Nicholas Lam directs an animated tour de force for Snakehips' Lie For You, featuring Jess Glynne. 

Action-packed and explosive, the endless stream of Matrix-style fight scenes and cyberpunk aesthetics are heavily inspired by Japanese anime, with nods to popular shows and literature in the genre. 

The visuals - created by the animators at Chinese animation studio Point Five Creations - are breathtaking from start to finish: beautifully rendered, rich in texture and saturated colours; whilst the transitions and story structure are classic anime, with a few contemporised additions.

NICHOLAS LAM:

Once lockdown hit... I knew it was my chance to pitch anime. 

"From childhood, I’ve always been drawn to Japanese anime. The storylines, epic action and stylized emotion that only seemed possible in such a singular medium.

"Influenced by older shows like Saint Seiya, Ghost In The Shell, Trigun, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop and Rurouni Kenshin to more recent series like Black Lagoon, Guilty Crown, Parasyte and Psycho Pass, once lockdown hit Los Angeles and everyone was scrambling for unique ideas to keep creating content, I knew it was my chance to pitch anime even though my whole portfolio had only ever been live-action.

"Drawing inspiration from the aforementioned shows for the anime style, while also paying homage to Final Fantasy VII (still the greatest video game ever) and Akira for the gritty cyberpunk world, this is my love letter to anime, while likewise incorporating my passion for fast cars and bikes, hyper-stylized combat, all drowned in a hazy, orange summer sunset — my favorite time of day.

"I absolutely have to hand it to the folks at Point Five Creations for truly going above and beyond what everyone else told me could not be done on the budget and timeline. I’m particularly proud of working with them not only because they’re all Chinese animation artists, bringing their own style to the traditionally Japanese anime genre, but because I spent seven years growing up in Hong Kong myself. So this just feels like the perfect amalgamation of influences from past and present."