Léa Esmaili, director of the extraordinary 'Victorian china doll' video for Ashnikko's Trinkets a few months ago, has now created something very different for the rising Francophone pop star, and recent UKMVA nominee Theodora - a fantasy action adventure told in numerous styles of animation and heavily graphicised live action. Esmaili's video for Masoko Na Mabele, featuring rapper ThisizLondon, is a hyperactive combo of numerous graphic styles, coordinated to the blistering pace of the track. And it works like a version of story game Condequences, with different VFX artist and animators picking up from where the last one left off, in the manner of videos like Coldplay's feelslkikeimfallinginlove.it all starts when the musical notes in Theodora and THISIZLONDON's song, manage to escape from the recording studio, setting off a breathless chase through the city, and beyond. It's a visual assault and a total tour de force of clashing styles.With this coming after the UKMVA-nominated Fashion Designa, it's clear Theodora is making sure her videos are properly worthy of her exciting music.

Sergi Fiddes directs a striking satire for Multiscreen, that plays out in a feverish clash of textures, live action, animation and lyrics for the London alt pop duo's Hip To Be Dumb. The video is an assault on the senses - in the best way. The lo-fi, early internet vibe plays to the DIY sensibilities of the track, creating a visual that is engrossing throughout. Fiddes explains that the approach was dictated by the satirical nature of the lyrics, whilst also adopting a nostalgic aesthetic that suited that 80's processed sound. "[The video] explores how futile our attempts of authenticity are in this overwhelming brainrot era, and that the romantic ideals of returning to the 'past' or to 'nature' are easily corrupted into another form of clout-farming," explains Fiddes. "The principle idea was; how much does one's brain need to rot before we regress back to our Ape-like ancestor? Partly inspired by Mike Judge's Idiocracy, I wanted to play with this idea of decline and take it to the Nth degree in pure satirical fashion; inverting the ubiquitous 'March of Progress' illustration that shows the linear evolution of Ape-like ancestor to upright human, into a 'March of Regress', demonstrating the opposite."It became apparent that animation was the only route we were going to achieve this, however, having never done animation previously I was going I needed all the help I could get. Enter Misha Notley, our animator who made life extremely easy over the course of two weeks.Our principle model was based off one of the Mulitscreen duo, viral extraordinaire, Louis Ravens, with certain added accessories like the wired headphones and a matcha as a nod to the classic 'performative male' look. This became one of five animated models that got progressively more ape-like which Misha then had to seamlessly morph into one another over the course of the song whilst also animating distinct running patterns for each one."When it came to the background, I initially wanted something understated and not too distracting. But after chatting with the duo and Misha, it made sense that a more maximalist approach suited the song's vibe much better. In true brainrot style, it's visually overwhelming ultimately playing into the depressing state of affairs the internet culture is tangled up in. However, despite this, it’s still quite playful in this sort of Dystopia-lite kind of way. "A final note - it goes without mentioning this was one of the most collaborative efforts I've had going into a music video and was extremely fun and rewarding to bash heads with Multiscreen and Misha. Having the chance to spitball as many ideas as possible, everything and anything was fair game and I'm delighted with our results!"

Adam Buxton muses on the difficulty of not picking a side in our polarised world in Dancing In The Middle - interpreted as a battle between different types of audio equipment by visionary animator Cyriak Harris in this very welcome return to music videos.Cyriak's distinctive style of manipulating existing material in extraordinary ways - as seen in numerous viral films and music videos for the likes of Bonobo - is all present here, as a hapless cassette-and-speaker character is caught in the crossfire between competing characters composed of analogue and digital audio gear - a war overseen by a controlling reel-to-reel tape machine.Buxton - whose debut album Buckle Up is released today - goes way back with Cyriak, the self-taught and entirely self-reliant animator who created mind-boggling exercises in surreal comedy and AfterEffects chicanery in films where he also wrote the music, and then in a number of commissioned music videos in the Noughties and Teens - all regularly featured at BUG, the Buxton-presented music video live event.This is not as intensely complicated as many of Cyriak's classic films, but it's still a considerable achievement of wrangling a mass of visual elements to serve up the idea. And it really does justify repeated viewing to appreciate the detail and storytelling - and realise that somehow Cyriak serves up a happy(ish) ending.

A lovely short film by Luxemburg-based illustrator and animator Marie Lavis for an unreleased demo of a song on Jacob Collier's album Djesse Vol 3, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Collier's fourth album.The video for Lark In A Sky Shop investigates the complexities in this unorthodox song, where Collier delivers a spoken-word rap over drums and percusssion. Lavis's film interprets Collier's lyrics in a flow of strongly graphic black and white imagery, following the subconscious journey of an everyman struggling for freedom. Lavis's handmade (possibly hand-painted) style of animation - is an ideal accompaniment to the raw approach to the track, created in the early stages of the making of the 2020 album. Lavis says of the song and the video: "It explores the depth of tension within one’s soul and life, stretched between light and darkness, day and night, oppression and freedom, and the turbulent navigation through it all. It’s about being pressed, found, and brought into a spacious place."