Videos
PRETTYBIRD’s Kelvin Jones has directed a cinematic music video for M Huncho’s latest single Of Course. Shot on location during wild weather in Hastings, which Jones has lensed with an aesthetic that evokes Midwest America, a humorous narrative runs through the promo, based around central character ‘The Plug’, played by the artist.Kelvin Jones explains: “It was a privilege to work with Huncho on this video, he was so easy to work with. He originally hit me up for the job and it was a no brainer, he trusted my creative vision to create something he was more than happy with. We had a weather warning on the first day and we couldn’t move the shoot, so we was hit with heavy rain and terrible wind, and we was in Hastings so the intensity of everything was worse."So pickup day here we come, and on the second we ended up leaving with the scenes we wanted but under a different scope. We used a vast array of lenses for different purposes because I was searching for a lens that had a lot of character. However, we only had our main lenses on the main shoot but we couldn’t get them on our pickup day, so we ended up shooting on Arri’s Signature Primes and the ANGÉNIEUX ZOOM LENS.”
Promonews - 1st Sept 2023
King Princess gets a rough ride in the pursuit of love, in Quinn Wilson's riveting video for PAIN.It's the second video for KP by Wilson, who's break into directing videos came from her role as creative director for Lizzo. Unlike the extraordinary video for Only Time Makes It Human, this one is 100% live action. But even more visceral.Featuring Stella Maxwell, Kilo Kish and others, as KP's tormentors...
Promonews - 6th Jan 2021
Joe Wheatley teams up with Nottingham indie band Do Nothing to create a world made of cardboard boxes for their breakthrough track Glueland.Singer Chris Bailey describes the song as being about stuck in a weird limbo, and Wheatley places the frontman in a tunnel, composed of cardboard boxes (made in Nottingham), occasionally emerging into open spaces where seemingly unconnected things, from the innocuous to the outlandish, are taking place.“As a native of Nottingham it was great to connect with a local band that are making genuinely interesting music," says Wheatley. "Chris explained the rationale of the album art with references to Xanadu from Citizen Kane, and the concept developed from there. Fast forward and we had 400 cardboard boxes to deal with.”
Promonews - 7th Dec 2020
Fenn O’Meally explores musical obsession in her charming promo for Texas ft. Wu-Tang Clan. The film features Kadeem Ramsay - well known for his recurring role in Top Boy, and also in Steve McQueen anthology Small Axe - as Myles, an obsessive Texas and Wu-Tang fan. After seeing their legendary joint performance at the 1998 Brit Awards, he’s spent the last 15 years collecting merch and memorabilia of the two, whilst plotting ways to bring this monumental collaboration back. The film follows Myles’ obsession with the ultimate music collaboration and his hope that they will, one day, reunite.O’Meally injects humour and effortless charisma into the project, while employing a clever split narrative. Lensed by Molly Manning Walker, the use of authentic, docu-style shots helps build a sense of character and narrative, whilst the more experimental footage brings a jolt of youthful energy to the overall concept. The production design and art direction are top-notch, cleverly portraying a sense of celebrity obsession, without going overboard into parody territory. It's a film with a big heart, and looks like it was just as fun to make as it is to watch.
Rob Ulitski - 2nd Dec 2020
Florence Kosky brings the transcendent style she recently employed with Labrinth to play with Raissa, who embarks on an epic, wondrous journey into a magical unknown in the video for Crowded. With the live action footage of Raissa wandering into the great outdoors at night touched by hyperreal colour and glowing lights, her journey into fantasy is completed by the switch to full 2D animation. That is the work of Anthony Scheppard - a master of animated psychedelia, who employs his style to fulfill Kosky's vision. It's a notable piece to showcase the young artist, signed to Mark Ronson's Zelig label, and this up-and-coming director.
Promonews - 1st Dec 2020
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The Promonews Roundup
Berwyn takes a introspective saunter through late-night Peckham, in Ethan + Tom's video for Vinyl.Tapping into that quietly centred charisma that made his UKMVA-winning video for Trap Phone so special, Ethan Barrett and Tom Gullum have situated Berwyn's performance of this heartfelt track on an inner London high street that edges between reality and a dreamlike state.The up-and-coming directing duo have already made an impression with their visual inventiveness, but they keep the high-octane trickery of their videos for Flohio mostly in locker here. It's all about Berwyn's compelling performance, framed by excellent cinematography by Terrence Wilkins, and a constantly moving, occasionally rotating camera.
