Traditionally the quietest month of the year lived up to its billing, but there was some vibrant, exquisite work released in January from both established directors and exciting new talent.
Promonews - 3 days ago
Traditionally the quietest month of the year lived up to its billing, but there was some vibrant, exquisite work released in January from both established directors and exciting new talent.
Promonews - 3 days ago
Lady Gaga, Paris Goebel and Bethany Vargas usher in a riotous return to form in this spellbinding epic for Abracadabra. Ahead of her seventh album release in March, the unveiling of the new single and video has coincided with her Grammy win for Die With A Smile, and has been making big waves overnight. Featuring spectacular choreographed scenes in a metaphorical club environment, Abracadabra showcases a dance battle between the light and dark sides of Gaga. Creative mayhem abounds, with lavish costumes - styled by Peri Rosenzweig and Nick Royal - cult-like chants and a return to her surreal, maximalist roots. Fans will notice callbacks to her iconic videography - namely Alejandro and Judas - but this video takes things to new heights, with a fearless vision and curated aesthetic. Atmospheric, haunting and immersive, it's a brilliant completement to the track and a love letter to the music video format.
Rob Ulitski - 4 days ago
He is renowned for those qualities which nobody else quite matches - the intensity, the charisma, the intelligence, the ambivalent morality. So after Ripley, Sherlock, Fleabag, Hamlet and all - where does a Sam Fender music video stand in the range of Andrew Scott's screen achievements? It's right up there. In Stuart A McIntyre video for Fender's People Watching, Scott is a man on the move, drifting through the American West. His combination of purposefulness and unpredictability in McIntyre's highly fluid and cinematic direction is compelling viewing. Echoes of Scott's former roles, together with his sheer magnetism, invite us to speculate on his true motivations. But that's only half the story. The video is a journey to revelation for the viewer. And its how you reach that point is where the real magic lies. So this is one of the rare ones, where there's a transcendent moment which can only really come in a music video...The point when Scott starts dancing with himself, as Fender's track hits its crescendo, the image goes blurry, like the film itself can barely hold itself together. The emotion. Wow.It's not just about Andrew Scott, but the achievement of everyone involved here: McIntyre, DoP Max Goldman, editor Talia Pasqua (a brilliant job), commissioners Semera Khan and Kirstin Cruickshank, and more. But paradoxically, with no dialogue to speak, Scott is unchained. He moves to a different level, to become one of his most memorable characters. Unmissable.
David Knight - 8 days ago
Jordan Hemingway directs another entry in FKA Twigs' thrilling Eusexua campaign - a raw, confrontational visual, marked by palpable tension and a deep dive into introspection, filmed in a highway tunnel in Marseilles. with cars speeding past Twigs in both directions.At the outset of the video for Striptease, we see Twigs run through the tunnel, running from an unknown threat. The vibe quickly shifts, as she dives into a vulnerable yet empowering dance, unaffected by the stream of traffic, speeding past in both directions.Hemingway slows down the action, allowing Twigs to shed her coat and reveal a red dress, progressively shedding more layers—both literally and metaphorically. She eventually levitates above a car, an image that signifies spiritual elevation and the reclamation of her body and pain. [imgtoken data:1]Marked by quick-cut montages, breathless performance setups and a high-fashion meets surrealist aesthetic, it's got Hemingway's name and style all over it - with a possible nod to the classic tunnel-set video for UNKLE's Rabbit In Your Headlights. The video culminates in a visual transformation, where Twigs shifts from a state of inner struggle to full self-empowerment, symbolised by her posture as a fashion model on a runway.Brilliant work and a must-watch, it's a new high for the pair's collaborative efforts.
Rob Ulitski - 10 days ago
Joy Crookes and Kano deliver the joy and heartache of a life together in a series of moments, within the same four walls, in Jake Erland's compelling video for Mathematics.The artists portray a couple going through the life-changing phases of a relationship – young love, marriage, birth and death - all happening within their home. And we switch between periods, back and forth, as the action takes place within an almost theatrical framework - the same rooms of their council flat, shot on a locked-off camera. So the table used for a birthday party will later host a wake for a lost loved oneThis device is a winner, allowing for Erland to create almost painterly compositions as cinematographer as well as director of the piece. And it provides the contained space for the transfixing acting performances of the two artists.In this respect, Kano's talents are well known, due to his role in Top Boy. But he is matched by Joy Crookes, who portrays a young woman's ups and downs in a way that suggests she also has great potential as an actor. She has great chemistry with Kano, and the meaningful yet unheard exchanges between them provides good reason to return to this again and again.The visuals overall underscore a track that also feels transcendent, with Crookes expressing the pain of trying to be on the same page with someone you love. After Pass The Salt, released last month, Mathematics is the second of a tryptich of videos by Erland for the new album. And after this, it's going to be fascinating to see what they come up with next time.
