Production Company

Stink Films

Dan French has created an underground cyber-world for Chinese-Vietnamese-British rapper Jianbo's collaboration with Nix Northwest - created entirely in CGI.The video for For The Honour is a gamefied story that spirals through a&nbsp;surreal vignettes exploring honour and Jianbo’s conflicted experience of it, while elements of Asian identity and internal struggles are layered throughout. And with French choosing animation as a means to lock creative freedom, it amounts to an&nbsp;awesome achievement.Inspired by the cinematic language of Wong Kar Wai, the urban sprawl of Tokyo, and the neon tones of cyberpunk futurism, French blended dystopian motifs with real cultural undercurrents in Jianbo’s life to also comment on loyalty, sacrifice, and the ripple effects of success. And it's effectively handcrafted as&nbsp;the director&nbsp;handled every aspect of the CG animation himself - from modelling and rigging to texturing and compositing.[imgtoken data:1]"Jianbo and I go way back," says French. "I’d been wanting to make something with him for a while and what started as a simple idea quickly evolved into a full CGI underground world."But with limited resources, he explains that he was pushed to be&nbsp;creative and as well as picking up new skills along the way.&nbsp;Lacking access to motion capture studios or suits, he embraced a DIY approach, recording iPhone footage of Jianbo dancing, then manually translating the movements into animation. He leaned into a stylised aesthetic that nods to GTA and PS2-era graphics rather than striving for photorealism."I didn’t realise how much I’d bitten off, learning how to do motion capture, rig people and model faces," he continues. "As it started coming to life, I kept pushing because having total creative freedom was a dream. I wasn’t aiming for photorealism, I actually liked the slightly off, mocap-heavy, gamey vibe - it gave GTA nostalgia. So I wanted it to stay rough around the edges to show that it was handcrafted for real by me.”The end result is a singular vision: raw and unfiltered. A music video grounded in modern culture that blurs the line between personal story and digital spectacle, designed to live entirely within the world its creators meticulously built by hand.

United Kingdom

Dan French

Dom Mckiernan

Alex Gregory

Harbor Picture Company

Eastern Margins

Valentina Tarelli

Hip Hop

Jianbo ft Nix Northwest 'For The Honour' by Dan French

Jianbo - For The Honour (feat. Nix Northwest) (Official Music Video)

Confidence Man returns with another bold swing at pop absurdity in their latest video by India Harris&nbsp;- featuring fellow pop star&nbsp;Jade. Already buzzing across TikTok and fresh from its live debut at Glastonbury, the track now arrives with a hyper-stylised absurdist narrative.The cinematic, colour-drenched video for Gossip&nbsp;is laced with tongue-in-cheek irony. Taking place in a surreal dive bar where Confidence Man and Jade encounter cloned versions of themselves, they each indulge in wild, debaucherous behaviour, as a visual analogy for the track’s theme: gossip.&nbsp;Between moments of playful choreography and striking styling, a game of Russian Roulette triggers a chain reaction of chaos, with the fired bullet ricocheting through the bar and picking the cast off one by one. The camera captures the chaos, moving between static frames, dramatic crash zooms, and rhythmic dolly shots - always pulsing in time with the beat.Part-Western, part-Mafia flick, the video immerses viewers in its own off-kilter world, ideated by director India Rose Harris. A surreal visual feast packed with irony and attitude that showcases her unique and playful approach to visual storytelling.INDIA HARRIS:“I loved the 00’s weirdo club vibe of the track so straight up I knew the video had to be some kind of bonkers narrative. The concept sparked from the idea that a disjointed bar full of cloned versions of the same person, somehow became synchronised in a moment before descending into chaos.&nbsp;"I wanted it to be this blend of Western, meets Mafia, meets East London pub/dive bar with classic Con Man irony interwoven. Bring Jade’s perfect character building into the madness of Confidence Man’s world and voila!”[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

