry and crack jokes."It’s basically one big ridiculous baseball metaphor reminding you that you are better than the bad things being thrown at you. Swing back baby!"

Black Kite Studios

Ellie Dixon 'Swing!' by Jasmine De Silva 

Depzman, aka Joshua Ribera, a rapper who was stabbed to death aged 18 in 2013,&nbsp;comes back to life in this emotional&nbsp;music video using Deepfake technology, directed by directing duo BRIGHTNIGHT.After opening with a short series of videos of the young rapper performing and his breakout on YouTube, the video then displays a message that gives context to the project - co-commissioned by The Joshua Ribera Foundation, the charity that combats knife crime in his name, and SBTV - and how it came about.&nbsp;BRIGHTNIGHT came up with the idea and pitched it to the charity, in partnership with advertising agency McCann London. The team recreated Depzman using Deepfake video technology and a rapper body double who could lip sync the lyrics and mimic Depz’s characteristic movement, down to the movement of the head and hands.In conjunction with the film, an original track with digitally manipulated vocals and a classic 140bmp grime beat were&nbsp;produced. Rapper ShadowCV ghostwrote the lyrics with Alison Cope, Depzman’s mum, and took inspiration from Depz’s life story and his old videos. Some of his old lyrics were also incorporated into the song.“Deepfake technology gets a lot of criticism in the news but we wanted to show that it can be used for good," say BRIGHTNIGHT.&nbsp;Absorbing and poignant, the video is a standout use of the technology, and an example of the good that can come from creative collaboration.&nbsp;

Depzman 'Life Cut Short' by BRIGHTNIGHT

Amitybloc direct a live visual for South London teen musician&nbsp;Flowerovlove inspired by&nbsp;vintage TV shows .&nbsp;In the middle of a vibrant orange set, we see the artist - otherwise known as Joyce Cisse - perform Get With You alongside her backing musicians, captured via&nbsp;a multi-cam set up.&nbsp;Exuding nostalgic vibes and a sense of feel-good energy, the directing duo's latest video for South London teenager is a simple yet perfectly executed concept.&nbsp;"Flowerovlove had some really clear references and knew exactly what she wanted: an old skool TV broadcast performance like The Doors and Nancy Sinatra," say Amitybloc."We meticulously studied them day and night to spot any small things that united them all. Clearly destined for a multi-cam set up, we used broadcast cameras and a simple but stunning set design."Once the first edit was finished, it still didn’t feel quite complete. So we managed to track down one of the original MCs for ATV back in the 50s who would usually introduce the musical performances. Funnily enough, he got her name completely wrong calling her 'flowers for love'&nbsp;not flowerovlove. Fortunately flowerovlove did this strange look to camera right at the start of the performance so it ended up looking like she was reacting to the mispronoucnation live on air."&nbsp;

Amitybloc

Flowerovlove 'Get With You' (Live) by Amitybloc

Flowerovlove-'Get-With-You-(live-Video)'-by-Amitybloc

Dylan Friese-Greene follows up his FelixThe1st video for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/07/28/felixthe1st-2wardrobes-dylan-friese-greene/77576">2WARDROBES</a> with this hyperactive visual for Who's On What.&nbsp;Appearing as an on-the-ground reporter at some kind of hit-and-run accident, FelixThe1st hands over MC'ing duties to a series of witnesses, as part of evening news segment F1st News.&nbsp;The frenetic, off-the-cuff energy adds an intense vibe to the visual, and seeing different characters lip-sync to the artist's voice is a brilliant sight to behold. Huge props to the cast for keeping up the pace.&nbsp;

FelixThe1st 'Who’s On What?' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Billy Nomates lets her inner clown out for directing-duo NWSPK - that's&nbsp;Sam E H Hooper and Glen Travis - in the mesmerising promo for Balance Is Gone.&nbsp;Taking a trip through semi-choreographed dance routines and effervescent vignettes, we see the artist perform under refracted lighting, switching between straight studio setups and a heightened, illusory wonderland.&nbsp;Hooper's cinematography&nbsp;experience shines here, with each setup bursting from the screen in a parade of captivating lights and textures, whilst Travis' edit imbues the visual with a sense of frenetic energy.&nbsp;A talented pair indeed.&nbsp;

Billy Nomates 'Balance Is Gone' by NWSPK 

Billy-Nomates-'Balance-Is-Gone'-by-Nwspk

Intergalactic Studios have announced that Dylan Friese-Greene has officially joined their roster, hot on the heels of their collaboration on the 2Wardrobes video for FelixThe1st.&nbsp;Since graduating from Kingston School of Art and working as a storyboard artist for established directors like slowthai-collaborators The Rest,&nbsp;Dylan Friese-Greene has moved on&nbsp;to direct captivating promos for artists like Amy Michelle and Becky Hill.Having completed FelixThe1st video and whilst also working on finishing two further projects, Intergalactic have now made the formal announcement that Friese-Greene has joined the London-based company's directors' roster.<blockquote>Since the beginning of the year I’ve run every new project through Intergalactic without blinking.&nbsp;</blockquote>“We’re always looking for fresh young talent to champion at Intergalactic," says Rhory Danniells, Intergalactic Studios' managing director. "We were first introduced to Dylan via one of our favourite producers&nbsp;Ella Woollgar, and really enjoyed our first collaboration, Welcome to the Sidelines&nbsp;for Amy Michelle. We loved Dylan’s high-concept ideas, methodical storyboarding and eye for detail, and so went straight onto another video together and the group chat hasn’t slowed down since."We’re now delighted to represent Dylan as part of the Intergalactic family and take part in the next stage of his career as we prepare to release another promo and enter post-production on Dylan’s first narrative-fiction piece.”Dylan Friese-Greene adds: "Since the beginning of the year I’ve run every new project through Intergalactic without blinking. They’re a great team of talented producers who really support my ideas and I just look forward to making wicked things together.”• Watch Dylan Friese-Greene's work at Intergalactic Studios <a href="https://www.intergalacticstudios.com/directors/dylan-friese-greene-director" target="_blank">here</a>

