A modern-day production company. Producers, Creators, Directors and Idea-Makers with Brands, Agencies, Record Labels, TV &amp; Film

Andy @ Las Bandas Be Brave

Production Company

Common People Films

Najeeb Tarazi directs superb promo for&nbsp;Arrdee &amp; Cat Burns that merges a very smart visual technique with real emotion.The innovative concept for Home For My Heart intertwines various portrait shots - of the artists and several narrative characters - with a clever mirrored transition, which blends together a series of 360 degree rotating shots.The video also packs an emotional punch, with heartfelt, intimate performances and enough narrative vignettes&nbsp;to make the lyrics feel really relatable and universal, and hint at the themes behind the track.&nbsp;Beautiful work and a timeless visual.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

United Kingdom

Jinjo Casting

Nubia Lima

Najeeb Tarazi

Rowan Mackintosh King

Las Bandas Be Brave

John Hassay

Charlie Relph

Ahmet Husseyn

Ramy Dance

Heba Elgamal

Maddy Williams

Philips Nortey

Stephan Knight

Rob Barlow

Samuel Harding

Chris Cole

Shani Mushington

Sunny Cradock

Zach Stone

Kristopher Smale

The Mill

Island Recordings

Arrdee & Cat Burns 'Home For My Heart' by Najeeb Tarazi

Arrdee-&-Cat-Burns-'Home-For-My-Heart'-by-Najeeb-Tarazi

In the latest in our series asking British music video-makers about their experiences last year and thoughts on the coming year, we grab some time with Ramy Dance, Managing Partner at <a href="https://www.commonpeoplefilms.com/" target="_blank">Common People Films</a>.&nbsp;Ramy recalls how 2022 went by in a blur of hectic activity in Common People's busiest year since it formed in 2018; and why he is optimistic about what 2023 will bring, both for the company and the industry as a whole.2022How would you describe last year in a few words?Exhausting.&nbsp;Well, exhausting but great in so many ways too! We got to work with some brilliant new acts with amazing music so I feel fortunate to have had a satisfying year in that sense.<blockquote>I sometimes feel like an addict looking for and unearthing new talent, so it was good to get my fix.</blockquote>What was your favourite project or projects you worked on last year?They were all brilliant in their own way to be fair. But if I had to name a few...- Cruel Santino's Beautiful Nothing – amazing track and Santi was awesome to work with as an artist and director.[vidtoken data:0]Above: Cruel Santino's Beautiful Nothing ft Gus Dapperton, directed by Santi- Kawala's&nbsp;Jesse Cmon – it's always an absolute pleasure being guided by the amazing mind of <a href="https://www.commonpeoplefilms.com/nysu" target="_blank">NYSU</a>- <a href="https://www.commonpeoplefilms.com/tommy-davis" target="_blank">Tommy Davis</a> had another busy and great year directing really strong videos for; Willow Kayne, Biig Piig, Murder Capital, BeaBadooBee and Joe Unknown. The boy is a machine, so looking forward to another strong year!- Piri &amp; Tommy's On &amp; On – was a fun one directed by the amazing Deadhorses- And lastly it was great to work with <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/07/08/yungblud-don%E2%80%99t-feel-feeling-sad-today-tom-pallant/77246" target="_blank">YungBlud</a>, directed by the lovely Tom Pallant[vidtoken data:1]Above: Kawala's Jesse C'mon, directed by NYSUAny other project you enjoyed that deserved more attention, or went under the radar?Navos's What It Feels Like by <a href="https://www.commonpeoplefilms.com/ben-newbury" target="_blank">Ben Newbury</a> was a joy to produce from start to finish with Alessia. Really clear creative with a great team behind it. We loved working on the XR stage and hope to do more this year. Big love to John Hassay!<blockquote>There seems to be a better joint understanding on the current state of the industry.</blockquote>What were the best aspects of the job last year?Meeting and developing new talent was really great. I sometimes feel like an addict looking for and unearthing new talent, so it was good to get my fix.I know this is debatable but we felt like the dust had settled a bit with regards to crew rates, negotiating and budgeting. Don’t get me wrong, budgets are still really challenging - the world is pretty screwed - but I feel like after we had lengthy discussions with the APA and the record labels, there definitely seems to be a better joint understanding on the current state of the industry and everyone’s approach and expectations. There’s still a few annoying things that need ironing out but we’ll get there.What were the most challenging aspects of the job last year?Negotiating crew rates…kidding! That’s always fun… urm… running a business is challenging. I’ve also got four kids, that’s challenging. Not much else really, can’t really complain.[vidtoken data:2]Above:&nbsp;Piri &amp; Tommy's On &amp; On, directed by DeadhorsesBest or favourite video or videos last year that you weren’t involved with?I really enjoyed the GRIN MACHINE video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/12/07/aap-rocky-shittin%E2%80%99-me-grin-machine/79633" target="_blank">A$AP Rocky</a>. Greg Hackett’s video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/07/06/loyle-carner-hate-greg-hackett-loyle-carner/77208" target="_blank">Loyle Carner</a> was great. Also loved Fontaines DC's <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/01/17/fontaines-dc-jackie-down-line-hugh-mulhern/74571" target="_blank">Jackie Down The Line</a> by Hugh Mulhern (90's throw back), and I love Labrinth's Mount Everest&nbsp;by Tanu.Anything by Rosalía.