Production Company

CURATED LONDON

Louis Bhose reintroduces John Newman to the world with a touch of self-mockery, as the soul singer meets the contenders who are auditioning to be him in his upcoming comeback.The video for Merry Go starts in an intriguing fashion with Newman welcomed at a film studio by his manager with the words: 'Welcome to Hell'. It turns out he is encountering&nbsp;an assortment of odd characters who are 'playing' John Newman.It's an engaging satire of the pop business and the real John Newman gives a nicely judged performance observing the activity around him with occasional alarm but mostly resigned equanimity. And finally, he gets involved himself, taking his own place in the group of 'John Newmans' for a dance routine.&nbsp;So this a very welcome return to videos by Louis Bhose too. He is a director with genuine funny bones, who relishes bringing surprising ideas to life.&nbsp;And he's certainly done that here.&nbsp; &nbsp; "John was very clear from the off that he wanted to play with the idea of a big comeback, and the idea of lots of people auditioning to be him was a fun one," says Bhose. "He even went as far as digging out all his iconic jackets from the loft, and letting our supporting cast wear them."I always liked the idea that after an offbeat series of auditions, there would be a fun, sweet moment where they all came together. And so came Harry Price's great choreo - which everyone (including me) learned. Having not made a vid for 18 months&nbsp;or so, it was a really fun one to get back into the groove with. "And surprisingly, John was desperate for an extended intro - damn the views!!"[imgtoken data:1] &nbsp;

United Kingdom

Sofia Sacomani

Kerri Aungle

Olive Leitch

Louis Bhose

Isabella Culver

REPmedia

Andre Reid

Ailsa Robertson

Robbie Smith

Murren Tullett

Simon Oxley

Arthur Laidlaw

Harley Ruby Cameron-furze

Barney Coates

Elizabeth Owen

Harry Price

Kate O'shea

Rob McGuire

Shift

Matthieu Touliet

Company 3

Darco Artist Partnerships

John Newman 'Merry Go' by Louis Bhose

John-Newman-'Merry-Go'-by-Louis-Bhose

The masked Mancunian rapper is back - and he turns&nbsp;up in a mindblowing&nbsp;location in the video for Eazy, directed by Italian director and visual artist Pietro Biz Biasia.Biz Biasia takes Meekz on a late-night mission through the labyrinthine canals of Venice in Italy, where he embeds himself in the iconic centuries-old architecture and artworks of the unique city.This is a propulsive and very atmospheric piece where the vision veers more towards&nbsp;Don't Look Now-style chills in Venice's darker corners, rather&nbsp;than the tourist hotspots. The director's skill with VFX adds another layer, as Meekz is added to masterpieces of Venetian art and eventually becomes his own Renaissance statue.So Meekz looks just at home, doing his stuff near the Grand Canal as the Grand Union Canal.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Asser Wefy

Pietro Biz Biasia

Chiara Mannarino

Camilla Dazzi

Gabriele Mango

Christian Wood

Lorenzo Gennari

Andrea Sabatelli

Nisju Thel Whirh

Mariana Domingues

Meekz 'Eazy' by Pietro Biz Biasia 

Meekz-'Eazy'-by-Pietro-Biz-Biasia-

Benjamin Darville helms a strong visual statement about pop singer Freya Ridings' artistic evolution.The video for Wicker Woman - the first single from her new album - takes place within a series of abstracted spaces, which begins with the powerful visual metaphor of Freya being held in the corner of a box-like environment. Then she travels through a series of surreal landscapes that represent the beginning of a new chapter in her creative journey.In creating a heightened&nbsp;visual expression of Freya's emotional and artistic evolution, Darville's video pays homage to&nbsp;seminal visual artists and photographers including Irving Penn’s Portraits in a Corner, Bill Viola’s Tristan’s Ascension and Bill Henson’s floating figures.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Roisin Jenner

Finlay Jenner

Angelica Wolanska

Hannah George

Alice Sanders

Elle Fell

Benjamin Darville

T.i.b. Studios

Marisa Garner

Aashish Shrestha

Klara Simonova

Ciaran Tunmer

Morgan Quashie

Sarah Black

Adam Reed

Daisy Dowling

Emma Miles

Kynza K-j

Nielsan Bohl

Selected Works

Robert Harold

Freya Ridings 'Wicker Woman' by Benjamin Darville

Freya-Ridings-'Wicker-Woman'-by-Benjamin-Darville

R&amp;B singer Chrissi is revealed as her own therapist in this visual by Flora Scott for a powerful song that's both personally frank and movingly relatable.The visualiser for One In Five ! was shot in a London house designed by celebrated architect Richard Rogers, the space lending itself to the warmth of Nielsan Bohl’s grade.

