OB Management

Production Company

Bullion Productions

Directing duo Uncanny direct a poignant performance promo for Loyle Carner.&nbsp;Exploring themes of identity, belonging and emotional connection, the one-take video&nbsp;opens on Carner's face and gradually pulls back to reveal a spectacular climactic shot of the artist rooted into the ground, whilst holding a kid of his own.&nbsp;Shot on an infrared camera, the distinctive aesthetic adds a fragile, ethereal look to the cinematography, and distorts the surroundings into an amalgam of fantasy and reality.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

James Middleton

Uncanny

Joel Spencer

Marco Grey

Riz Ahmed

Fraser Rigg

Jack Newman

Ben Murray

Kevin Cheung

Ali Copeland

Andrej Rybar

Hip Hop

Loyle Carner 'Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)' by Uncanny

Loyle-Carner-'Nobody-Knows-(ladas-Road)'-by-Uncanny

The latest in a super campaign of videos for the new Danger Mouse and Black Thought album Cheat Codes by UK creative team UNCANNY is a brilliant take on the everyday for an awesome team-up of hiphop talent.As Black Thought,&nbsp;A$AP Rocky, El-P and Killer Mike film themselves on an iPhone performing their parts of Strangers - in portrait-mode - this is most definitely, on one level, a self-shot video.But these are not selfies. The trick is seeing the artists holding the iPhone they are filming with, which stays at the centre of the screen throughout.UNCANNY - George Muncey &amp; Elliott Elder - have hooked up a rig for the iPhone&nbsp;which actually might be quite straitforward, probably involving a mirror, but is also simply ingenious.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

United States

Faye Purcell

Danger Mouse & Black Thought ft Run The Jewels, A$AP Rocky 'Strangers' by UNCANNY

Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels) (Official Video)

There are few words that would give justice to&nbsp;this promo for Scottish DJ Hudson Mohawke. Brilliant, is probably one of them.Alan Resnick, director of much hilarious and weird content for Adult Swim,&nbsp;and actor Patti Harrison, known for her work in&nbsp;Shrill and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, have collaborated to create a wonderfully daft and visceral video for Mohawke's Biscan. It's a&nbsp;1-v-1&nbsp;basketball game with a difference,&nbsp;as one character wants to play the game and the other - played by Harrison -&nbsp;just wants to dance her heart out.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;It's a trippy, hypnotic fantasy complete with superhero backstory, choreography - and lots of questionable bodily fluids. It's both relentlessly dreamlike, and propulsively&nbsp;energetic and visceral, as the song and Harrison's pumping dance moves demand.&nbsp;And for a concept so absurd and frantic, the video looks beautiful, blending vintage textures with some truly horror-esque moments, with some spot-on&nbsp;performances.A blast from start to finish - even if the basketball match is a bit one-sided.&nbsp;

Alan Resnick

Patti Harrison

Casey Rup

Tom Mendosa

Brandon Winters

Electronic

Hudson Mohawke 'Bicstan' by Alan Resnick & Patti Harrison

Hudson-Mohawke-'Bicstan'-by--Alan-Resnick-&-Patti-Harrison

Kasabian return with an intriguing dive into the possiblities of Artificial Intelligence-driven animation, working with Rawtape - aka Rory A Wood - to reimagine a band performance of Scriptvre, the first release from the upcoming new album.As we have seen with visuals such as <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/03/11/max-cooper-exotic-contents-xander-steenbrugge/75368" target="_blank">Xander Steenbrugge's recent video for Max Cooper</a>, it will be fascinating to see where we are heading with&nbsp;AI-manipulated imagery. In this case, Kasabian and Rawtape have dipped into&nbsp;the new box of tricks to enhance&nbsp;Kasabian's existing iconography.Certainly looks&nbsp;like there has been some&nbsp;judicious&nbsp;use of the 'Francis Bacon' setting.[imgtoken data:1]

Chris Henderson

Rawtape

Theo Hue Williams

Lea Ogunlami

Nathan Rubins

Afzal Robbiani

Tom North

Ondrej Rybar

Alan Scott

Jackie Tyson

Rory A. Wood

Darren Rae

Cinelab Film and Digital

Belle Docherty (AI Artist)

Kieran Cook (AI Artist)

Declan Colquitt (AI Artist)