India Harris

Biba Thomas

Janet Planet

Louis Danckwerts

Kim Jarrett

Polydor

Sony Music

Peggy Digioia

Blake John Wood

Billy French

Joel Hördegård

Ollie Munks

Ranya El Rafaey

Ellen Green

Zack Tate

Jamie McFarland

Grace Ellington

Aaron Carlo

Mike O’Gorman

Thomas Goldser

Amanda Jenkins

Avenues

Sam Howells

Ben Ferren

Ethos Studio

GGXD

Dance

Confidence Man & JADE 'Gossip' by India Harris

Confidence Man & JADE - gossip (official video)

Jim Longden's rather delightful video for avant-pop artist Magdalena Spinka has a stab at grasping both the randomness and internal logic of dreams in scenarios that may be connected... but probably aren't.Longden's video for Spinka's Slow Dream follows the recent release of Spinka’s album Bonnie Bonny ALBUMBUM, an ambitious and experimental project, unbound by any one fixed genre. And similarly, the film is unbound by normal storytelling rules, while adding that seam of subversive humour also to be found in his recent work with Oracle Sisters, plus an animated sequence.“I wanted to depict the concept of dreams with a sense of truthful delirium, rather than the way they are often portrayed," says Longden. "Some of the ideas stemmed from personal dreams; other scenes were based on imagined characters I might see on the street."What always intrigues me is the connotations these dreams have in relation to a person’s waking, conscious state. I’m also fascinated by the lack of control we have over our own subconscious—the windmills of your mind, as they say."The video was a tricky quest to execute due to my ideas versus the budget we had. It became a micro-budget masterclass. But through the perseverance and determination of the cast and crew - who resembled a Dirk Diggler formation chemically fused with a Pacino character in a Lumet film (Eh? - ed) - we managed to make it all happen.”&nbsp;It looks great too - mostly shot on film by DoP Sam E.H. Hooper, with animation by Lucy Wei. Together with Longden's acclaimed short films (To Erase A Cloud, Puddle Of Muddles), it builds on a growing body of impressive work.[imgtoken data:1]

Jim Longden

Molly Hackney

Dominic Mckiernan

Flynn Studholme

Sam E.H. Hooper

Lucy Wei

Matt Turner

Alternative

Magdalena Spinka 'Slow Dream' by Jim Longden

Magdalena Spinka - Slow Dream (Official Music Video)

For the returning Maribou State, Brazilian filmmaker&nbsp;Giordano Maestrelli tells a story of lost love by employing some of the oldest techniques in cinema within a bold new structure.&nbsp;The subject of the film for All I Need is the complexity of a broken relationship, told through parallel timelines. At the centre of the story is a couple - their past life unfolds through fragments and the present plays out in the background where their lost love echoes. And&nbsp;to allow the flashback story of the couple's love affair to coexist within the present, Maestrelli&nbsp;built a custom zoetrope device inspired by early motion picture pioneer&nbsp;Eadweard Muybridge.In this meticulous undertaking the director first shot the story on 16mm film, then printed into more than 2500 still frames, and re-sequenced it through the custom circular machine in a stop-motion-like technique. Shooting over 23 hours, thousands of delicate frames were replaced one by one while a crew member manually turned the machine at a millimetric degree, and another captured the action.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;The zoetrope enables one narrative to take place inside a contained, looping environment, which set out to resemble the way unprocessed emotions often linger. Meanwhile, behind it, the same setting appears as a ghostly representation of what is no more.&nbsp;With a visual language rooted in early cinema but a vision firmly fixed on today’s music video aesthetics,&nbsp;All I Need&nbsp;is a technically-daring love letter for the song that&nbsp;features on Maribou State’s latest album&nbsp;Hallucinating Love, their first since a multiple-year long hiatus following bandmember Chris Davids’ rare and debilitating brain illness.&nbsp;The result is a mesmerising and haunting&nbsp;blend of cinematic craftsmanship, memories and emotion.