Promonews - 27th Nov 2020
Pip + Lib explore the monotony of life in their impressive visual for singer-songwriter Karl Benjamin.The directing duo's video captures Benjamin at home, stuck in a type of stasis - sitting, staring, occasionally dancing in a room, and thinking... Inside this (metaphorical) prison with regard to his surroundings, the artist stares back at his doppelganger inside the TV, creating an endless loop of consuming and watching, but taking no action to get out of his situation.You need not have spent months in lockdown to find this situation relatable, but it probably helps. Although in fact, Karl Benjamin has commented that the song is all about breaking out of a rut. “To me, Apricot Sky is the realisation that someone, or even something, around you can change your life almost completely."DoP Murren Tullett contrasts subtle camera movement with static, fly-on-the-wall shots, creating an almost serene aesthetic which is endlessly comforting, but full of haunting undertones.
Rob Ulitski - 26th Nov 2020
Chirolles Khalil tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a young couple starting on their life together, in the promo for Preditah featuring WSTRN. Presented as a series of day-in-the-life vignettes, the visual follows a couple as they move from the early days of bliss to the regularity of life as they settle down, and the obstacles to their future happiness - largely from the female perspective. Khalil presents this familiar situation with sensitivity, and makes it both engaging and thought-provoking. Olivia Lockhart and Aden Dzuda give standout performances as the couple who you would love to succeed, leading an excellent ensemble cast. DoP Fola Abatan uses a contrast of relaxed, steady camera movement and frenetic, blink-and-you'll-miss-it cutaways, to reinforce the emotions that play out on screen. Ultimately this is a universal story that has been impressively told.
Rob Ulitski - 18th Nov 2020
Milo Blake explores the tough reality of London street life, from the perspective of an unseen protagonist, in this compelling video for Lord Apex and V Don. In UK Shit, our POV 'hero' is on a mission around the city, as a dealer in an unusual illicit trade; he distributes white label vinyl on the streets, and comes in regular contact with Apex in the process. Inspired by videogames, the approach is nonetheless grittily cinematic, and fast-moving.And a combination of harsh reality and the rules of the game will determine his fate.
Promonews - 10th Sept 2020
A girl is forced to face different versions of herself and accept what it truly means to be alone, in Bianca Poletti's video for Helado Negro. Starring Genna Moroni, the concept for the video for Please Won't Please is a minimalist vision of the pandemic's effect on our mental health, and the strength it inspires to carry on regardless. Authentic and meditative, the introspective choreography is captured in beautiful detail by DoP Eric Smith, who matches the energy with slow and steady camera movements and creative composition.
Rob Ulitski - 20th July 2020
Willie J Healey has fame on the brain, in Joe Wheatley's video for Fashun. Bringing his trademark, off-the-wall charisma to a tapestry of bizarre vignettes, Healey is joined by his friend, the director Joseph Bird, as he navigates photo shoots, awkwardly posed portrait setups and a fair amount of rolling around on the floor... Having already shot two videos for Healey this year, Wheatley has confidence and assurance in his direction of this one, that was created during lockdown. He manages to celebrate the off-kilter goofiness of each set-up whilst still reigning it in before it gets to a slapstick level. This balance creates a charming and happy-go-lucky vibe that permeates the concept at every level.
Rob Ulitski - 6th July 2020
Oscar Sansom has created an explosively creative, characteristically energetic video for Biffy Clyro’s Tiny Indoor Fireworks, a mix of live action performance shot during lockdown, and striking animation styles.Sansom's third promo for the band is somewhat different to previous collaborations for fairly obvious reasons, with him directing remotely and the band having to recruit their 'better halves' in helping to shoot the live action footage, using custom-made rigs designed for the project. And despite the domestic settings, the video skilfully brings the band together, captures the band's trademark energy as performers.Meanwhile, the dreamlike animated scenes - produced by The 2D Workshop - reference internal creative struggles, but with an optimistic sense of release that appears forward looking... ‘dreaming of better days’.
Promonews - 15th June 2020
Roger Spy self-directs an experimental lockdown concept for new release Elsewhen (ii). The lo-fi visual is filmed on a small Go-Pro style camera, capturing an 18-hour period in which Spy creates a DIY set from bin bags and tin foil, edging into the territory of conceptual art. There are bright-eyed hazmat characters, mysterious boxes and glitchy, creepy performance, intertwined to create a haunting and isolated atmosphere.After the tongue-in-cheek pop of his video for Did You Go To Masturbation School, released back in January, this is a real change of direction: the avant garde side of Roger Spy.
Rob Ulitski - 8th June 2020