&nbsp;We’re still waiting for an email from her… 2023 maybe, R?I do like a performance video but we’re desperate to make a comedy-driven concept idea this year. Come on labels, let’s get mental!What were the trends (creative or otherwise) that you thought were most striking last year?Rightly or wrongly I’ve really enjoyed seeing what everyone’s making with 360 cameras. When used well they’re so engaging. It’s been really great seeing more directors roll up their sleeves in post-production, pulling edits apart using different skills and tools to make engaging videos. Big up Jay Green! I don’t know Jay but always look forward to seeing what he makes next.Any other personal experience that defines 2022 for you?It was lovely being able to network face-to-face again. So we really loved seeing everyone at various events, award shows and in various countries.<blockquote>I hope we see bolder, more wacky briefs come through (with realistic budgets!)</blockquote>2023What are you looking forward to in 2023 – both for work and for other parts of your life?So much to look forward to! We moved into our new Soho office at the end of last year which was surreal for me having ran in Soho back in the day. It has an amazing roof terrace!We’re launching a brand new website very soon which looks great so can’t wait for people to see that. We’re also looking forward to another great year of growth at Common People. We didn’t plan for a pandemic and a war in the middle of our 5 year plan - who did? So it’s been great to get back on track with a strong start to the year so we can continue our growth plan.[vidtoken data:3]Above: Navos ft Galantis's What It Feels Like, by Ben NewburyI love travelling and looking forward to getting away with the family as often as possible. I’ve got a couple of spec ideas I’ve put on the backburner due to Covid, so I’m looking forward to hopefully carving out some time for those this year.Have you set work objectives for this year and if so, what are they?Create even more award-winning work and ensuring our shoots are as green, diverse and inspiring as possible! We take a lot of pride in making our shoots really enjoyable and making sure everyone attending is looked after well, so we want to carry on being known for that. We’ve got to look after each other more.Who are the up-and-coming talents that you think will break through this year – or at least deserve to be successful?Tommy Davis is a hard working legend! He deserves so much success so we really want him to have another strong year. I really hope Deadhorses get some great tracks in production this year. Those boys are very talented! We’re talking to some really exciting talent at the moment, so watch this space…[vidtoken data:4]Above: Willow Kayne's White City, by Thomas DavisWhat is your prediction for the direction of the industry in 2023? And what will be the big trends for the year ahead?I hope we see bolder, more wacky briefs come through - with realistic budgets!&nbsp;That style really suits our roster. Let’s get back to making really fun / memorable videos!<blockquote>History tells us that great videos can really elevate an artist’s success.</blockquote>Any other comments about the current environment for music video production and music video creativity? What are the issues that we should be most concerned with?There’s always ups and downs but currently labels have had to pivot their business models and marketing plans which means everything feels quite reactive and driven by algorithms. Social media is really powerful so I do completely get the sense and value in making a suite of assets for multiple platforms rather than a single YouTube video that under performs or doesn’t reach as many eyeballs (that’s not the case for every video obviously).BUT… history tells us that great videos can really elevate an artist’s success and great creative is what we all strive for. So we need to ensure we protect that quality! I’m confident there’s a way to get both,&nbsp;but it will require really good communication and planning together.[vidtoken data:5]Above: Yungblud's Don't Feel Like Feeling Sad Today, by Tom PallantIf you could ‘make a wish’, and reform or change the environment in which you work in one way, what would you wish for?Nothing. Everyone just needs to crack on.&nbsp;I think we all need to remember that we’re very fortunate to do what we do and we shouldn’t lose sight of that. Of course it’s tough at times but we’re not saving lives here so we really need to face the challenges head on and keep collaborating. We’re constantly grateful to work with such amazing and talented people so I wish for that to continue.Where are the opportunities in the current environment?There are so many! It’s a very well-serviced, fast-moving industry so there’s lots of opportunity to get in. Try and make a bigger noise than everybody else and you’ll be fine.Have you made any personal New Year resolutions? And if so, how’s it going?Snore alert… but stay fit and healthy. Which is going well atm, thanks. And I’m trying to listen to more podcasts and listen to more audiobooks.• Ramy Dance is Managing Partner at <a href="https://www.commonpeoplefilms.com/" target="_blank">Common People Films</a>