Maximilian Kreig (AI Artist)

Sony Music

Rock

Kasabian 'Scriptvre' by Rawtape

Kasabian-'Scriptvre'-by-Rawtape

Thom Yorke collaborates with director Mark Jenkin, and takes on an extraordinary role, in the new video for The Smile, Yorke's new project with Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner.Yorke plays a miner, working deep underground, in the video for Skrting On The Surface - directed, shot and edited by Jenkin, the BAFTA award-winning director of lo-fi, no-budget Cornish-set drama Bait, and created in the same homespun, tactile way as that remarkable film.Jenkin has described the video as 'a subterranean road movie', which was shot on location within&nbsp;a real Cornish tin mine. Yorke plays the lonely miner pushing a skipful of rock through gloomy&nbsp;tunnels, his&nbsp;toil made mesmerising by Jenkin's remarkable use of film, where the grain, abrasions and markings on the stock itself become part an integral part of the story.As with all of his films - including for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/02/01/smile-smoke-mark-jenkin/74762" target="_blank">The Smoke</a>, his previous video for The Smile - Jenkin hand-developed the footage, shot on&nbsp;black and white 16mm stock. In this case,&nbsp;he has used the water from the mine itself in the developing process, which not only pays homage to a venerable location, but also ties in with the theme of renewal at the heart of the video - when its revealed that Yorke's toil is for an altogether surprising purpose.And Jenkins' unique style also&nbsp;works, of course, as a brilliant means to showcase Yorke's unique&nbsp;screen charisma. He has made a significant contribution in making so many great Radiohead videos, and this one stands up with the best of those.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;&nbsp;

Joe Gray

Mark Jenkin

Denzil Monk

Chris Baker

Scott Wright

Colin Holt

Ella Turner

Callum Mitchell

XL Recordings

Alternative

The Smile 'Skrting On The Surface' by Mark Jenkin

The-Smile-'Skrting-On-The-Surface'-by-Mark-Jenkin

Joao Retorta explores the connection between people and possessions in his quietly devastating visual for the American composer/performer Stephan Moccio.The video for Moccio's solo piano composition Halston&nbsp;is set&nbsp;in a&nbsp;Lost Property Office, where a solitary officer on the nightshift diligently records newly arrived belongings -&nbsp;photos, books, wallets, spectacles, passports, toys, and more - archiving and photographing each item.&nbsp;The viewer is invited to reflect upon&nbsp;the people who have lost these treasured possessions - who are represented in the film as anxious voices enquiring after lost items on the office answering machine.[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>I was interested in the question of what the objects we leave behind say about ourselves.</blockquote>Retorta and his director of photography Fraser Rigg create a cinematic atmosphere in this setting with subdued and subtle lighting, complimenting the art direction by Louis Simonon, and allowing&nbsp;the plaintive&nbsp;refrain of Moccio's Halston&nbsp;to flourish&nbsp;as an emotional soundtrack to the human stories that accompany each object.&nbsp;And the understated performance by Linda Edmonds as the lost property officer provides a&nbsp;focus for the sense of loss and loneliness evoked by the music."I was interested in exploring the question of ‘what do the objects we leave behind tell us about ourselves?’," says Joao Retorta.&nbsp;"This setting works as a vehicle for us to look at these items and question their previous lives and owners,&nbsp;and how they&nbsp;came to be lost. I wanted them to work as small windows for something bigger. Something that is down to the viewer to fabricate."[imgtoken data:2]This is a&nbsp;real&nbsp;departure from much of Retorta's&nbsp;previous work in music videos. But the contained nature of the idea and the setting&nbsp;allows some magic to take place once the viewer is drawn in. Most importantly, it allows the cinematic emotion of Moccio's music to flourish."At its core, the video is about human experience," Retorta&nbsp;continues. "I wanted to create something that subtly explores life in the city by looking at the objects that its people left behind. Hopefully I achieved it to some degree.