Promonews - 12 hours ago
Esoteric alt-rock band Black Country, New Road are back, and Rianne White's video for the first single from upcoming album Forever Howlong celebrates the bonds between best friends - and the lengths they will go to be with each other.At the start of the video for Besties, three bandmembers - Georgia Ellery, Tyler Hyde and May Kershaw - are at a different communal event where something exciting is happening: Georgia at a firework display, Tyler giving a piano recital, May at her own birthday party. But at a key moment, each of them decide they have to leave, to wander off into the night - over fields, through streets, tripping over dogs - heading to where they would prefer to be: with each other.Heralding the band's new musical direction, Rianne White's charming film conjures a world of gentle quirkiness, championing individuality within a cozy, smalltown community - and ultimately delivering a very good punchline.We found the beating heart of a world made better by chasing love and connection."Besties came into my world with a dance of feelings, with such an understood concept of exploring the core emotion of taking on the world, and its obstacles to be with her, the bestie, again," she says."Building this with the band took me to so many memories, informed by a collective of experiences from my own childhood, writing letters and maps to my bestie, into formulating our own map and Sliding Doors-effect narrative - charged with the instinctual punch and intuition of - I need to be with my bestie now."Working with Georgia, May and Tyler was a real treat across their performances especially, and quite literally, running from the more conventional lip-sync world, and injecting little cameo moments with Charlie, Lewis and Luke."Knee high in January’s jacket of mud, darkness, fields, street corners and a pack of hounds we found the beating heart of a world made better by chasing love and connection. It’s been such a pleasure, this song was love at first harpsichord!"
David Knight - 14 hours ago
Love really hurts in Bradley & Pablo's promo for Jennie & Dominic Fike.The darkly comedic video for Love Hangover begins with May December and Riverdale actor Charles Melton’s character giving a eulogy at Jennie’s funeral, before her coffin is lowered into the grave.Using vignettes to portray an undeniable attraction to someone who’s both toxic and intoxicating, the video launches into the full backstory of events that led up to the funeral.Jennie and Charles Melton are seen on numerous dates in different settings, all of which end with fatal incidents for the former. From drive-in Kaiju's to a pesky olive determined to choke her, the video allows Jennie to showcase her comedic chops to brilliant effect.If you've never seen a K-Pop megastar hurtling towards death by bowling pin machine, this is the video for you.
Rob Ulitski - 17 hours ago
Directing duo AB/CD/CD direct a cool celebration of femininity in all its variety for singer-songwrirer Cat Burns. The video for Girls is a studio-set celebration and a love letter to women, a tribute to their magic and everything that makes them extraordinary - with Cat Burns as the central figure and guide into her imagination. It's made real by the playful visuals and craft that has long been the trademark of Clement Dozier and Camille Dauteuille, aka AB/CD/CD.The video plays out in a minimal studio environment, where Cat introduces a number of girls she admires - all distinctive in their diversity. Using match-cuts and choreographed set-ups to match the bouncy rhythm of the track, the directors explore this expansive variety in the cast - where the only common factor is their age, which is around the same as Cat's, and their own very individual beauty."We wanted to create a minimal video celebrating girls," the director duo explain. "The idea was to capture as many different women's personalities as possible within two minutes of the track, following its unique feminine energy. It was mostly about creating a group around Cat's performance."To extend the idea of togetherness and connection, we created a loose and playful choreography and old school camera tricks, where everyone could express themselves, with subtle nods to Busby Berkeley - perhaps only us notice those loose references."Given the minimal approach, we wanted to magnify these women and reveal each one's beauty through intimate 16mm camera work.”
Rob Ulitski - 1 day ago
Jeremi Durand directs a spectacular promo for German pop star Nina Chuba. The video for Farbenblind & Waldbrand (Director’s Cut) takes viewers into an slick studio environment, using various props and camera techniques to elevate Chuba's absorbing performance. Boasting an incredible number of mini-vignettes, each segment embodies the theme of the track, whilst reaching into otherworldly, editorial territory. Ambitious and absolutely intoxicating, the use of visual effects adds a stylish flair throughout, and Durand's commitment to bold storytelling and visuals is on full display here.
Rob Ulitski - 2 days ago
Eddie Alcazar directs a gripping stop motion promo for The Weeknd - featuring the artist as a curious toddler in a haunted forest. The video for Red Terror (from latest album Hurry Up Tomorrow) follows the small child, lost in a haunted forest, eventually encounters a strange entity that forces a painful transformation.Alcazar is best known for his stop-motion creations, including his most recent feature Divinity (2023). Additionally, he collaborated with Darren Aronofsky on the short film The Vandal, starring Bill Duke, which premiered at Cannes in 2021 and caught the attention of Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd. That has led to two collaborations on Hurry Up Tomorrow.Alcazar also directed The Weeknd’s recent performance of Open Hearts on Jimmy Kimmel Live! which aired just as his album dropped. The performance serves as a prequel to Red Terror, ending with The Weeknd following a toddler version of himself out into the forest.By merging live action, stop motion, and VFX, the video is groundbreaking, pushing boundaries while staying rooted in traditional animation - and radiating raw emotion.
Rob Ulitski - 2 days ago
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