Having directed videos for the likes of Deaf Havana and Kerrang! best newcomers In Case Of Fire, Ben Thornley and Paul Burrows were approached by Fightstar to direct the video for A City On Fire.

“They were asking for an explosive performance,” say the directors. “We were struggling to bring the element of fire into it, to tie into the lyrics, without actually setting fire to anything, when we came across the versa tube product which we eventually used for the back screen.”

So the band’s performance (shot at Panalux in Bolton) is framed against the impressive LED-tube backdrop, while cutaways to interestingly tampered billboards offers a thought-provoking commentary on the nature of our surveillance-obsessed, politically-neutered society.

Fightstar
A City On Fire (Search and Destroy)
Directors/Producers/DoPs: Ben Thornley and Paul Burrows.
Production: Sitcomsoldiers
Representation: J6 Films
Gaffer: Malc Smith
Sparks: Mitch Westwood, Chris Sarginson
Assistant Camera: David Noble
P2 logging: Mark Forrer
Makeup: Rebekah Tatlow
CGI: Melvyn Ternan
Watch: here