State Of Play: Ramy Dance, Common People Films

Cruel Santino - BEAUTIFUL NOTHING (featuring Gus Dapperton) [Official Music Video]

KAWALA - Jesse C'mon (Official Video)

Piri-&-Tommy-'On-&-On'-by-Deadhorses

Navos-X-Galantis-'What-It-Feels-Like-Ft-You'-by-Ben-Newbury

Willow-Kayne-'White-City'-by-Thomas-Davis,willow-Kayne

Yungblud-'Don’t-Feel-Like-Feeling-Sad-Today'-by-Tom-Pallant

Rich Brian has a trippy experience&nbsp;at a golf range, in&nbsp;Grant Spanier's dreamlike promo for Vivid.&nbsp;Boasting slick performance shots with Y2K style overlays and effects, the video is an amalgamation of golf, remote control cars and guns, tied together by a retrofuturistic aesthetic.&nbsp;Cinematic and refreshingly unique, it's a great visual with plenty of engaging imagery.&nbsp;

United States

Grant Spanier

Joey Fitzimmons

Florence

Ben Mullen

Ryan Kincade

Jerad Anderson

Carl Laird

Andrew Francis

For Good Measure

Hip Hop

Rich Brian ft $not 'Vivid' by Grant Spanier

Rich Brian - VIVID feat. $NOT (Official Music Video)

NYSU - aka Jesus Hernandez - directs an out of this world promo for Spanish artist and producer&nbsp;Sila Lua.&nbsp;An amalgam of surreal vignettes play out on-screen, boasting eccentric costumes, outlandish headwear and a spellbinding performance to tie it all together.&nbsp;Regardless of whether you've heard of Lua before or not, the track and video are utterly captivating, and offer a refreshing, experimental twist on current trends.&nbsp;

Spain

NYSU (Jesus Hernandez)

Nabil Ejey

Antiestático

Marino Pardo

Matías Dumont

Alt-Pop

Sila Lua 'Rompe' by NYSU

Sila-Lua-'Rompe'-by-Nysu-(jesus-Hernandez)