Giordano Maestrelli

Marília Dalmagro

Nicholas Vargas

John Moule

Ninja Tune

Maya Bury

Maria Eduarda Caldeira Brino

Yatta Filmes

Hands 

Mauricio Padilha

Juliano Possebon

Roberto Ramos

Vinicius Corso

Raissa Negromonte

Cintia Capelano

Kodak

Digital Orchard

Maribou State 'All I Need' by Giordano Maestrelli

Maribou State, @AndreyaTriana - 'All I Need' (Short Film)

Wolf Alice return with their first new music in three years and a video to defy expectations from Colin Solal Cardo - a musical theatre showstopper, inspired by Bob Fosse, choreographed by Ryan Heffington.In the video for Bloom Baby Bloom, Solal Cardo sets the band's full-on rock 'n roll performance of the lead-off track from new album The Clearing within a dance rehearsal studio packed with dancers. From the maelstrom of bodies and activity, lead singer Ellie Rowsell emerges as both rock band frontwoman and integrated member of the 20 strong company of dancers.[imgtoken data:1]The result is sensational - a relatively straightforward set-up that's orchestrated to perfection by Solal Cardo and his choreographer-accomplice&nbsp;Heffington, through colour, movement and sheer personality. And as the band move into serious rock territory with the track, this is an adrenalin-shot of a visual&nbsp;that feels counter-intuitive - and a triumph.The influences are clear - particularly the Bob Fosse biopic (in all but name) All That Jazz and his various contributions to musicals. There's also the nods to various Fosse-influenced productions in the 70s that brought rock music together with the musical, including Fame.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]Ultimately, Colin Solal Cardo&nbsp;and Ryan Heffington have paid due homage but also made the Wolf Alice completely fresh.They have brought together&nbsp;are a&nbsp;cast of dancers who offer individual personality as well as collective brilliance&nbsp;to the piece. And above all it's the performance by the now raven-haired Ellie Rowsell&nbsp;that is a revelation. That's five stars. A very exciting&nbsp;introduction to the new album.&nbsp;

Colin Solal Cardo

Kitty Wordsworth

Tilly Gerrard

Ali Copland

Jeremy Valender

Mark Gee

Greg Probert

Bobby Brown

Samuel Overs

Henry Hawksworth

Ryan Heffington

Gary David Moore

Lucy James

Anna Payne

Dasha Taivas

Michael Lewin

Columbia Records

Rock

Wolf Alice 'Bloom Baby Bloom' by Colin Solal Cardo

Wolf Alice - Bloom Baby Bloom (Official Video)

A pulsating performance by Japanese emo rock outfit ONE OK ROCK is captured through a sense-assaulting array of techniques by Masaki Watanabe.As the band power through C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. - with the help of guests Paledusk &amp; Chico Carlito - Watanabe's box of tricks involves dynamic transitions, super-intricate editing and relentless visual trickery.It's a powerhouse of a video, with nods to classic FX-enhanced performance promos&nbsp;like the Alex &amp; Martin-directed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY" target="_blank">Seven Nation Army for The White Stripes</a>, whilst set in an endless&nbsp;black void reminiscent of Tim Saccenti's&nbsp;legendary video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpGp-22t0lU" target="_blank">Battles' Atlas</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Japan

Masaki Watanabe

Emi Kaneko

Hidemi Nagai

Yoshiyuki Nishida

Tomoya Sugino

Satoru Mizuno

Yu Tsubaki

One OK Rock ft Paledusk & Chico Carlito 'C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.' by Masaki Watanabe

ONE OK ROCK - C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. feat. Paledusk and CHICO CARLITO [Official Music Video]