Joao Retorta

Riaz Ahmed

Louis Simonon

Liam Bachler

Tenthree Editing

Alex Gregory

No.8

Charlie Morris

Klong

David Knight

Decca Records

Modern Composition

Stephan Moccio 'Halston' by Joao Retorta

Stephan Moccio - Halston

Mark Jenkin brings his distinctive analogue talents to the&nbsp;promo for The Smile's new track,&nbsp;The Smoke.&nbsp;In the video, abstract patterns collide with simple, handwritten words and gritty 16mm textures, creating a vintage, avant-garde aesthetic.&nbsp;Similar to the DIY experimentation Jenkin has shown on his videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/05/19/flyte-easy-tiger-mark-jenkin/64889">Flyte</a>, the video doesn't conform to traditional narrative or promo logic, existing instead as a conceptual form to accompany the music.&nbsp;

The Smile 'The Smoke' by Mark Jenkin

The Smile - The Smoke (16mm Film)

To mark the release of her new album The Gods We Can Touch, artist Aurora and director Alexandra Green present an ethereal, experimental live experience.&nbsp;This is a trailer for the performance&nbsp;- which streamed digitally worldwide on the 25th January - and offers a rousing glimpse at the conceptual visuals, promising energetic dance breaks, otherworldly set design and breathtaking soundscapes.&nbsp;&nbsp;The livestream has already happened, but replays of the show can be purchased at&nbsp; https://www.momenthouse.com/aurora.&nbsp;

Alexandra Green

Nailah Clair Blissett

Kia Fern Little

Sarah Asmail

Fin Melluish

Jim Bracher

Experimental

Aurora 'A Touch Of The Divine' by Alexandra Green

Aurora-'A-Touch-Of-The-Divine-'-by-Alexandra-Green

Bullion Productions' producer&nbsp;Joel Spencer has been promoted to Head of Music and Branded Content at the London-based production company.Spencer, already an established creative voice in production at <a href="https://www.bullionproductions.com/" target="_blank">Bullion</a>, will head up a team devoted to high quality branded content, music videos and speciality projects.Spencer’s credit and collaboration list is formidable, from breaking in BAFTA-winning auteur Mark Jenkin to the world of music video, to working with A listers such as Dizzy Rascal and Stormzy. He now heads up Music and Branded Content, working with a roster of directors including Alexander Green, Andrew Donoho, Ben Murray, Davis Silis, James Willis, Joao Retorta, Joe Wilson, Jenkin and Ollie Wolf.“Joel is a cornerstone of the Bullion family," says&nbsp;Bullion MD&nbsp;Jack&nbsp;Newman. "He has great instincts for spotting and&nbsp;nurturing talent and keeps his finger on the pulse when it comes to music."&nbsp;&nbsp;Newman adds that "Branded Content and Music have been the "backbone of the company for over ten years. With our commercial arm really taking off, it’s now as important as ever to up our game in Music Videos and Branded Content. We are excited with Joel’s ambition to take the department to the next level.”• Bullion Productions website <a href="https://www.bullionproductions.com/" target="_blank">here</a>

Bullion appoint Joel Spencer as Head of Music & Branded Content

Alexandra Green directs a powerful live promo for Nao's&nbsp;And Then Life Was Beautiful.Shot in one continuous take, the video features&nbsp;thoughtful cinematography and choreography which seamlessly intermingle to&nbsp;create an ever-evolving&nbsp;piece, placing&nbsp;Nao and her singers centre stage.Boasting a bright, spacious location and some simple yet effective set decoration, the video's aesthetic is fresh, contemporary and memorable.&nbsp;

Becs Rainey

Steven Olubenga Eniraiyetan

Nanu Segal

Nao 'And Then Life Was Beautiful' (Live) by Alexandra Green

Nao-'And-Then-Life-Was-Beautiful'-by-Alexandra-Green

Ollie Wolf collabs with People Just Do Nothing stars Kurupt FM in the shimmery promo for Summertime, featuring Craig David.&nbsp;Reimagining Miami with a South London vibe, Wolf shows the&nbsp;boys 'poolside', before revealing it's all green screen trickery in a car showroom forecourt&nbsp;that's making the magic.&nbsp;Featuring a tongue-in-cheek narrative and plenty of space for the guys to stretch their comedy chops, it's a video tailor-made for summer vibes, and a brilliant follow up to <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2017/04/03/kurupt-fm-ft-ed-sheeran-comic-relief-ben-ross/47126">Kurupt FM and Bullion's Comic Relief collab back in 2017.</a>“It felt very Kurupt and luckily, the boys agreed," explains Ollie Wolf.&nbsp;"As a huge fan of the show, it was a joy to film especially, the car salesman scene; he nailed it and it still gets me every time.”[imgtoken data:1] &nbsp;