Maddie Riddick

Pele Eugene Raldo

Flora Scott

Ben Ingram

Joe Roisino

Alex Stanley-Ruthven

Grace Austin

Arthur Attenborough

Kayla Eviana

Black Butter Records

Emmyland

Chrissi 'One In Five!' by Flora Scott

Chrissi--'One-In-Five--(visualiser)'-by-Flora-Scott

American rapper&nbsp;Mick Jenkins and British singer Enny talk to each other - or perhaps are talking to themselves - in a stylish visual by Flora Scott.&nbsp;With an approach that combines thoughtful, well-shot compositions of Jenkins and Enny&nbsp;with guerilla-style shots of London, the video for Words I Should Have Said does a fine&nbsp;job in creating an atmosphere that suits the song and complements the personalities of the artists.Flora Scott says that&nbsp;her intention was to create a space where their frank truth-telling was entirely plausible."We place&nbsp;Mick and Enny in a world where they confess their words to the light (or lack thereof), as well as to their own reflections and each other’s," explains Flora.&nbsp;"We juxtapose this with moments from day into night as we transition through the video, making their inner world seem even more insular."

Chloe Saunders

George Traynor

Aleah Scott

Nali Fernandes

Jon Pierre-louis

Linus Sandelands

Dylan Bruce

Toma Iaramboykov

Honey Olowolagba

Nancé Synthiah Kabasélé

Jacob Crow-mains

Okay Studio

Sharon Chung

Wash

Mick Jenkins ft Enny 'Words I Should Have Said' by Flora Scott

Mick Jenkins & EMIL Feat. ENNY - Words I Should've said

Gemma Yin directs a dazzling promo for Sugababes that highlights&nbsp;their status as one of the iconic girl groups of British pop.&nbsp;The video for Weeds features a gentle collection of evocative vignettes, mixing performance and symbolic interpretations of growth, displayed through textural overlays and cutaways.&nbsp;It's another strong visual from the group, paying homage to previous videos whilst keeping the same fresh, absorbing edge that made them the icons they are today.&nbsp;Using a mix of projected imagery in-camera, and archival footage in the edit, layered montages mirror the harmonies of the vocal performance and visual synergy of the band. Carefully crafted visual effects bring an otherworldly and surreal quality to the performances."We set out to create a beautiful mixed-media performance video with an ethereal quality, to complement the gorgeous new ballad Weeds," explains Yin.&nbsp;"As explored in the lyrics, we wanted to create the feeling of 'harnessing the power of nature'&nbsp;through the use of dynamic visuals which build throughout the track to support and envelop the performances."[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Athene Xenia Aristocleous

Justin Hamilton

Neil Stuart

Gemma Yin

Francesca Di Muro

Hurry Sundown

Laura Taylor

Caterina Castro

Dajiana Huang

Billy French

Peter Swinford

Roisin Byrne

Jason Goh

Devon Maxwell-whyte

Georgina Graham

Roisin Donaghy

Evo Boeck

Sugababes 'Weeds' by Gemma Yin

Sugababes-'Weeds'-by-Gemma-Yin

Leaning into The Jux’s love for streetwear, the Aychibs-directed&nbsp;visual for Dark Lights draws inspiration from Supreme’s iconic colour palette, fused with bold angles and a cinematic vibe.The first visualiser in a&nbsp;yet-to-be-released series of short clips, this one stands apart by using the screen itself to tell the story - a fresh visual twist. A slick, multi-screen setup creates depth and texture, with silhouette performances backdropping the main performance.&nbsp;Highlighting the red colours amongst a sea of monochrome, the visual is brilliantly executed and was turned around at lightning speed, shooting and editing simultaneously on set.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Maureen Kargbo