Viagra Boys' Sebastian Murphy has a new girlfriend, and she's 3000 years old, in Eoin Glaister's video for Bog Body - a tour de force of comedy horror.&nbsp;Glaister essentially tells the story of the song, and as he happily admits, the subject matter&nbsp;plays to his particularly strengths as a director.In classic VB fashion, the track combines surly rock 'n roll power with a idiosyncratic lyric sung by Murphy - it involves a description&nbsp;of an ancient body being found perfectly preserved under ice in a bog, leading to his immediate adoration - and possessiveness. Eventually he insists that 'You're just jealous of her darkened skin and her dainty nose'.This quirky concept&nbsp;all the motivation that Glaister needs to bring&nbsp;a unique love story to the screen,&nbsp;which starts when the reanimated zombie-like Bog Body walks&nbsp;into a London boozer, and begins her ancient dance ritual - before Seb enters the pub whilst she's doing full splits on the pub carpet.And so their passionate affair begins, with the well-preserved ancient woman acquiring the taste for a rock 'n rolll lifestyle.&nbsp;What could possibly go wrong?“I love bog bodies," says Glaister.&nbsp;"I’m obsessed. Thank GOD someone finally wrote a song about one. Dream gig really, got to spend the day in the pub with my mates watching a Bog Lady dance to one of my favourite bands. Mammoth effort from an extraordinarily talented bunch. Up the Bog!”[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

Sweden

Eoin Glaister

Jens Nielsen

André Jofré

Danny Rumbelow

Spike Morris

Raul Menendez

Hélio Ribeiro

Syd Harmony

Ellie Walker

Natasha Lawes

Jean-Philippe Blunt

Hannah Jarrold

Shrimptech Enterprises

Viagra Boys 'Bog Body' by Eoin Glaister

Viagra Boys — The Bog Body (Official Video)

Cosmo Wellings is compelled into performing an eccentric dance all over London&nbsp;in Jim Longden's latest quirky outing for French indie band Oracle Sisters.After the splendid on-screen peformances in his previous videos for the band - the UKMVA-nominated Alouette and Blue Left Hand - Longden draws another one from the mesmerizing Wellings here for Marseille. And its all about his dance&nbsp;- a combination of child-friendly teapot-arm shapes with vagely obscene hip thrusts - captured in a series of obscure locations, from alleyways and graveyards to zebra crossings and petting zoos.Throughout, the band are performing the track on a distant skyscraper rooftop - but Longden has a final surprise in store.“With the entire budget spent on 16mm film, we were lucky to be blessed with the lead’s newly acclaimed ‘Mighty Light Hip Thrust,’ also known as the ‘Wonder Thrust'," says Longden. "Racing against time as winter’s darkness approached, our skeleton crew of five paced through the streets of London—serenading donkeys, goats, and graveyards in this deliriously orchestrated bonanza.”[imgtoken data:1]

Lily Ashton

Isabella Simpson

Mike Mcmillin

Cosmo Wellings

No.8

Cinelab Film and Digital

Oracle Sisters 'Marseille' by Jim Longden

Oracle Sisters - Marseille (Official Music Video)

The latest video from Colin Solal Cardo to introduce Olly Alexander's new album Polari continues a choreography-based narrative that began with the visuals for the title track and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgzLmyVeCUE" target="_blank">Cupid's Bow</a>.In an enclosed space where he's separated from his team of dancers, including his love interest, Olly's heartfelt yearning&nbsp;for a human connection is expressed through a combination of performance and dance.It's captured with great use of constantly moving camerawork, both within&nbsp;and outside the constructed space, in a video where each department has excelled, including Jake Hunter's cinematography and Furmann Ahmed's production design.[imgtoken data:1]

Nycollas Abreu‬‭

Jake Hunter

Christopher Starkey‬‭

Steve Morgan

Connor Adam

Danny Edwards @ Matter‬SFX

Furmaan Ahmed

Isabella Furness

Meshach Henry

Matthew Josephs

Emilie Bromley

Joe Brooks

Georgia Olive

Kei Takano

Sachin Gogna

Sam Pereira

Yanjun Zhou

Collectiv

Charlie Von Rotberg

Stitch Editing

Hijack

Alex O'Brien

Okay Studio

Franky Chadwick

Olly Alexander 'When We Kiss' by Colin Solal Cardo

Olly Alexander - When We Kiss (Official Video)

