Sony Music

Commissioner

Elizabeth Doonan

After the audacious <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2023/07/05/bakar-alive-rubberband/82265" target="_blank">Alive!</a> - shot in Piccadilly Circus&nbsp;- rubberband. reunite with Bakar to direct another&nbsp;marvellous promo for the British singer-songwriter, bringing him to his audience&nbsp;in quite a different way.&nbsp;It begins in a stylised room interior, with Bakar at the keyboard, joined by two other musicians.&nbsp;It's filmed on a single locked-off camera in the corner of the room, and only when the view from the window&nbsp;starts to move that we realise that this room is quite literally being driven around as they perform, around the bustling streets of London.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Growing in energy as the performance progresses, the video ends with a group of fans crowding the room set, trying to get a glimpse of the artist.&nbsp;It's an inspired concept that takes a simple idea - inspired by Swedish comedy auteur Roy Andersson - and&nbsp;executes it brilliantly.&nbsp;"I’m Done was supposed to be a live performance video," reveal the directing duo. "But we wanted to drive a room around London as an homage to Roy Andersson’s You, The Living. So that’s what we did.”

United Kingdom

Max Randall

Sofi Keenan

Femi Koneth

rubberband.

Ghandi El-Chamaa

SMUGGLER

Michael Lewin

Pat Golan

Polly Woollard

Jess Horne

Becky Lee

Laurie Walters

Hannah Ryan

Britini  Campbell

Gina Blondelle

Cabin Edit

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Bakar

Sony Black Butter

Alternative

Bakar 'I'm Done' by rubberband.

Bakar-'I'm-Done'-by-Rubberband.

Directing duo rubberband. tap into a notion of mortality&nbsp;for US&nbsp;soulman Omar Apollo's super-visceral promo for Ice Slippin.The video is a dazzling multi-format video,&nbsp;featuring a wide variety of footage, from live-action performance through to vintage animation and home-video snapshots. And at the core is the fully committed performance of a Apollo - and its surely no coincidence that he exudes physical beauty like the modern version of his namesake&nbsp;Greek God.It's a&nbsp;tour de force&nbsp;of creativity, and has a poignant, lingering feel that doesn't quite let up after viewing.&nbsp;A masterclass of music video creativity,&nbsp;anchored by an emotive performance and inspired production techniques.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]“This collaboration with Omar was in pursuit of expanding the final millisecond of one’s life," explain rubberband.&nbsp;"In this case, Omar spoke about the moment of his near fatal accident on the way to come out to his family on the black iced roads of Indiana."We wanted to make a film that was both literal in its visualizations of physical, corporeal death and rebirth through medical imaging and non-traditional image making technology and abstract in its representation of the internal recreation of his consciousness.[imgtoken data:2]<blockquote>We wanted the video to [reflect] the many different physical pieces of what it means to be a human...</blockquote>We utilized EEGs, ECGs, neuronal activity simulation, heart ultrasound, brain MRI, volumetric capture, motion capture, audio spectrography, thermal imaging, hand cut emulsion transitions, archival video, CGI, print and scanned 2D animation, and standard 35mm to capture Omar."We wanted the video to be an object that reflected the many different physical pieces of what it means to be a human and what it would take, in the realm of magical realism, to rebuild a human soul.”

United States

Bon Walsh

Martin Metcalf

Theo Hue Williams

Sebastien Nuta

Adam Newport-Berra

Brian Carmody

Patrick Milling Smith

Sidney Arthur

Ty Hack

Justin McGillivray

Chris Cole

Ben Talbott

Jylle Navarro

Armen Harootun

George Dyson

Omar Apollo

Soul

Omar Apollo 'Ice Slippin'' by rubberband.

Omar-Apollo-'Ice-Slippin''-by-Rubberband.