Ollie Wolf

Oli Falcon

Guy Fuhrer

Luke Goodrich

Hamish Anderson

Owain Morgan

Fin Sullivan

Coline Bach

Matt Nee

Metal Edit

Tim Smith

CHEAT

Carla Thomas

Puneet Aggarwal

Craig David

Kurupt FM

Daisy Deane

Emma Garrett

Dubstep

Kurupt FM ft Craig David 'Summertime' by Ollie Wolf

Kurupt-Fm-Ft.-Craig-David-'-Summertime'-by-Ollie-Wolf

Two rival motorbike gangs have a high stakes dance-off, in&nbsp;Joao Retorta's spectacular new promo for Royal Blood.&nbsp;Featuring cinematic action scenes and&nbsp;sharp choreography, the video for Limbo steams ahead at breakneck pace, whilst&nbsp;Jake Hunter's mesmerising cinematography captures&nbsp;the wonderful surrealism of Kiev and the industrial locations.&nbsp;It's an action-packed yet enigmatic&nbsp;video which feels like a trademark Retorta work, encompassing high-energy, high concept ideas with true flair and craftsmanship.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

Tom Birmingham

Alex Savelov

Jake Hunter

Daniel Dubrovsky

Taff Williamson

Brendan Jenkins

TenThree

The Mill

Jennifer Ivory

Dom Mckiernan

Warner Records

Dasha Deriagina

2332 Films

Max Salo

Margarita Shekel

Slavomir Hilinskiy

Royal Blood 'Limbo' by Joao Retorta 

Royal-Blood--'Limbo'-by-Joao-Retorta-

Loski and Stormzy are men on a mission - to deliver satisfaction to all sorts of women - in Joao Retorta's thoroughly enjoyable video for Flavour.They play a couple of delivery men, making a number of drop offs around London to supply their special product. What is it? Well, the clue is very much in the songtitle.It's a winning concept, which plays to the strengths and the chemistry of Loski and Stormzy, and provides a series of engaging episodes as they service an&nbsp;increasingly upscale clientele.&nbsp;DoP&nbsp;Harry Wheeler experiments with vibrant lighting and buoyant camerawork to match the steady flow of the track, allowing the charming performances to take focus. And it's a confident step by Joao Retorta into building a narrative around a pair of charismatic artists.&nbsp;

Beatrice Giustini

Harry Wheeler

Joe Sherno

Ciaran Beale

Verity May Lane

Robyn Rowan

James Willis

Ellie Johnson

Ten Three

Kat Catteneo

RCA Records

Grime

Loski, Stormzy 'Flavour' by Joao Retorta

Loski-With-Stormzy-'Flavour'-by-Joao-Retorta

Mark Jenkin directs a beautifully abstract vision for Bicep's Apricots.&nbsp;Building upon the track's focus on repetition and tempo, the video doesn't follow a traditional structure, instead using impressionist-style visuals and DIY techniques to achieve the final result.&nbsp;Transcendent and thought-provoking, the concept feels timeless, borrowing aspects of various styles and ideas from the past and present to create something brilliantly unique yet familiar.&nbsp;

Choe Endean

John Moule

Ninja Tune

Dance

Bicep 'Apricots' by Mark Jenkin

BICEP | APRICOTS (Official Video)

We spend half our lives looking at screens - so NOISY&nbsp;and director Joao Retorta pose a crucial question: are we wishing our lives away?&nbsp;&nbsp;In his blistering video for I Wish I Was A... Retorta sends us into the head of a VR set-wearing youth, triggering an avalanche of imagery that idealises body image, sex, love, and pulsating, visceral excitement. But is any of it actually real?NOISY, with their distinctive brand of dance, pop and indie-rock, become a crucial part of these scenarios - particularly frontman Cody. His charisma and&nbsp;energy provides the focus as we waver between fantasy and reality.Shot in Kiev before Covid restrictions kicked in -&nbsp;at the Soviet-era Expocenter of Ukraine - a range of&nbsp;spectacular scenes are beautifully shot by UKMVA nominee Harry Wheeler,&nbsp;and graded by Jason Wallis. It's definitely worth some of your&nbsp;screentime.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Aleksey Savelov

