Director

Crowns & Owls

James Blake's surprising switch back to his dance music roots&nbsp;heralds the very welcome return to music videos by Oscar Hudson, fully exploiting&nbsp;Blake's new direction with a brilliantly nihilistic, sexy, beautifully made live action cartoon for Big Hammer.Hudson's video follows the exploits of a stylish, devil-may-care criminal gang, as they crash their car into various buildings during an ongoing crime spree - or simply to have a spot of lunch - mainly from the perspective of the dash-cam, which eventually assumes a life of its own.As with quite a few of the standout videos this year, it comes with a vague aura of nostalgia attached. it would certainly have been a great watch on old school MTV. And definitely to be enjoyed, for full explosive and comic effect,&nbsp;on the biggest screen you can find.As becoming a former Best Director winner at the UKMVAs (twice), it's probably one of the videos of the year so far.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Oscar Hudson

Rik Green

Archie Johnston Stewart

Pulse Films

Nnena Nwakodo

Davud Karbassioun

James Sorton

Icon Films

Ruben Woodin Dechamps

Maria Vassileva

Philip Penev

Silviya Markova

Fouad Gaber

Trim Editing

Alex Gregory

Jim Allen

No.8

Georgi Dimitrov

750MPH

Jake Ashwell

Dance

James Blake 'Big Hammer' by Oscar Hudson

James Blake - Big Hammer (Official Video)

An intense, grotesque, extraordinary&nbsp;video for Slowthai by directing collective Crowns &amp; Owls.With great cinematography by Jack Exton and terrific grade by Tim Smith that punches the richness of the colours to the max, this has a hyperreal visual aesthetic as visceral as this powerful track&nbsp;deserves, without sinking into darkness.But at the heart is the performance of Tyron Frampton&nbsp;(aka Slowthai) himself, which is remarkable. It's a visible howl of anguish and pain, but still with that unmistakeable chink of impudence and humour.

Javier Alejandro

Noir

Theo Hue Williams

Ella Kenny

Jack Exton

Mike Linforth

Ky Brasey

Greg Probert

Lyndon Ogbourne

Ty Hack

Hannah Ashby Ward

Lane Casting

Frankie Noller

Karla Quinoniz-Leon

Tim Smith

Pendulum

John Holloway

Edit Egg

Amanda Dann

Slowthai 'Yum' by Crowns & Owls

slowthai - Yum (Official Video)

Lil Yachty want to get serious, but his girlfriend is just not having it...&nbsp;

Happy Place

Tara Razavi

Cam Hicks

Luis Panch Perez

Miranda Sara Einy

Brittany Porter

Anok Yai

Lil Yachty 'sAy sOMETHINg' by Crowns & Owls

Lil Yachty - sAy sOMETHINg

Sam Davis and Tom Andrew direct a technically impressive promo for&nbsp;Nemahsis, with creative direction from Crowns &amp; Owls.&nbsp;The video for Criminal sees the artist stood&nbsp;in the middle of a complex camera rig, with a menagerie of CCTV cameras trained on the platform, capturing her every movement.&nbsp;Cycling through a series of striking outfits and art direction elements, the video is seamlessly brought together by editor Steve Shaw,&nbsp;who&nbsp;funnels a huge amount of footage into a razor sharp cut, which brings out the frenetic emotion of the concept.&nbsp;

Sam Davis

Tom Andrew

Greg Smith

Fraser Rigg

Ash Halliburton

Joshua Jacob

Stephanie Major

Aoife Cullen

Steve Shaw

Tatyana Alexandra

Connor Coolbear

Electric Theatre Collective

Olivia Jessop

Nemahsis 'Criminal' by Sam Davis & Tom Andrew

Nemahsis - criminal (Official Video)

A day from Hell just won't let up, in&nbsp;Hector Dockrill's tragic promo for Chase &amp; Status and BackRoad Gee.&nbsp;&nbsp;The video for When It Rains features actor Jack McMullen as a down-on-his-luck everyman, trying to go about his day to day life to disastrous effect.&nbsp;It all starts with an antagonistic phone call and a cigarette lit the wrong way, and builds to a high-octane climax full of suspense, blood, chase scenes&nbsp;and the opportunity for the character to finally get the nicotine hit he's gagging for.&nbsp;Brilliant work which anchors on McMullen's performance and a Dockrill's keen eye for narrative.&nbsp;

Hector Dockrill

Joseph J Goldman

Emily Mulkerrins

Joe Mulvihill

Patrick Golan

Josh Tue

Steve Cameron

Elena Isolini

Homespun

Angela Hart

Rich Woolway

Seb Bruen

Oliver Witworth

Jason Wallis

James Hackett

Natasha Lawes

Lewis Munro

Chase & Status, BackRoad Gee 'When It Rains' by Hector Dockrill 

Chase & Status, BackRoad Gee - When It Rains (Official Video)