The idea of chasing a high lays the foundations of Andre Muir's brilliant promo for Mick Jenkins, exploring the idea of escapism in every area of life.&nbsp;The video features a series of powerful vignettes, tied together by&nbsp;their portrayal of different forms of toxic black masculinity, which ultimately drives the characters to seek escapism.The project&nbsp;not only showcases Andre Muir’s visionary storytelling, but also demonstrates his commitment to exploring important social issues. He aspires to spark change, encourage self-reflection, and promote a more inclusive and compassionate understanding of masculinity in all its forms.It's a remarkable piece of work;&nbsp;a powerful, fresh perspective on a hugely&nbsp;important subject, with visuals that match the ambition of the concept.[imgtoken data:1]“What inspired my idea was the literal song title," Muir explains. "A smoke break. You take them, normally at work. You're taking this break, this distraction from this other thing in your life that you think sucks - a job, school, etc. But this little break is probably worse for you than that job could ever be."The song made me think about the different vices or 'highs'&nbsp;we use to escape reality. But they can be double-edged swords as well. Sometimes the things we do to avoid and distract from our reality to gain some semblance of control ends up controlling us.[imgtoken data:2]<blockquote>In my work, I make a deliberate effort to focus on the Black experience, and that was my intention with this video.</blockquote>"I wanted to create a narrative video that showed different characters doing just that. Only I wanted to focus these distractions around what I think is the root cause of a lot of vices for men, which is black toxic masculinity. Whether it's drugs, thrill-seeking, partying, doing acts of bravado in front of the camera for followers, they're all just these negative manifestations of our expectations of how a man should conduct himself."I came into film more focussed on narrative, and the actual visual itself was never something I was too fixated on. With this music video I really wanted it to be an exercise in frame composition and I was really proud to see what myself and my director of photography Brandon Hoeg, were able to do with the type of budget restraints we had.[imgtoken data:3]"Working with Mick is always great. He’s a great collaborator in the sense that he’s really open to ideas. He cares about the visual and meaning behind it, and that's way more important to him than just being in front of the camera. I also think we have similar sensibilities when it comes to subject matter. I pitched him what I got from the song, and we immediately clicked on themes and what was most important to portray visually."In my work, I make a deliberate effort to focus on the Black experience, and that was my intention with this video as well. I aimed to zero in on black toxic masculinity specifically. However, witnessing the public lynching of Jordan Neely, seeing how no one helped him but instead they’d rather record it on their phones, it made me realize that we all suffer from a larger culprit: patriarchy in general. This realization led to a last minute inclusion of an additional scene at the end of the video, highlighting this broader perspective."As these people egged this man on, as he sucked the life out of Jordan, I’m sure he was aware of these cameras, I’m sure he thought he was a hero, as he did what he was 'trained'&nbsp;to do, I’m sure he thought he was doing what a man would do in that situation."&nbsp;

Izzy Garcia

Andre Muir

Tashi Bhutia

Jake Bloom

Grade A

Underhil

Nicholas Emmanuele

Brandon Hoeg

Manny Caston

Saró Melero Bonnin

Blacksmith

Hip Hop

Mick Jenkins 'Smoke Break-Dance' by Andre Muir

Mick Jenkins - Smoke Break-Dance (Feat. JID, Prod. By Stoic) [Official Music Video]

Director duo Simon Davis and Jason Sondock - aka rubberband. - craft a bold and daring video for Bakar&nbsp;where&nbsp;the British alt-soul artist literally stops the traffic in the middle of Piccadilly Circus.The video for Alive! begins at this iconic British location, where curious onlookers are transfixed by the car that has stopped, holding up all the&nbsp;traffic behind on a rain-sodden day in central London. And then Bakar emerges, abandoning the vehicle, astonishingly, to&nbsp;begin an expressive performance of the song - choreographed by C Prinz -&nbsp;and escaping into the street.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]It's an ambitious concept, to say the least, and represents the themes of breaking free and challenging boundaries, whilst encouraging&nbsp;viewers to embrace their true selves and celebrate the joy that comes from taking risks and expressing one's individuality.The candid camerawork adds a DIY sensibility to the promo, echoing the online aesthetic of YouTube prank videos, whilst a focus on reactions - most of which are less than enthusiastic - helps solidify the message of the concept.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]<blockquote>Alive! is about the freedom and self expression, and what that means in the context of a greater whole.</blockquote>“Alive! was an extraordinary experience in every way," declare rubberband.&nbsp;"Working with an artist as brave and creative Bakar is the sort of collaboration you dream of but rarely find."The idea for the video was simple, abandon a car in the middle of Piccadilly Circus during rush hour and perform the song. This was done for real. Alive! is about the freedom and self expression, and what that means in the context of a greater whole. To stand in front of a sea of faces and attempt to feel Alive.”Brilliant work and a very memorable promo indeed.[imgtoken data:3]

Katherine Fu

Patrick Golan

Black Butter Records - Sony Music

Barney Batchelor

Chris Starkey

C Prinz

Experimental

Indie Rock

Bakar 'Alive!' by rubberband.

Bakar-'Alive'-by-Rubberband.

SMUGGLER director duo Simon Davis and Jason Sondock of rubberband. take us on a dynamic journey in their latest video for artist Dominic Fike.In the promo for Mama’s Boy, rubberband. create an iconic scenario,&nbsp;that metaphorically brings us intimately into Fike’s world; one of grappling with life's big questions and family history whilst the eyes of the world are on you, and what it means to attempt to share those feelings with the world.

James Gooding

Danny Durr

Adam Newport Berra

Luigi Rossi

Tyler Wilson

Adam Kolegas

Lucas Deans

Henry Nyguen

Dylan Edwards

Cabin Editing Company

Aubrey Woodiwiss

The Mill

Matt Fuller

Dominic Fike 'Mama's Boy' by rubberband.

Dominic-Fike-'Mama's-Boy'-by-Rubberband.