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Island Records

Ruslan-Bohdan

Kate Maksymova

Yarik Kutnik

Dima Tartishnikov

Denis Kumeiko

Sasha Timkov

Sergey Volniy

NOISY 'I Wish I Was A...' by Joao Retorta

Noisy-'I-Wish-I-Was-A...'-by-Joao-Retorta

BAFTA-winning Mark Jenkin collaborates for the second time with&nbsp;Flyte, with&nbsp;the beautifully-crafted&nbsp; video for Losing You.&nbsp;Interweaving striking Bolex footage - which looks like it has been sourced directly from a movie from the 1940s or '50s - and degraded VHS performance shots, the concept is a multilayered narrative which unwraps across the course of the video.&nbsp;In the main narrative, a man is following a past love&nbsp;across fields and forests, trying to catch up but eventually realising they aren't in the same time or space. The enigmatic themes&nbsp;play out through clever editing and composition, matching eyelines and locations to blur the lines between what's real and what is not. And Jenkin's&nbsp;cinematography is stunning.&nbsp;The performance section by the band was shot&nbsp;socially-distanced&nbsp;over lockdown, distorted and manipulated to represent a home movie. Standing at different points on a staircase, the shots also interact with the main narrative, in a sequence of glances and snapshots of emotion, effortlessly coming together to form a complex whole.

