Multi-Grammy winning artist Imogen Heap and London-based Ukrainian director and editor Daria Korsak have created a remarkable 14-minute experimental music video, incorporating numerous techniques - including CGI and AI - for Heap's epic composition I AM ___. Two years in the making by the veteran musician, singer-songwriter and producer and Korsak - who arrived in the UK having fled the war in Ukraine in 2022 - the visual for I AM ___ is a sensory journey that explores the personal and the political by immersing the viewer in five visual worlds: from the heart of a microchip, through a brain full of bittersweet romantic memories, into the depths of AI consciousness, inside the eye, and finally through the shifting perspectives of machine and human.Blending CGI, processed archival footage, macro liquid patterns and VFX-heavy live action, the effect is to hurl the viewer into the the fractured mind of a modern human-machine, caught in the turbulence of personal exploration, geopolitical upheaval and an accelerating technological revolution. Ultimately, the film explores how we could hold onto our humanity and find peace amid the chaos of an ever-evolving world.It's also the result of a close collaboration between the artist and director, that mostly took place in 'after hours' time while Korsak worked full-time as an editor and navigated a new life far from Ukraine, and lived with Heap as her guest after her departure from her war-torn homeland."I fled Ukraine in 2022, and Imogen kindly offered to host me in her home – first for six months, then for several years," she explains. "She was working on the song, and I said I wanted to create a music video for it. I’d never directed anything before, so it seemed like an overly ambitious idea – and it grew into something even wilder than either of us expected."AI was used as a creative instrument to support the film’s theme of human-machine symbiosis – specifically, to process archival footage for the Noise section, which was then re-edited frame by frame and integrated with live-action and CGI.In a statement on her website, Imogen Heap says: "Neither the song I AM___ nor the music video were 'created by AI.' The song as well as this music video were created by dozens of human artists over the past few years."For clarity, the utilization of AI was done strategically and specifically... For the “Noise” section of the music video, the artist Robert Seidel used personal video footage from my phone that was relevant to the song’s theme (the audio of those videos is featured on and off for a couple of minutes in the song). He processed those videos through the model Stable Diffusion... [before it was re-edited by Korsak]. After which, half was turned into particles by the VFX artist Falk Müller."Korsak adds that working on this long-term project was also integral to dealing with the challenge of living in a new country, and she acknowledges the help of Deadbeat Films, the production company who were particularly invoived in the first stage of production in 2023, and producer, live action director and co-writer Boris Thompson-Roylance. "Forced migration left me feeling torn between places, cultures and systems much larger than myself. I AM ___ became a way of translating that fragmentation into something tangible," she says."A lot of people have told me the Noise section feels like an accurate visualisation of what’s happening in their mind on an average day. If anything, I hope the film makes viewers feel a little less alone inside all that chaos of modern life."

Welcome to the Church of JADE, as the Brit Award-winning singer breaks new ground once again in Billy King's hyper-stylised promo for Church.The highly entertaining video plunges JADE into a camp-folkloric universe, boasting an array of gently surreal, fully iconic, and delightfully absurd set pieces. Working with creative director Maximillian Raynor, King creates a gothic, theatrical world, building a non-Christian, queer ritual space and plays into the obsessive nature of the 'cult of pop'.Elevated by creative composition and awe-inspiring outfits by Raynor, it's a carefully considered vision and a complete tour de force.

Thomas James returns to music videos for a very special project for the Ukranian modern folk quartet DakhaBrakha - filmed under wartime conditions in Ukrainian capital Kyiv.The video for Kozak is a metaphorical interpretation of Ukraine's battle for survival, with a mythical setting that starts with the brave young hero being tutored by a wise elder before facing his adversary - the personification of the enemy that calls itself 'Mother'. The video was shot on a recent visit to Kyiv and James creates a richly cinematic and atmospheric vision - as darkly imaginative as many of his previous videos, for the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Nothing But Thieves and Ghostpoet. And with the War going on, this was achieved in extraordinarily testing conditions, made possible by the commitment of members of Kyiv's hugely experienced filmmaking community, as he explains. This was about celebrating Ukraine... to embody the pride and resilience that is clearly so abundant there."DakhaBrahka come from a stylised folkloric tradition - celebrating their home nation across the globe with their incredible music - and we wanted the promo to do the same," says James."With a trip planned to Kyiv to see family, the project was born from a want to draw attention to the incredible talent still working in Ukraine, from production through to crew. To show that insanely talented people were still making phenomenal work, despite everything."The film came from an idea of Ukrainian cultural pride. So it made sense to us all, to take the mythologies of traditional Ukrainian folklore, and treat it with a cinematic spin. We built upon myths from old Kozak tales, that perhaps feel metaphorically relevant, and used that as a vehicle to investigate the beautiful narrative and tone of the track... And to perhaps go a little way in trying to celebrate the awe-inspiring energy that is so present in Ukraine - with folklore from the country that inspired it."This was about celebrating Ukraine, attempting in what little way we could, to embody the pride and resilience that is clearly so abundant there. It was a honour to be back in Kyiv, and to work with everyone. It was an experience I'll hold very dear for a long time. It certainly put things into a very clear perspective."