Chris Fowles directs an innovative and intriguing promo for singer-songwriter Henry Moodie, combining normal screen shape and vertical video in one clever concept. 

For Drunk Text, Fowles has Moodie sitting in the front seat on the upper deck of a bus during two different journeys - a day in April, and a night in November - captured from the same camera position. Meanwhile, behind him, a series of interconnected stories unfold among a number passengers who are also on both journeys.

The regular 16:9 screen is also divided into three sections, which enables Fowles to use split-screen to cut between journeys, and emphasise the small dramas and interactions between the characters. And Moodie always remains in the central section of the 'triptych', performing the heartfelt Drunk Text.

"The concept was designed specifically for new video mediums like TikTok," Fowles confirms. "We wanted to experiment with using the format itself to tell the story.

"So when viewed vertically, you’ll only see the main performance. But when viewed with the widescreen you reveal all the stories and context."

In doing so, Fowles has been entirely successful.  There is a real complexity to the soap opera unfolding behing Moodie that makes it worth watching again. But in the dovetailing of both narrative and conceptual ideas it also makes a real contribution in addressing the issue of competing video formats.