Crowns &amp; Owls direct a poetic and symbolic&nbsp;one-shot promo for Palestinian-Canadian singer-songwriter Nemah Hasan - aka&nbsp;Nemahsis.&nbsp;The concept reveals itself through a gradual&nbsp;tracking shot, opening with the artist in near freeze-frame, barely mumbling the song's lyrics,&nbsp;before she breaks out of her pose and starts to realise she is part of the window display of a New York department store, and trapped behind the glass.[imgtoken data:1]The video follows Nemahsis's emergence on TikTok as a singular voice as a hijab-wearing modern woman, and her second single Dollar Signs expresses the pain of being exploited. Directing team Crown &amp; Owls'&nbsp;evocative video explores those themes of self-worth and societal pressure, and the distinctive, painterly aesthetic elevates the visual to a transcendent, poignant space.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Numerous times, I&nbsp;have found myself being taken advantage of - often in ways unimaginable," explains the Palestinian-Canadian&nbsp;in the video description. "I&nbsp;have cemented my worth and placed it in gold, only to be recognized as cheap wood and&nbsp;common plastic - means to an end. It is a heartbreaking truth. Society takes yet rarely does it return; it is eager to put its people in a glass box.”

United States

Noir Productions

Boyka Pehlivanova

Konstantin Mazov

Kristian Lekov

Steph Major

Nemahsis 'Dollar Signs' by Crowns & Owls

Nemahsis-'Dollar-Signs'-by-Crowns-&-Owls

Rasharn Powell battles his Demons&nbsp;in The Reids' vibrant promo for his latest track.&nbsp;The high-energy, high fashion promo snares along its two-minute runtime, and boasts a distinctive orange and blue colour palette, tied together with frenetic camerawork and a dynamic performance.&nbsp;Featuring Crowns &amp; Owls as creative directors, the concept&nbsp;encapsulates the feverish vibes of the music to brilliant effect.&nbsp;

The Reids

Twofortyfour

Jacob Ray

Fraser Mitchell

Rich Patter

CHEAT

Rasharn Powell 'Demons' by The Reids

Rasharn-Powell-'Demons'-by-The-Reids

The Reids direct a cyclical promo for Rasharn Powell's Blunder.&nbsp;The video builds upon the idea of memories and cycles of thought, by using a perpetually rotating camera which captures Powell's performance and vignettes of a past relationship.The empty apartment setting is a familiar yet haunting backdrop to the concept, which meditates on what is left after a breakup, and how locations can hold reminders of what once was.&nbsp;The use of a wide angle lens and bright spotlight in the narrative snapshots&nbsp;adds&nbsp;a certain theatricality to the video, whilst Powell's powerful yet understated&nbsp;performance visualises the struggle inside his head.&nbsp;

Liza Radlov

Keyrah

Zakiyah Shani

Bardha Krasniqi

Soul

Rasharn Powell 'Blunder' by The Reids

Rasharn-Powell-'Blunder'-by-The-Reids

Zhang + Knight direct an ethereal promo for London Grammar's Lose Your Head.&nbsp;In the studio-set video,&nbsp;we see vocalist&nbsp;Hannah Reid on a sinking ship, as she hears the siren song of the&nbsp;sea - created from a giant piece of silk-like fabric -&nbsp;beneath her. She leaves her comfort zone behind,&nbsp;walking among the waves and eventually sinking into their embrace.The pastel-washed colour scheme&nbsp;and minimalist design - reprised from the directing duo's acclaimed videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/10/29/eden-projector-zhang-knight/61573" target="_blank">Eden</a> and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/08/25/meryem-aboulouafa-deeply-zhang-knight/66201" target="_blank">Meryem Aboulouafa</a> - are anchored by a mesmerising&nbsp;performance from Reid, who thrives in the soft surreality&nbsp;of the concept.&nbsp;

Zhang + Knight

Nicole Powell

FRIEND

Luke Tierney

Ivan Ivanov

Matthias Koenigswieser

Lora Venkova

Taff Williamson

Jack Williams

The Assembly Rooms

Daniel de Vue

Nu Boyana Fx

Ministry of Sound

London Grammar 'Lose Your Head' by Zhang + Knight

London-Grammar-'Lose-Your-Head'-by-Zhang-+-Knight

Silent Tapes direct an atmospheric video for London Grammar's comeback.&nbsp;The concept for Californian Soil is an enigmatic meditation on taking control of your own life, with abstract vignettes taking place across the coast and within a beach house.&nbsp;A handful of characters, including London Grammar singer Hannah Reid, are situated in idealised, glamorous scenarios. They are picture perfect - but something is not quite right, and the discordant visual&nbsp;hints of strangeness becoming increasingly obvious.The narrative is purposefully vague, allowing viewers to inject their own meaning and decipher the visuals, but one thing is for certain - it's an ambitious, emotionally affecting promo with a unique mood and vibe, perfectly suited to the indie-pop threesome.&nbsp;