Belle Mcleary

AyChibs

Michael Grant

Jordan Young

Simon Stonlland

Henry Howard

ELMNTL

7wallace

The Jux With Lex Amor 'Dark Lights' by Aychibs

The-Jux-With-Lex-Amor-'Dark-Lights'-by-Aychibs

Fidel directs a fluid, retro-fired visual for British artist Jim Legxacy's sweet, garage-influenced track from his anticipated Black British Music mixtape.The video for aggressive captures Jim in everyday situations and an atmospheric performance set-up, driven by a powerful edit. There's a distinct nod to the origins of UK Garage with Jim favouring 90s football shirts, and viewed&nbsp;through the screen of the iconic Blackberry.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Amanda Jenkins

Fidel

Zion Roache

Scott Wright

Dylan Whatley

Steve Cameron

Mic Grant

Jordan Rowley

Max Elliot

Conrad Bohl

Avenues

XL Recordings

Jim Legxacy 'Aggressive' by Fidel

Jim-Legxacy-'Aggressive-'-by-Fidel

Dir. Lx directs a contemplative&nbsp;promo for UK Garage icon Craig David, follows the artist and his younger self through a journey of self-reflection.&nbsp;The video for In Your Hands opens&nbsp;with a fun VFX scene of Craig splitting into the two version of himself, and proceeds with&nbsp;sun-kissed performance setups and breathtaking landscape shots - and references the artist's most famous video from back in the day. It's a lovely complement to the late summer track.&nbsp;"Having grown up listening to Craig David getting to work alongside him feels like an incredible full-circle moment," says Dir. Lx.&nbsp;"From paying homage to his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5lmb5-tnM0" target="_blank">7 Days&nbsp;video</a> through little Easter eggs to collaborating on the idea and coming up with a narrative following a younger version of him and his love for music, it’s been an honour to work with Craig and his team."We wanted to make this video vibrant, nostalgic and youthful. A young child discovering their favourite song that they can’t get enough of. Something we can all resonate with till this day."&nbsp;

Joe Munroe

Vivian Nwonka

Dir. Lx

Michelle Smith

Pierre Hall

Tom Nowell

Sam Mayer

Michael Vega

Adam Fox

Scarlett Gardner

Maisie Boyd

Pyro

Tom Mangham

Black Kite Studios

Ethan Bywater

Believe

Craig David 'In Your Hands' by Dir. Lx

Craig-David-'In-Your-Hands'-by-Dir.-Lx

Kims Mihailovs blurs reality, refining the use of AI to create a subtly magical visual for Paul White.Mihailovs' video for Surreal follows the similarly AI-generated promo for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2024/08/23/paul-white-glory-stories-kims-mihailov/87839" target="_blank">Glory In Stories</a> for the electronic artist. Again it creates a dreamlike space around a female protagonist, and the craft is such that the combination of 'real'&nbsp;and surreal is smoothly realised, with any drift into the uncanny reduced to fine margins.Mihailovs explains the process began with an experiment to&nbsp;embrace the deformations&nbsp;and irregularities of AI models, and then working to erase the 'AI-ness' of the resulting imagery.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp; &nbsp;"The initial concept was to depict a person's fragmented memories, with the distorted imagery symbolising how details fade over time," says&nbsp;Mihailovs.&nbsp;"However, the resulting visuals ended up looking more like the generic AI-generated content often seen on social media. To avoid this, I took a different approach, focusing on quick cuts and simple shots to reduce the AI's presence."The final concept evolved into a play between the environment and the woman featured in the video, blurring the line between reality and illusion. Is it the creases in the duvet or her body? A flock of birds or her dance? A grapefruit or her lips? The video leaves these questions open, exploring the fluid boundary between past and present.[imgtoken data:2]"Creating a fully AI-generated video was a new and tedious process. Unlike traditional creative processes, where you can get lost in the act of creation, working with AI involves a lot of waiting. You generate images, wait, select the best ones, run them through video AI, and wait again. This interrupts the creative flow, though the technology's speed and results are rapidly improving."While generating images for each shot, I noticed a stop-motion effect when scrolling through similar images. Intrigued, I produced hundreds of images which resulted in the creation of the effect featured during the song's chorus."