Thomas Davis directs a love letter to early computer animation, in his visualiser for Biig Piig.&nbsp;The video opens with the artist putting on a VR headset, and being pulled into a playful, candy-coloured world inhabited by skeletons, teddy bears and uncanny doppelgangers.&nbsp;The vibrant, intentionally rudimentary animation calls back to early Noughties music vids - anyone remember <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQCQnARnKbc">Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks &amp; Bigfoot</a>? - whilst interweaving contemporary elements at the same time.&nbsp;Marvellous work.&nbsp;

Soo Young

Callum Pearson

Chris Anthony

Thomas Davis

Garage Films

Kat Cattanteo

Marti Guiver

Kai Newton

Dominic Phipps

Company 3

Columbia / Sony

Biig Piig 'Kerosene (Visualiser)' by Thomas Davis

Biig-Piig-'Kerosene-(visualiser)'-by-Thomas-Davis

Thomas Davis directs an enigmatic promo for punk rocker Joe Unknown's gAng.&nbsp;Standing in front of a mirror in a theatrical backstage area, we see a young woman grab a pair of clippers and shave her hair off, as the camera crawls in and out, exploring the space.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]In the corner of the room, we see Joe Unknown in an armchair, half-watching TV and half-watching the girl shave her head.&nbsp;It's a remarkably simple yet powerful concept, that leaves plenty to the imagination - including the context of the situation.&nbsp;

Noémie Tj Phillipson

Charlie Knight

Oli Hill

Michael Farrell

Fabio Olgiati

Scarlett Gardner

Hara Spyrou

Jo Barker

Digital Orchard

Jarlenn Severino

Rock

Punk

Joe Unknown 'gAng' by Thomas Davis

Joe-Unknown-'Gang'-by-Thomas-Davis

A dizzily dreamy video by up and coming directors Deadhorses for Piri &amp; Tommy - set on a desert island of their imaginations...

Deadhorses

Oliver Whitworth

Amy Holden Brown

Emily Jeffery

Joe Sherno

Malcolm Modele

Tom Patrick Coley

Alex Chorley

Wendy Turner

Megan Lee

Electric Theatre Collective

Polydor

Piri & Tommy 'On & On' by Deadhorses

Thomas Davis and&nbsp;Willow Kayne turn London into a Hellish otherworld in this fabulously fun video for White City.&nbsp;This is the follow-up to Davis and Willow's collab on the sweet and energetic video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/05/09/willow-kayne-final-notice-thomas-davis/76288" target="_blank">Final Notice</a>. This one starts innocently enough too, as we follow a girl styled to look like a young Willow, experiencing several interactions - both good and bad - with local residents, which includes the real Willow&nbsp;roleplaying several different jobs.&nbsp;And then things take a weird turn: giant eyeballs, no less.&nbsp;begin to descend from tower blocks; the girl is served a rather Cronenbergian dish of delights at a café...&nbsp;things get distinctly topsy-turvy.&nbsp;And then the ending suggests a slightly Apocalyptic note, before returning to a sense of normality... Or has it?This is brilliant, knockabout&nbsp;work from the team. The tone is&nbsp;both playful and slightly unnerving, accentuated by a&nbsp;great use of visual effects.

Rumah Sakit (hati Mas)

Suzie Walsh

Willow Kayne

Jake River Parker

Michael Lewin

Massimo Filippi

Toby Leary

Aidan Brooks

Kitty Rajakulasingam

Devan Clarke

Eyyaz Chishty

Josh Higgings

Bronte Carter

Shivam Solanki

Yash Agrawal

Young Willow: Nellie Sykes

Sony Music

Willow Kayne 'White City' by Thomas Davis, Willow Kayne

Tom Pallant directs a sun-soaked performance promo for Yungblud.&nbsp;The video for Don't Feel Like Feeling Sad Today sees the artist perform in front of the London Eye to a roaring crowd of fans, and is full of playful camaraderie and a temperature-busting water fight.&nbsp;Shot by fellow director Thomas Davis, the cinematography is frenetic, dynamic and right in on the action, and the concept encapsulates the artist's hyperactive, energetic presence.

