Dara Hamidi

Directing duo&nbsp;rubberband. have ingeniously crafted the breathtaking promo for Lucky Daye's N.W.A. - the OUTSIDE version -&nbsp;blending physical and digital mediums to create something truly distinctive.&nbsp;This is the alternate version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOuos3tU3AE" target="_blank">the official video directed by rubberband for the track</a> earlier this year, where the duo have created a real magazine with stills from the original video.&nbsp;Comprised of just under one hundred individually designed pages, the creative team programmed a robot to flip through individual pages,&nbsp;taking the viewer on a journey through a living, breathing work of art. &nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Each magazine spread is&nbsp;meticulously crafted, boasting eclectic aesthetics and styling, with an overarching feeling of nostalgia, harking back to the magazine culture of the duo's youth.The seamless combination of physical and digital elements - tied together with brilliant VFX work - results in a visual that is not only extremely captivating, but also truly innovative.&nbsp;By combining different creative mediums such as fashion, editorial, music, and film, rubberband.&nbsp;have proven once again that their creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is an intrinsic part of their filmmaking DNA.

United States

rubberband.

Elizabeth Doonan

Patrick Milling-Smith

Brian Carmody

Luigi Rossi

Lottie Abrahams

Matt Benton

Kristen Knisley

Patrick Golan

Seb Johnson

Bobby Wotherspoon

Miranda Lorenz

Hensel Martinez

Natalia Brito

Alexander-Julian Gibson

Melanesia Hunter

Dylan Edwards

Cabin Edit

Aubrey Woodiwiss

Dennis Kang

James Siewert

Danna Takkako

SMUGGLER

Lucky Daye ft Lil Durk 'N.W.A' by rubberband. 

Lucky Daye - NWA feat Lil Durk (OUTSIDE Version)

Precociously talented director Phillip Youmans made his music video debut for Michael Kiwanuka's Interlude (Loving The People) in 2020, after the release of his acclaimed debut feature Burning Cane. His second collaboration&nbsp;with Kiwanuka, for Beautiful Life, has now finally seen the light of day, and it&nbsp;is very powerful work indeed.The setting is a house party, where four teenagers are playing the most dangerous game of all - Russian roulette - observed by their friends. In fact, Youmans'&nbsp;main purpose is not to focus on the extreme tension built-in to the scenario.&nbsp;This is also an exploration of what happens in a life-or-death situation, and the real phenomenon of having your life flash before you in moments of extreme danger - caused by the hormonal release of DMT.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]“This story is a cautionary tale about our nation’s easy access to, and fascination with, guns," Yeomans has explained.&nbsp;"We follow teenagers playing Russian roulette with a parent’s revolver. As each player holds the gun up to their temple, their lives flash before their eyes."When we die, our bodies release DMT; as the chemical fills our bloodstream, it’s said that a person experiences their life flashing before their eyes. So close to their possible death, I wanted to explore these characters through their memories. With each pull of the trigger, the chance of death rises and each player deals with varying levels of fear."Overconfidence and recklessness underline the core themes of this film: life is beautiful and precious, and conformity and exhibitionism can be deadly. Though they’re fearful, they pull the trigger anyway, bowing to the pressure of the moment.”[imgtoken data:2]Shot on 16mm, Youmans’ raw immersive approach creates both bold, dynamic and claustrophobic scenes, while the kinetic camera during each flashback brings a nostalgic and alive feel. Through striking storytelling carried by authentic performances from the nuanced and diverse cast, Phillip Youmans entwines his craft and the powerful single from Kiwanuka into a matter of life and death celebrating the real strength in the human spirit.&nbsp;And the final shot, after the inevitable outcome of the ultimate gamble, is possibly the most pointed of all, puncturing the moments of sentimentality before it. Don't try this at home, kids.&nbsp;

Phillip Youmans

Manny Caston

OB Management

Stray Dogs

Jeff Leeds Cohn

Pancho Ortiz

April Rivera

Liz Toonkel

Ryan Silber

Michael Kiwanuka 'Beautiful Life' by Phillip Youmans

Michael Kiwanuka - Beautiful Life

Directing duo rubberband. follow up the brooding terror of their video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/06/27/steve-lacy-mercury-rubberband/77040" target="_blank">Mercury</a>&nbsp;with something more upbeat and suitably sun-drenched for their second Steve Lacy video - again with a surreal twist.Lacy performs in an empty industrial space alongside his band, as guest vocalist Fousheé is suspended against a bright blue sky. Once Lacy joins his companion against the bright backdrop, the film takes on a hazy dream-like mode&nbsp; - it is this move toward surrealism that ties in with Lacy’s established visual language.As with Mercury,&nbsp;rubberband.&nbsp;worked with award-winning cinematographer Evan Prosofsky, and shot the video on 35mm.&nbsp;“We wanted to do something dead simple and completely free," say the directors. "We said, put them on the tallest crane we can find, and don’t remove anything. Show everything. The artifice in full. That was literally our pitch. The whole pathos of the album for us visually was the idea that: Safety is an Illusion, both in life and in love. We feel like this was a dead simple, evocative way to show that.”

Dara Hamidi

VFX

Videos featuring Dara Hamidi

2022 (3)

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