Kims Mihailov

R&S Records

Electronic

Paul White 'Surreal' by Kims Mihailovs

Paul White - Surreal (R&S Records)

AyChibs directs a strong and slick performance piece for Afrobeat star Yung Filly.Working on a tight schedule - there was less than a week from sign off to delivery - AyChibs creates an intiimate space for Yung Filly to deliver a heartfelt performance of Tempted, then creates a series of set-ups to build momentum until a climactic&nbsp;party scene.There's an astute use of colour in different scenes to create simple but classy backdrops. And&nbsp;ultimately its all&nbsp; working to highlight&nbsp;Yung Filly's charismatic performance.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

Ola Christian

Danyal Nwajiobi-deacon

Nathan James Tettey

Tristan Chenais

Priscilla Babin

Ismah Ansari

Murray Boden

Hermes Contreras

Bradley Panda

Ibrahim Kanu

Patricia Kerry

Samuel Maton

Charlie Williams

Warner Music

Afrobeat

Yung Filly 'Tempted' by AyChibs

Yung-Filly-'Tempted'-by-Aychibs

Director and animator Kims Mihailov directs an atmospheric animated promo for producer Paul White.&nbsp;The video for Glory In Stories explores&nbsp;the relationship between inner joy and space, and how one can create a sense of freedom in a claustrophobic environment.&nbsp;Boasting a surreal yet dreamlike aesthetic, the video follows the protagonist s her desire to break free overwhelms her suffocating surroundings, and she is transported away from the city.&nbsp;Blending imaginative collages of spacious landscapes with ethereal textural elements, it's an absorbing video with a distinctive, singular style, with Mihailovs employing AI to generate the lead protagonist in the video.&nbsp;&nbsp;“I created 3D environments while maintaining a collage style for the characters, chopping up AI-generated photos of limbs in Photoshop to animate body parts separately," explains&nbsp;Mihailovs.&nbsp;"I used transform tools and distortions to simulate movement, ensuring that the environment's lighting matched the characters."This project also marked my first use of Video AI for close-up and dancing shots. The AI performed well for minimal movements, creating natural hair and head tilts, and its distortions during more intense motion perfectly complemented the video's blend of reality and imagination."[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Dance

Paul White 'Glory In Stories' by Kims Mihailov

Paul-White-'Glory-In-Stories'-by-Kims-Mihailov

Celebrating the return of the collective who were prime movers in grime music during the 2000s, Dumas Haddad situates the new music project by Ruff Sqwad within the context of their early days with a marvellous music film.In Haddad's 16 minute short-cum-extended music video for the trio's new project Flee FM, Ruff Sqwad members Slix, Prince Rapid and Dirty Danger perform the EP's seven tracks in the evocative setting of a pirate radio station - a nostalgic homage to the crucial role played by stations like Deja Vu FM, Rinse FM&nbsp;and Heat FM in the development of grime in the Noughties, when the collective were emerging from the same East London neighbourhood as Wiley and Dizzee Rascal.[imgtoken data:1]Beautifully shot by Courtney Bennett and graded by Jason Wallis, with production design by Jade Adeyemi and sound design by Bankey&nbsp;Ojo, Haddad allows the trio's performances to take centre stage and flourish naturalistically within a cinematic setting.The performances are punctuated with additional material - phone-ins, radio stings, shots of nighttime East London, to heighten the sense that Ruff Sqwad have come back with their own pirate station, Flee FM, and hit the airwaves once more - old school vibes that we need right now. The results are compelling.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;This was clearly a labour of love for Haddad, who experienced the rise of grime culture at close quarters as a youngster, and was very aware of the importance of Ruff Sqwad within that story."In crafting this film, my primary aim was to immerse audiences in the visceral and clandestine world of pirate radio, a realm that defined London's youth culture in the early 2000s, specifically bringing them back to the derelict, illegal spaces where this vibrant, DIY movement thrived," he says.Haddad, who&nbsp;addressed the impact of how government cracked down on the&nbsp;pirate radio revolution in his 2019 short film&nbsp;The Gift,&nbsp;points out that the authentic evidence of this world was only ever captured on&nbsp;DV tapes at the time.&nbsp;"These tapes now stand as our visual relic—a testament to the raw energy that permeated those illicit broadcasts."[imgtoken data:3]Hence his desire to pay tribute properly to the original pirate radio era, beautifully recreated here by transporting the audience to the days of FM dials, phone-ins, Avirex jackets, Evisu denim and, of course, Nokia phones."Being a Ruff Sqwad fanatic, collaborating with them on this project is not just an honour but a milestone, bringing my journey full circle," explains Haddad.&nbsp;"Through this film, I aim to capture and immortalize the untamed spirit of grime's formative years, paying tribute to the era that shaped the genre, and in turn, shaped me."&nbsp;