Dan French recreates the early 70s pop promo for Elton John's Step Into Christmas, and then imagines the almighty&nbsp;chaos that occured behind the scenes on the shoot&nbsp;- with the 1973 Elton played by actress and model Cara Delevingne.The hugely entertaining&nbsp;video&nbsp;reproduces shots from Elton's studio performance in the original visual - featuring&nbsp; Delevingne&nbsp;as an uncanny facsmile of glam-era Elton, plus doppelgangers of his band - while adding the story of the production team frantically attempting to add some festive flavour to proceedings.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Despite the addition of a festive feather boa, balloons and confetti, chaos reigns as they wrangle an escaped turkey, fail to book a real reindeer (and find a donkey instead) and tackle a deranged fan who storms the set, all whilst Delevingne mirrors Elton’s choicest dance moves and iconic facial expressions from the original promo.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On it's release over 50 years ago, Step Into Christmas failed to trouble the UK Top 20, but it's stepped up in seasonal stature in recent years. The song has charted&nbsp;each December since 2011, and last year it was certified Triple Platinum, 50 years after its release. And Dan French's evocative and consistently funny video&nbsp;is a marvellous way to celebrate it's long journey to becoming a Christmas pop standard.[imgtoken data:2]It also coincides with the release of a new documentary,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQGf_nJ1E9w" target="_blank">Elton John: Never Too Late</a>, where the singer looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career, which premiered on Disney+ last week.&nbsp;"I saw Cara at Glastonbury last summer, and we talked about how much we’d love to work together if the right idea came up," comments Elton.&nbsp;"She’s hilarious to spend time with, we both have quite a self deprecating sense of humour. When someone suggested the idea of her playing me in a riff on the 1973 Step In to Christmas video, I just thought it was the perfect opportunity. Thank God Cara thought the same, because it came out great."[imgtoken data:3]Cara&nbsp;Delevingne adds: "Elton has always been an idol of mine, to say his music has had a deeply profound effect on me is an understatement. To be asked by him to PLAY him in this recreation was a dream that I didn’t know I had until it happened."Honestly I wish I could pretend to be Elton every day. I hope that Elton may one day return the favour and agree to play me in my not yet developed, written, pitched or funded biopic. Fingers crossed."&nbsp;

Jake River Parker

Oscar Ryan

Freddie Wright

EMI Records

Ben Cotgrove

Mike Linforth

Chris Broomfield

Lyndon Ogbourne

Alex Kelleher

Chris Dumont

Angel Mcqueen

Roy Haywood

Hebe Wallace

Zahra Asmail

Jack Singer

Cara Delevingne

Elton John 'Step Into Christmas' (2024) by Dan French

Elton John - Step Into Christmas (2024 Music Video)

LOOSE directs an impassioned performance promo for Pa Salieu's collab with Disclosure.&nbsp;Opening with lingering shots of Salieu getting dressed and ready, we follow him out onto the streets where he explodes into a playful, fervent performance - annoying some old fuddy-duddies whilst delighting the kids.&nbsp;Shot on film, it's a beautiful looking visual, with late winter sun and foggy skies setting the enigmatic mood.&nbsp;The cinematography elevates the concept, bursting from vignette to vignette with spinning transitions and loose, experimental flair.&nbsp;Fabulous.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

LOOSE

Shea Coleman

Rory Shaw

Michele Zanette

Cori Lionne

Jaime Ackroyd

Marina Fusella

Jack Gauld

Leelah Mcevoy

Cabin Edit

Holly McDonald

Lainy Black

Tim Smith

Rascal Post

Disclosure x Pa Salieu 'King Steps' by LOOSE

Disclosure, Pa Salieu - King Steps (Official Video)

