Best of 2023:
Director's Notes
We love to get Director’s Notes. It’s great to have the director (or directors) to tell us all about the making of the video that we’re featuring. So in this part of our round-up of 2023, we revisit those standout video posts with a pick of the best Director’s Notes of the year, plus some standout BTS features - 25 In all.
More often than not, the comments and interviews reflect the incredible efforts put into the work by the creatives involved. And as a result it also gives us another chance to flag up some excellent work that may otherwise have slipped under people’s radar during the course of the year.
Our thanks to everyone who made these informative and inspiring stories possible - directors, producers, EPs, heads of music video, PRs and more. We’ve included an extract from the director’s contribution in the original story here, and feature credits for the director and site sponsor involved in making that video.
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
A R I Z O N A 'Moving On' (Director's Cut) by Owen Brown
"We spent a year and a half making it to tell the story of working with the Navajo to create the biggest land art ever made in Navajo Nation."
Featuring
Director
Owen Brown
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Ashnikko 'Worms' by Raman Djafari
"I probably spent two months on and off working on the character designs. I even finished the last ones when we already started the animation production."
Featuring
Director
Raman DjafariProd company
Blinkink
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Austyn Gillette 'Leaning Into Your Palms' by David Findlay
“I felt romantic relationships are so difficult to depict successfully in such a short amount of time. Somewhere along the way it all came together when I figured these two should be siblings.”
Featuring
Director
David Findlay
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Autoheart 'Juggernaut' by Joseph Wilson
"'I knew that we would set each other free’ was a line that felt like it needed a good juxtaposition, which led me to think of Anna Nicole Smith who married 89-year-old J. Howard Marshall when she was 26..."
Featuring
Director
Joseph WilsonProd company
PrettybirdDirector's rep
MouthpieceFilm Lab
Cinelab Film & DigitalColour grade company
Studio RM
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Chien Méchant 'Étiole Filante' by Kelzang Revach
“This exercise was all about turning artificial intelligence into a means of expression.”
Featuring
Producer
Kelzang RevachDirector's rep
Partizan
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Jessie Ware ‘Begin Again’ by Charlie Di Placido
"I’m a massive fan of Jessie's music and this album feels like a seminal musical moment for her - so this was real privilege of a project to work on."
Featuring
Director
Charlie Di PlacidoProd company
Irresistible StudiosDirector's rep
Carrie Sutton
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
J Hus ft Burna Boy 'Masculine' by Nathan Miller
"We were planning to film the finale at Burna's afterparty that evening, but that got cancelled last minute. So Hus, his friends, and I roamed around London heading to other parties.”
Featuring
Director
Nathan MillerProd company
Biscuit Filmworks
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin ft Lex Amor 'Grief' by Denisha Anderson
"This video is for the millennials, inspired by weird and wonderful storylines and colour pallets of Rockos, Modern Life, to Ren & Stimpy and Doug."
Featuring
Director
Denisha AndersonProd company
Caviar
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Kodaline 'Everything' by Jonathan Irwin
“This video was originally pitched as a live-action piece way back, and was on-track to be made…”
Featuring
Director
Jonathan IrwinProd company
Joyrider
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Mason Collective x Bipolar Sunshine 'People In Love' by Deadhorses
"We wanted to take people back in time to an old school house party session, before social media and Spotify, when MTV ruled and all you needed for a solid session was a four pack of cans, 10 B&H, a brick Nokia and a well-fed Tamagotchi!"
Featuring
Director
DeadhorsesPost production company
DOMA
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Master Peace 'I Might Be Fake' by Freddie Cattaneo
“I Might Be Fake is about pretending to be something that you’re not. As such I wanted to place Master Peace in an unfamiliar world which he can only navigate by using deceit.”
Featuring
Director
Freddie CattaneoColour grade company
Black Kite Studios
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Mick Jenkins 'Smoke Break-Dance' by Andre Muir
“The song made me think about the different vices or 'highs' we use to escape reality. But they can be double-edged swords...”