Charlie Morris

Tom Pallant

Scarlett Anderson

Eyaz Chishty

Jackie Tyson

Tim Smith

No.8

Indie

Yungblud 'Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today' by Tom Pallant

Jake Parker directs an atmospheric promo for India Shan.&nbsp;Boasting a striking burnt-orange colour palette, the video is formed of several effervescent performance vignettes, which are overlaid with various abstract textures and lighting effects.&nbsp;The understated performance seamlessly binds the setups, and is helped out by a gentle edit which use cross-fades and drawn out shots to match the energy of the piece.&nbsp;

Katie South

Rhiannon Lagden

Jake Parker

Max Conran

Keaton Williams

Jay Gomez

Joe Edwards

Riccardo Angei

Holly Hamilton

Ruby Sandler

India Shan 'Don't Wanna' by Jake Parker

India-Shan-'Don't-Wanna'-by-Jake-Parker

Thomas Davis directs an atmospheric live promo for&nbsp;Beabadoobee.In a minimalist industrial space&nbsp;populated with overgrown house plants, we see Bea and her band perform the ethereal track.Flooded with natural light and with a slightly desaturated colour palette,&nbsp;the cinematography feels raw and authentic and highlights the intimate themes in the track.&nbsp;

Anthony Hensman 

Jon Moore

Elliot Morris

Dan Lightening

Joe Starrs

Marcus Alberston

Dann Cooper

Kieran Coyne

Dom Phipps

Dirty Hit Records

Alternative Pop

Beabadoobee '10:36' (Official Live Video) by Thomas Davis

Beabadoobee - 10:36 (Official Live Video)

Ben Newbury helms a scintillating and breathless POV journey of a rocket-powered space woman as she flies across the globe, Iron Man-style, for Navos and Galantis's uplifting dance anthem What It Feels Like.Newbury has harnessed the latest in both drone and greenscreen technology to create this action-packed extravaganza, to make it feel like a woman really can fly - speeding through&nbsp;some glorious landscapes, both natural and urban - until she makes a truly spectacular&nbsp;crash-landing.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;"You know you’re on to a basic concept that will probably make a good video when each time you talk it through everyone keeps having more and more ideas for it -&nbsp;that totally happened with this," says Ben Newbury. "I have to give props to the commissioner John Hassay. He was looking for a video that: a young audience would watch to the end;&nbsp;a video that captured euphoria (the feeling not the TV show). Challenge accepted.<blockquote>Having a wild visual idea is one thing but you’re only going to hook the audience if they connect to it.</blockquote>"So the pitch was this… we experience the explosive, psychedelic journey of a spacewoman as she re-enters the atmosphere and hurtles round the surface of the earth - all from a POV inside her helmet. This hyper-colour, over-saturated, warp speed journey takes us from the edge of space, through epic mountains, forests, cities and deserts, flying through impossibly small spaces and trippy VFX wormholes, to match the euphoric feeling of the track. Before she smashes into the ground. Easy peezy."The flight itself was created with FPV drones, filmed around the world, frame matching different takes to create one sequence. Adding in the initial fall from space and trippy wormholes in VFX. Once our VFX wizards had the edit stitched together, and we had all enjoyed another Covid test, we headed to the XR stage in Garden Studios. After some careful testing, Olly Nice our cinematographer extraordinaire rigged the camera inside a space helmet, created by our fabulous art director Katie South, ready for the XR screens to play back the journey.[imgtoken data:2]"The XR screen array enabled us to perfectly match the lighting in the reflections inside the helmet and on her hands and arms, allowing our space woman to appear to look around and throw her arms out in time with the flight (as well as becoming the desert backdrop and lighting for our final shot). Our wonderful actress Poppy Christie positioned herself underneath the camera, while our SFX team (the whole rest of crew) held all manor of wind machines, spritzers, leaf blowers and smoke machines ready for launch. This made the final video pretty much a one-taker, with everyone firing smokers and squirting water at the camera."One goal I kept coming back to throughout pre-production was to make sure the video was about the emotional experience the space woman was having on her journey down to earth. Having a wild visual idea is one thing but you’re only going to hook the audience if they connect to it. If they care. It needed a human element to create that sense of jeopardy. So our solution was to shoot a plate shot of Poppy performing the flight facing the XR screen without the helmet, then composite that as a reflection into the visor in a final round of post, to allow the audience to see her performance.[imgtoken data:3]"Pulling all this off would not have been possible without the brilliant Ramy Dance and Alessia Lendrum from Common People Films. Alessia harnessed the true purpose of the internet, organising FPV drone pilots all around the world, who shot in deserts, mountains, jungles and cities to create the amazing footage that makes up the flight."Big shout out to Tom Bailey and Greg Ayala at FNDM who designed the artwork that kicked off the thought process. I also want to thank our head leaf blower op and PA - Ynez Myers, AC - Mark James, HMU - Eliza Clarke, the Drone Pilots - Luca Morandini, Fabrizio Botto, Smirnov Dmitrii Olegovich, Zakir Mohammad &amp; Jerry Chan. Then on Edit - Matthew Blacklock, Grade - Kathryn Dymmock, Sound Design - James Hall and our VFX brains - James Taylor, Darri Thorsteinsson and Shivam Solanki. As well as Andy Roberts, Amy Collins and Mariama Camara. And finally Navos and Galantis for making such a massive banger."