Alex Layton

Tee Byford

Indie Rock

Flyte 'Losing You' by Mark Jenkin

Flyte-'Losing-You'-by-Mark-Jenkin

As with many other projects in the past few months, <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/06/26/prospa-ecstasy-over-over-joao-retorta/65341" target="_blank">the video for Prospa's Ecstasy (Over &amp; Over)</a> began before lockdown started, and then became caught up in the Covid-19 crisis.Then things changed again, and the video for Ecstasy became one of the first productions to take place when the strict conditions of lockdown eased.&nbsp;It gave director Joao Retorta and Joel Spencer and their crew, including DoP Harry Wheeler and art director Bon Walsh, a massive challenge of conducting a shoot in a hitherto unique situation. They became, as Spencer says, guinea-pigs&nbsp;to a new way of working.We spoke to director Retorta and Spencer about their experience making the&nbsp;video for Ecstasy, to discover how they coped - and what they learned.[vidtoken data:0]How did the project start? And did the ideas for the video evolve during the period of its making, due to changing regulations around the lockdown?Joao: This was actually the second idea that I wrote for this track. The project was first sent to me earlier in the year, before the lockdown and just like any other music video. I received a brief from Marco Grey and Polydor via OB and Bullion, submitted an idea, a completely different one that was set in a very distant ‘world’ to this one, and then the pandemic took over Europe.Fast forward a couple months, I was sent a new brief for the track. Right in the middle of the lockdown and adjusted to the reality and limitations of the time. So I wrote this idea with that in mind, initially as a direct portrait of what was going on and knowing that it would potentially have to be shot remotely via Zoom.<blockquote>Apart from shot-listing, everything changed. Everything.</blockquote>Joel:&nbsp;As Joao had worked with the Prospa guys before on Prayer&nbsp;he was approached as they were confident he would be able to do the track justice even with the limitations involved.Joao: However, as things gradually started to change and new regulations were put in place, the idea also evolved. Its core remained the same - it was always my intention to create a video about time and space and using your mind to escape your physical limitations - but as the prospect of a ‘proper’ live action shoot started to become a reality I wanted to divert it away from being set in 2020 and the pandemic lockdown. Instead, I wanted to create something a little bit more timeless, that was informed by the times, yes, but that wasn’t too attached to it.[imgtoken data:1]Above: a page from Joao Retorta's treatment for Prospa's Ecstasy (Over &amp; Over)<blockquote>Prayer gave me the confidence to suggest things that weren’t necessarily asked for.</blockquote>Joel: The core creative didn’t change much but as the deadline moved and new APA guidelines were published, we realised we would be able to have a proper shoot, even if on a much smaller scale. This meant we could evolve the project through our location, the equipment we were using, art dept and overall production value.Having made the video for Prayer last year, Joao, have you established a close collaboration with Prospa in developing visual ideas?Joao: I think it might have established a relationship of trust more than anything. I think we’re all very happy with Prayer, which maybe gave me the confidence to suggest things that weren’t necessarily asked for. Like this video, for example. It wasn’t fully on-brief, but they trusted me and still allowed me to do it. I guess you can call it close collaboration in that sense. We never sat together and bounced ideas back and forth. But I’m down!The video feels nostalgic yet contemporary at the same time. Was that part of the thinking when you came up with this idea? What inspirations did you have in terms of the aesthetic?Joao: Yes, 100%. Like I said earlier, I wanted to make a video that was informed by the times, but that wasn’t too attached to it. I wanted to make something more universal and timeless. Something about boredom and using your mind to escape your environment, which can/does happen anywhere at any time. So it was important to me that it didn’t feel too contemporary nor too nostalgic either, and that it lived somewhere in between. It also goes well with how I see Prospa’s music. Their sound is modern, yet filled with nostalgia.One film that kept coming back was Wong Kar Wai’s Hong Kong classic Chungking Express. I’d say that was my main reference. I love everything Wong Kar Wai, especially this film. I love how informal yet completely thought-out and stylised it looks and feels.[vidtoken data:1]<blockquote>Chungking Express was my main reference...&nbsp;I love how informal yet thought-out and stylised it looks and feels.&nbsp;</blockquote>What were the most important considerations when it came to casting? Were your couple were already in lockdown together?Joao:&nbsp;Yes, right from the start we knew that we had to cast a couple who were&nbsp;in lockdown together. That was the only way to erase the social distancing rule between the cast. As you can imagine that limited our options considerably, but Hannah Ashby Ward at Lane Casting did an awesome job!Joel: A challenge that this brought was that many of our initial age pool had gone back to home towns and parents’ houses, reducing the amount of potential options. With that said working with Hannah at Lane Casting we were never worried about this element of the film. She had recently cast Joao’s Diesel film with Hypebeast, which had a similar brief and once we received the first set of auditions Frankie [Girling] and Jack [Adamson] stood out and we were sold almost immediately.[imgtoken data:2]Above: Joao Retorta (right) and 1st AD Luke Goodrich on set of the Ecstasy video<blockquote>To be honest, I found it extremely challenging to deal with mentally.</blockquote>What inspired the use of a voiceover/narration as opposed to the characters talking directly to each other?Joao: I covered most of the dialogue from a master on the day with the characters talking to each other. But I knew I wanted to add an extra layer to it, so I covered the singles without anyone talking and as slow creeping shots. I wanted to make it feel more ethereal and cerebral, fitting with what they are talking about.The editing is such a crucial part of the video, in the way it changes in intensity to reflect the music, but also the state of mind of the characters. Was this a strong element of the original idea or something that evolved in post-production?Joao: A bit of both. The track has a very defined structure with very clear changes, and the structure of the video was made with that in mind from the start. But it was brought to life by Brendan Jenkins during the offline. We had a fun time over Zoom cutting it. Big up Brendan![imgtoken data:3]Above: DoP Harry Wheeler (bottom and mirror) with cast member Jack Adamson<blockquote>I wanted to create something a little bit more timeless than being completely attached to the lockdown.</blockquote>From a production point of view, what were the main challenges? And how did they change during the course of the production process?Joel: I would say the main challenge we had was our location. We wanted a residential space that looked live in and fitted with Joao’s aesthetic. The issue was the insurers wouldn’t cover us going into a lived-in residence meaning we had to use a location that wasn’t occupied by tenants. This doesn’t sound too difficult but when you factor in a lower end art department budget and the fact that all of the prop houses were closed we had to get smart.Luckily, we found the Master Shipwrights House in Deptford which was separated between occupied residences in one part of the building and a location house at the other. This meant that it worked from an insurance perspective, and we also had plenty of furniture options and props to play with that made our art director Bon’s life a lot easier. On top of that Bon worked her magic bringing in several specific pieces that elevated what was already there.[imgtoken data:4]Above: Focus puller Phil Heron on set at Master Shipwright's House,&nbsp;Deptford<blockquote>I had some of my favourite crew who were happy to get stuck in and be shooting again!</blockquote>Other than that, we were under strict instruction to try and keep crew to a minimum, so each department struggled having less numbers that usual. Luckily for me (but not in the grand scheme of things) with the lack of work out there I had first choice of some of my favourite crew who were happy to get stuck in and also be shooting again!Presumably the shoot happened as we were lifting out of lockdown, so what did you learn from that experience?Joao: Yes, it did. We shot Ecstasy&nbsp;in the last week of May and as the UK started lifting out of the lockdown.Joel: We were one of if not&nbsp;the&nbsp;first full-scale promos after the restrictions had lifted slightly, so were very much the guinea pigs. From a production perspective there was a lot of learning on the job, dealing with new regulations and rules that I usually wouldn’t need to consider. I think this was echoed across all departments with everybody familiarising themselves with the APA guidelines as much as possible and making sure they were adhering whilst performing their particular role.<blockquote>There are a lot of things to learn from it. It was a completely different experience.</blockquote>Joao: If things remain the same, which I believe they will for a while, there are a lot of things to learn from it. It was a completely different experience. Apart from shot listing, everything changed. Everything. There’s a lot of getting used to be done.But more than anything, I think this project was testament to the importance of working with people that you know, like and trust. Working with such heavy restrictions on set and prep you really need to trust the people around you. All the love to the crew.What were the biggest issues of post-lockdown shooting? What help did you have, and what would you do differently in your next lockdown shoot – if anything?Joel: I think the limitations and added stresses that the lockdown measures put on the crew would definitely be up there. Music videos can be challenging at the best of times, but trying to pull focus in a tier 2 PPE, on 16mm and during one of the hottest days of the year (shout out, Phil).[imgtoken data:5]Above: Medic Jack Shepard&nbsp;and runner Dexter Holloway<blockquote>Working with such heavy restrictions on set and prep you really need to trust the people around you.&nbsp;</blockquote>Joao: To be really honest, I found it extremely challenging to deal with mentally. I was quite ill with a pneumonia earlier in the year and that made me become really paranoid about Covid. I barely left my house prior to the shoot. So having to direct a video, with very little time on camera, whilst being paranoid about the virus wasn’t a fun thing at all. I washed my hands probably around 200 times. I’d say that mental barrier was the biggest issue for myself personally.We had a very big help from everyone in the crew. Especially Harry Wheeler and Bon Walsh. They really put the time during prep to develop the look of the video together with myself. Big love and thanks to them. Also Luke Goodrich, our 1st AD. But everyone really. Everyone worked hard under new and strange conditions.Joel: I tried to do my best to make sure everybody felt safe and I would like to think they did and in turn the crew fully supported myself and Joao in capturing what I now think had definitely been worth it!• Joao Retorta is with Bullion Productions in the UK, and represented for music videos by OB Management.&nbsp;