Dylan Friese-Greene signs to Intergalactic Studios

FelixThe1st performs, dances and fly-kicks his way through the scenes of a TV-studio sitcom, in&nbsp;Dylan Friese-Greene's lively promo for 2WARDROBES.&nbsp;We see the artist perform in front of a live studio audience, cycling through bold, vibrant sets and several costume changes, whilst remaining as cool as a cucumber.&nbsp;It's a slick affair from Friese-Greene and team, with a fresh and forward-thinking vibe.&nbsp;

Felixthe1st '2WARDROBES' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Felixthe1st-'2wardrobes'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Flowerovlove - aka Joyce Cisse - straddles her two lives as school pupil and rising pop sensation, in amitybloc's breezy promo for Hannah Montana.&nbsp;Visualising the whimsical world of the artist's laidback, nostalgic sound, the concept takes viewers on a journey through a series of fun DIY sets and transitions.&nbsp;The video captures a sense of frenetic action which contrasts the gentle soundtrack - elevating the dichotomy in the concept - and acts as a perfect introduction to the young pop artist.&nbsp;

Flowerovlove 'Hannah Montana' by amitybloc

Flowerovlove-'Hannah-Montana'-by-Amitybloc

Dylan Friese-Greene brings the summer inside for Becky Hill's acoustic video for Run.Performing amongst a lush flower display set within The Columbia hotel in West-London,&nbsp;Hill thrives in the vibrant setting, backed by a string-quartet and special guest MJ Cole on the keys.&nbsp;The tranquil atmosphere carries over to the relaxed edit and fluid camerawork, creating an understated yet prominent energy.&nbsp;

Becky Hill 'Run' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Becky-Hill-'Run'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Dylan Friese-Greene directs a darkly surreal promo for Amy Michelle.&nbsp;In the video for Welcome To The Sidelines,&nbsp;the artist appears alongside her own evil twin in a saccharine dollhouse world, taking a whirlwind journey that ends up in a fiery climax.&nbsp;The soft pastel colour palette, doll-like styling and enigmatic concept echoes influences such as US artist Melanie Martinez, but with a fresh, contemporary take and a wonderfully disturbing central performance from Michelle.&nbsp;

Amy Michelle 'Welcome To The Sidelines' by Dylan Friese-Greene

Amy-Michelle-'Welcome-To-The-Sidelines'-by-Dylan-Friese-greene

Rhory Danniells ushers in the Christmas spirit,&nbsp;with&nbsp;his live promo for Sigrid's Home To You - shot at St. Pancras International train station.&nbsp;Opening with a lo-fi sequence of bystanders&nbsp;happening upon the artist - and filming on their phones -&nbsp;the video swiftly transitions into a glossy, polished live performance captured in a single take - Sigrid sings as walking along a train platform before joining her fellow musicians, and a small audience.Rich colour palettes and the warm orange glow of the lights - and Sigrid's&nbsp;jumper - create a comforting and festive mood, which complements this Christmas-themed song. And the quality of the performance means this&nbsp;stands out as a great piece of live content.

Sigrid 'Home To You' (Live From St. Pancras) by Rhory Danniells

Sigrid-''home-To-You'-(live-From-St.-Pancras)'-by-Rhory-Danniells

Amitybloc directs a breezy, easygoing&nbsp;promo for Dexter's I Like Me.&nbsp;We see the artist perform in the back of a car cruising around London streets, as a jumble of random items begin to fill up the vehicle.&nbsp;Interacting with the various trinkets and props, we realise each of these have some kind of meaning to the artist, as she reminisces about the past.&nbsp;But ultimately she embraces her present and celebrates the woman she is today.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Dexter 'I Like Me' by Amitybloc

Dexter - I Like Me (Official Video)

Rhory Danniells &amp; Olivia Dean co-direct a stirring one-take video for Slowly.&nbsp;Performed at a piano in an empty studio space, Dean embodies the understated poignancy of the track.&nbsp;The lighting transitions from a standard spotlight setup to a chilling, ice-blue wash, representing the tumultuous journey in the lyrics, and the changing tides of her emotions.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]

Olivia Dean

Olivia Dean 'Slowly' by Rhory Danniells & Olivia Dean 

Olivia-Dean--'Slowly-'-by-Rhory-Danniells-&-Olivia-Dean-

Tom Ringsby directs a lilting promo for genre-blending artist MEI.&nbsp;Ankle deep in the murky waters of Deptford Creek, the video for Happy Man features the&nbsp;artist reflecting&nbsp;on memories in a blissfully bittersweet performance.&nbsp;The colour palette fits beautifully within the concept, whilst the use of subtle textures in post-production add an ethereal polish to the piece.&nbsp;