Ben Newbury

Alessia Lendrum

Olly Nice

Ynez Myers

Mark James

Eliza Clarke

Matthew Blacklock

Katie Dymmock

Coffee & TV

Darri Thorsteinsson

James Taylor

Poppy Christie

Island Records

Dance

Navos X Galantis ft YOU 'What It Feels Like' by Ben Newbury

Thomas Davis storms back into action with this joyously energetic video for the charismatic Willow Kayne.Filmed at Rough Trade East and surrounding Brick Lane area in East London, Willow requests 'Jungle' from the resident DJ - and then he cues up her new song Final Notice.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;It's music biz-critiquing message, against making her a clone of other pop stars, plays second fiddle to the altogether happy vibes of Willow and fellow cast in Davis's video - nicely shot in classic fashion by&nbsp;Jake Erland.All well and good, as this could be a DnB/Pop crossover banger of the coming summer. It's really quite boombastic...

Polly Withington

Jack Cullis

Jake Erland

Klimas Jurevičius

Antonius Cramer

Columbia Records

Drum & Bass

Willow Kayne 'Final Notice' by Thomas Davis

Willow-Kayne-'Final-Notice'-by-Thomas-Davis

Thomas Davis directs a vibrant&nbsp;promo&nbsp;fusing performance and animation for London-based producer&nbsp; Macwetha's new track.The video for Dani Song rides the wave&nbsp;of the latest trends&nbsp;- imbued with&nbsp;a multiformat, Y2K-inspired aesthetic&nbsp;- whilst also carving a unique&nbsp;identity for itself in its&nbsp;inspired, lo-fi approach and a buzzing performance from the artist.&nbsp;It's a great complement to the track, and an exciting breakout for Macwetha - best known as the NiNE8 collective's resident producer and now blazing his own trail&nbsp;as a solo artist.&nbsp;

Wil Sen

Jake Bishop

Ryan Flood

Laurie Cousins

Company3

Dirty Hit

Macwetha 'Dani Song' by Thomas Davis

Macwetha-'Dani-Song'-by-Thomas-Davis

Santi self-directs a frosty lo-fi promo for his new track Beautiful Nothing, featuring Gus Dapperton.&nbsp;The concept is a mesmerising clash of VHS-aesthetic vignettes and dreamlike animation, presented through a maximalist, Y2K lens.&nbsp;Overlaid with distorted textures and retrofuturistic graphics, the video is a hypnotic experience to watch, with brilliant creative direction from Anton Reva.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

Common People Films

Production Company

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