Featuring
Director
Andre MuirProd company
SMUGGLER
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Omar Apollo 'Ice Slippin' by rubberband
“We wanted the video to be an object that reflected the many different physical pieces of what it means to be a human and what it would take, in the realm of magical realism, to rebuild a human soul.”
Featuring
Director
rubberband.Prod company
SMUGGLER
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Patrick Wolf 'Nowhere Game' by Joseph Wilson
“I had come across Beacon Hill Fort a few years ago - [and] I’d been saving it for the perfect project.”
Featuring
Director
Joseph WilsonProd company
PrettybirdDirector's rep
Mouthpiece
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Potter Payper 'Corner Boy' by Tom Roscoe
“Sometimes as creatives we overthink our ideas, trying to constantly improve on what’s already out there… sometimes you have to rein it in and realise less is more…”
Featuring
Director
Troy RoscoeDirector's rep
Marisa Garner Associates
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
RAYE ft Coi Leray 'Flip A Switch' by Otis Dominique
“One of the biggest challenges with a project like this is bringing all the jigsaw pieces together.”
Featuring
Director
Otis DominiqueProd company
KODEFilm lab
Cinelab Film and DigitalDirector's rep
Mouthpiece
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Róisín Murphy 'Fader' by Róisín Murphy
“I felt I needed a totally authentic space in which to perform Fader. The song is about life and death and music - and so I went home to where it all started for me.”
Featuring
Director
Róisín MurphyProd company
Object & AnimalPost production company
Electric Theatre Collective
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Royal Blood 'Mountains At Midnight' by Milo Blake
“I think in some sense the very reason that it was a departure appealed to me. I was intrigued by the experience of working with a new genre and style of artist.”
Featuring
Director
Milo BlakeProd company
SpindleDirector's rep
MouthpieceEditing company
HomespunColour grade company
Black Kite Studios
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Sad Night Dynamite 'Sick Of Your Sound' by Will Hooper
“In a group chat that is riddled with voice notes of ideas and thoughts for the video from Josh and Archie, I wrote about being so sick of listening to them that I wanted to kill them both. Which was the thing that prompted the idea.”
Featuring
Director
Will HooperProd company
Blink
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Sampha 'Can't Go Back' by Saad Moosajee
“I drew inspiration from both magic realism and Afrofuturist literature, imagining a visual style equally stark and surreal, centered around light and shadow…”
Featuring
Director
Saad MoosajeeProd company
SMUGGLER
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Skinny Pelembe 'Don't Be Another' by Jai Moseley
“When I listened to Doya’s (Skinny Pelembe) track for the first time, I was really gripped by this very specific tale of human imperfection.”
Featuring
Director
Jai MoseleyProd company
SMUGGLER
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Stormzy ft Fredo 'Toxic Traits' by Femi Ladi
“Stormzy and Fredo found creative ways to show their toxic traits whilst still flossing. This allowed us to exaggerate some of the scenes and be playful whilst still trying to say something real.”
Featuring
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
The Chemical Brothers 'Live Again' by DOM&NIC
“We created virtual CGI worlds and used long unbroken camera takes, without edits, moving between those different worlds seamlessly with our hero character.”
Featuring
Director
DOM&NICVFX Company
UNTOLD Studios
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
Tom Grennan 'Here' by Sayna Fardaraghi
“I’ve always wanted to create an intimate connection between complete strangers through shared memories, moments and experiences. A photobooth became the perfect microcosm for
Featuring
Director
Sayna FardaraghiProd company
ForeverColor grade company
Electric Theatre Collective
Best of 2023: Director's Notes
U2 ‘I Will Follow’ by Shan Phearon
“I’ve always wanted to create an intimate connection between complete strangers through shared memories, moments and experiences. A photobooth became the perfect microcosm for
Featuring
Director
Shan Phearon