Stink Films have announced the apppointment of Balint Seres&nbsp;as the new point person for music videos and content at the company in the US.Highly respected&nbsp;as a creative problem solver, Seres's impressive list of credits includes projects for&nbsp;Charli XCX, as well as Post Malone, Sydney Sweeney, Anderson .Paak, Fred Again, The Kid Laroi, Moses Sumney and more. He has also brought to life branded work for the likes of Nike, Oakley, Audi, Farfetch, Ford and UGG.He will work closely with Stink MD Ben Davies&nbsp;and Global Head of Music and Special Projects&nbsp;Dom McKiernan&nbsp;to continue creating visual and narrative content for the world’s most exciting artists and labels.&nbsp;The news of Balint Seres's appointment comes towards the end of the year which has seen Stink continue its long history of delivering groundbreaking projects with collaborations with leading artists including&nbsp;Megan Thee Stallion, Fred again.., Unknown T, Headie One and Olly Alexander, and also be nominated for Best Production Company at the 2024 UKMVAs.“Balint’s creative insight and production expertise bring a fresh dynamic to Stink, especially in a market as influential as the US," says&nbsp;Dom Mckiernan.&nbsp;"I’m confident he’ll play a vital role in pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve in music videos and branded content."Balint Seres adds: “Throughout my career Stink has always been a tastemaker and an important force in talent development.&nbsp;Music videos are ultimately a major platform for talent and creative expression, and Stink recognizes that. Finding exciting matches with artists and brands in unexpected places is what I always thrive on and is the flavour I want to bring to the table, as well as protecting and growing the creative integrity and reputation of Stink.”

Balint Seres

Stink US appoints Balint Seres as Executive Producer of Music Videos and Content

Eoin Glaister's fourth video for&nbsp;Glass Animals is a bittersweet tale of friendship, even love - between an alien and a cow. And you don't get much more Eoin Glaister than that.In the video for Show Pony, a couple of mid 20th century-style space aliens crashland their flying saucer on Earth - in the countryside among placid, bovine local inhabitants. One of their number advances on the intruders with curiosity, and the female alien responds in kind - leading to surprising consequences.So prepare yourselves for unlikely, dysfunctional aliens, jokes about salted snacks, sudden violence, a big fire&nbsp;and a tragicomic twist - all set in a&nbsp;location among rolling hills and greenery resembling the Scottish Highlands, but was in fact, in Mexico.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;It's a beautifully crafted film, with wonderful attention to detail on production design, costume design&nbsp;and the style of cinematography by DoP Natasha Duursma which delivers a warm and nostalgic atmosphere around Glaister's story -&nbsp;a characteristically outlandish and charming silent comedy.The promo leans into the 70s theme aesthetics that is synonymous with the band and hinges on ingenious craft: tailormade alien costumes,&nbsp;prosthetics, miniatures, and, of course, the all-important wrangling of disobedient cows - provided via the production services of&nbsp;Stink Films Mexico.[imgtoken data:2]Glaister says that Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley had an idea which started the ball rolling for Show Pony, which he then developed through the classic&nbsp;space alien archetype from 20th century pop culture to the addition of the unusual object of affection.His association with Glass Animals goes back a while: the videos for Pork Soda and Agnes in 2017. Then last year he resumed working with the band, directing the cleverly&nbsp;meta video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2023/09/20/glass-animals-other-side-paradise-eoin-glaister/83264" target="_blank">The Other Side Of Paradise</a> last year&nbsp;(although that song comes from&nbsp;the same album as the previous videos). And now comes Show Pony, from the band's new album I Love You So F***ing Much.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“Dave had a personal story he wanted to play out through aliens - I ran with this and added a cow," says Glaister. "Naive really, given how hard they are to direct. We shot this in Mexico which was an incredible experience. Locations were stunning, crew were exceptional, cast ideal and the constant quesadillas spot on. Other than a run-in with the Mexican army and being extorted by the police, the shoot was a breeze.”

Stink Films Mexico

Vanessa Hernandez Vega

Glass Animals 'Show Pony' by Eoin Glaister