Silent Tapes

Tom Birmingham

OB Productions

Sam Holmes

Sam Meyer

Mark Stewart

Jakob Gierse

Jonny Thorpe

We Are Covert 

Wfiip

OB Management

Charlie Rizek

Matt Allsop

Louis Vella

Indie pop

London Grammar 'Californian Soil' by Silent Tapes

London-Grammar-'Californian-Soil'-by-Silent-Tapes

Crowns &amp; Owls direct a brooding visual&nbsp;for Octavian's Rari, featuring Future.&nbsp;Known for balancing a fashion-forward aesthetic with boundary-pushing visuals, the moving image trio place Octavian in a sequence of abstract vignettes, mirroring the bittersweet emotion of the track.&nbsp;Bloody and breathtaking, the video pays homage to&nbsp;retro 1980's aesthetics such as&nbsp;synthwave&nbsp;and&nbsp;outrun,&nbsp;the latter taking its name from the 1986 arcade game, and popularised through images of glitchy sunsets and neon gridlines.&nbsp;The performances are spot-on, and Future's remote setup&nbsp;intercuts perfectly, a testament to the restless effort of the creative team on both sides of the Atlantic.&nbsp;

Daniel Smith

Olan Collardy

James Hamilton

Simon Bourne

Black Butter

Hip Hop

Trap

Octavian ft. Future 'Rari' by Crowns & Owls

Octavian-Ft.-Future-'Rari'-by-Crowns-&-Owls

Directing trio Crowns &amp; Owls transport Octavian to a surreal wonderland in the hypnotic visual for Poison, negotiating a world between love, lust... and something much darker.&nbsp;Utilising four cameras - including the FLIR thermal camera - the visual is a tapestry of experimental setups, each shot in a stylised, hyper-exaggerated way. Turning traditional rap videos on their head, performance is still very much the focus of the video, yet Kaname Onoyama's mind-bending cinematography adds a standout unique flair and polish.&nbsp;CROWNS &amp; OWLS:“It was rad to build a world around this tune, and to have had the trust from Octavian to try something we’re not really seeing in UK rap videos. There’s some really nice themes going on in the song, but we focused on playing with the central idea of lust and imagining that as a poisonous substance."Using a custom rig we were able to use a dual camera system; one capturing reality whilst the other was simultaneously capturing a thermal version of the same shot. This allowed us to seamlessly slip between two worlds as we’re following the artists through a fever dream."The video was shot just before the UK Covid-19 lockdown, with post happening remotely during quarantine. We’re so thankful to all of the amazing individuals who helped this video come together during such strange times.”[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>This is the result of using four cameras - two Alexa Minis, a Flir thermal camera and an Insta 360.</blockquote>KANAME ONOYAMA (DoP):“This music video, which we shot in one day, is the result of using four cameras (two Alexa Minis, a Flir thermal camera and an Insta 360) and many different setups and lenses. Crowns &amp; Owls are a trio of directors/photographers, skilled both artistically and technically, and with a precise vision of what they wanted for this music video."It was very interesting to look with them for the right setups to make this vision a reality; and, in spite of the very little time we had to prep everything, I am hopeful that we managed to create something as crazy, disturbing and beautiful as they had in mind.”

Daphne Do

Kaname Onoyama

Silvio Bersani

Jomar O'Meally

Will Lyte

Danny Hayward

Ciaran Linden Beale

Nicole Vernon

Shamara Roper

Mata Marielle

Bissane Kim

Paume

Jonny Tully

Big Buoy

Hannah Whitehall

Alex Sossah

Zoe Rose Davies

Molly Fleet

Alternative

Octavian ft Take A Daytrip, Obongjayar & Santi 'Poison' by Crowns & Owls

Octavian-Ft-Take-A-Daytrip,-Obongjayar-&amp;-Santi-'Poison'-by-Crowns-&amp;-Owls

The brilliant Slowthai's acerbic view of&nbsp;Brexit Britain gets it's most overtly satirical video, referencing classic British cinema of the 70s, by directing team Crowns &amp; Owls.The young Northampton rapper suffers for his art too in Inglorious, putting himself through the mill in the video to make his point: dunked in a half-baptism, half-waterboarding by Establishment spooks in&nbsp;church, then having his eyes pinned open, echoing the brainwashing of Alex in Clockwork Orange.The second half of the video sees Slowthai teaming up with Skepta, on a tank,&nbsp;with red-garbed troops arranged like arrows and bearing customised Union Jacks. And then, the definition of Inglorious, to sum up a dismal episode in British history...&nbsp;

Crowns & Owls

Director

Videos featuring Crowns & Owls

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