We spend half our lives looking at screens - so NOISY and director Joao Retorta pose a crucial question: are we wishing our lives away?  

In his blistering video for I Wish I Was A... Retorta sends us into the head of a VR set-wearing youth, triggering an avalanche of imagery that idealises body image, sex, love, and pulsating, visceral excitement. But is any of it actually real?

NOISY, with their distinctive brand of dance, pop and indie-rock, become a crucial part of these scenarios - particularly frontman Cody. His charisma and energy provides the focus as we waver between fantasy and reality.

Shot in Kiev before Covid restrictions kicked in - at the Soviet-era Expocenter of Ukraine - a range of spectacular scenes are beautifully shot by UKMVA nominee Harry Wheeler, and graded by Jason Wallis. It's definitely worth some of your screentime.    

JOAO RETORTA:

The video takes us on a journey that is as a chaotic as it is random.

"The video for Noisy’s ‘I Wish I Was A…’ is a take on our generation’s obsession with screens and the sensory and information overload that we experience once we immerse ourselves in these box-shaped objects.

"Set at an undisclosed place of imagination - in the Internet, perhaps - the video takes us on a journey that is as a chaotic as it is random and aleatory. Just like the Internet itself."

DASHA DERIAGINA (PRODUCER, 2332 FILMS):

"The shoot happened in a unique place: The Expocenter of Ukraine. It has been functioning since 1958 and includes all traditional architectural styles. All the main pavilions-palaces are recognized as architectural monuments of national importance.

The Soviet-style exteriors we shot added another layer of snappy urban poetry and youth romanticism.

"It feels like now the so-called post-Soviet aesthetic has officially penetrated the mainstream. The Soviet-style exteriors we shot added another layer of snappy urban poetry and youth romanticism. The vibe of this video brings you to a transitional era of recent history. In the turbulent 90s and wealthy early 2000s, where cool kids walked along the architectural monuments with ideological inspiration. 

"Our advantage of Ukraine and Kiev in particular, is that we may obtain permission to shoot in locations which would be impossible in other countries. This project was made possible thanks to the cohesion of the team and the experience of filming in unusual conditions."