Behind The Video: Joao Retorta & Joel Spencer on their 'post-lockdown' video for Prospa

Prospa - Ecstasy (Over & Over) | Official Video

Faye Wong "Dreamlover" Chungking Express Music Video

Prospa 'Ecstasy (Over & Over)' by Joao Retorta

Joao Retorta directs a transcendent exploration of love and meaning, in his latest video for Prospa's Ecstasy.&nbsp;Inside a loft-style&nbsp;apartment, two lovers are intertwined, discussing life through a voiceover. Their lips don't move, but their feelings and thoughts are expressed through&nbsp;subtitles and the knowing glances they share.[imgtoken data:1]Every moment together is ecstasy for the couple, as they lose themselves in each other's bodies and minds, forming an organic bond that is otherworldly and hypnotic.&nbsp;DoP Harry Wheeler captures the experience in a documentary fashion, a fly-on-the-wall perspective of one couple's magical connection. The track's ebb and flow between contemplation and urgency is reflected in B Brendan Jenkin's mesmerizing edit.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]The distorted frame rates and frenetic camera movement&nbsp;create a whirling aesthetic, uninhibited and detached, representing the addictive quality of love and the journey the couple share.&nbsp;Colour is also used to great effect in this video. When the couple are separated and away from each other, a cold blue permeates the atmosphere, cold and isolated. The palette switches to sunny orange when they are together, representing the warmth and safety of their connection.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:3]A glitchy projection setup at the midpoint represents the more surreal&nbsp;aspects of the concept, the idea that our minds are rich havens of experience that transcend our limited human experience.&nbsp;Beautifully executed, Retorta has captured the essence of the track in the concept, and transformed it into a nostalgic, poignant tapestry of life and love.

Bullion Productions

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