Director duo rubberband. - Jason Sondock and Simon Davis - return to music videos with a characteristically ingenious video for Montreal-based rapper Skiifall, creating something new yet feeling timeless, appropriately upon the theme of Time itself.In the video for 2 Charming, rubberband. somehow, miraculously, manage to bend time. We watch&nbsp;Skiifall move through a city environment, walking alongside a towering overpass. At the start it is nighttime. But as&nbsp;Skiifall makes his unhurried progress, the sky gets noticably&nbsp;lighter. Then dawn breaks, it gets brighter as the blazing sun rises in the sky.In the camera move tracking&nbsp;Skiifall's walk to his destination - to his girl, waiting by her car -&nbsp;a whole day passes, as shadows disappear at noon and then start to lengthen again, and then the sky darkens. Soon it is night once more, while the camera continues to pan across...&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]With a flawless execution aligned to such a striking concept, the video has a real 'how did they do that?' quality. It's a great achievement.&nbsp;“We wanted to take 2 Charming as a track and&nbsp;Skiifall&nbsp;as an artist and play with time passage practically," say rubberband. "That was more or less the base of the idea. Skii was very open to experimenting and the inspiration was in and of itself experimentation."It’s always fun to try something new, or in this case, to continue to push a technical theme further. In general we like to try real practical concepts, often bolstered by VFX. In this case The Mill LA was our partner, hand-in-hand every step of the way. They facilitated what would have been a monstrous post task."Skiifall&nbsp;is a true trusting artist who is incredibly committed and humble. It was humbling and a pleasure to work with such a good human being.”[imgtoken data:3]

Moonstruk

Jaycee

Amber Saunders

Philipe Archambault

Jake Monfils

Stéphane Leblanc

No.8

Kalpesh Bhikhabhai Patel

Skiifall '2 Charming' by rubberband.

SKIIFALL -  2 Charming

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.

Patrick Milling-Smith

Lottie Abrahams

Matt Benton

Kristen Knisley

Seb Johnson

Bobby Wotherspoon

Miranda Lorenz

Hensel Martinez

Natalia Brito

Alexander-Julian Gibson

Melanesia Hunter

Dara Hamidi

Dennis Kang

James Siewert

Danna Takkako

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

Lucky Daye - NWA feat Lil Durk (OUTSIDE Version)

Aoife McArdle returns to music videos, teaming up with Belfast's&nbsp;dynamic electronic producer/DJ duo Bicep to create a breathtaking music video that echoes the stylish TV series she helped create.Powered by signature Bicep production style of layered elements and beats in the track Water - with vocals by Clara La San -&nbsp;McArdle takes us on a trip where the essential drama of the scenario drifts into surrealism and eventually, existential absurdity.&nbsp;A female patient&nbsp;(played by Angela&nbsp;Nwagbo) is being transported by two hospital staff members&nbsp;on a hospital gurney down a pure white hospital corridor - which goes on&nbsp;and on. This, it becomes evident, is a journey with no end in sight - perhaps no end at all. What is the point of this journey, and apparent&nbsp;emergency? Is the patient, sometimes under a oxygen face mask, and then not, actually ill at all?Rooms adjacent to the corridor reveal odd arrangements&nbsp;that exacerbate the sense of dreamlike unreality. As the patient gains&nbsp;agency and the physical scope of the film starts to expand, each new location takes the form of a different stream of her consciousness.McArdle creates this psycho-drama through the beautifully crafted&nbsp;development of a visual aesthetic, which will be familiar to those who have seen&nbsp;Severance,&nbsp;the acclaimed&nbsp;Apple TV+&nbsp;drama that she has worked on as both director and producer&nbsp;- and which she discussed on The Promonews Podcast, earlier this year.As in the TV series, the pristine production design contributes&nbsp;to the sense of unease and dislocation. But here if anything McArdle&nbsp;gets the chance to break down the separation between recognisable reality and a surreal fiction even more - and play in the realm of the psyche.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ondrej Lipensky

Michelle Corney

Dasa Stefflova

Aoife McArdle

Luca Chapman

Vasek Sejna

Maximilian Pittner

Jakub Dvorak

Dan Vagenknecht

Michal Ralis

Zbynek Kunc

Dan Sherwen

Final Cut

George Kyriacou

Amy Richardson

Black Kite Studios

Alexandra Vondrackova

Jonny Freeman

Angela Nwagbo

Unit+Sofa

Dance

Electronica

Bicep ft Clara La San 'Water' by Aoife McArdle

Bicep--'Water-Ft.-Clara-La-San-'-by-Aoife-Mcardle

Britt Lower - the rebellious, enigmatic Helly in Apple's TV drama&nbsp;Severance -&nbsp;takes on another challenging role in Allie Avital's video for The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.Lower plays a wife who is constrained by&nbsp;her sterile homelife and&nbsp;monotonous relationship with an uncommunicative husband. But then she sees a blue bird in a tree outside the perfect home - lipsyncing to the song Wolf. And that sparks the ravenous beast inside her.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]She walks out of&nbsp;the house and into the wilderness on her doorstep. She loses her demure facade, and she embraces nature.&nbsp;Lower goes feral in the forest, absorbing all its elements in a visceral way. In doing so, she&nbsp;becomes dishevelled, bloodied - but undeterred.Eventually she stumbles&nbsp;into a local bar - where in a Lynchian backroom, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs beckons her inside, and to the end-point of her journey.&nbsp;Her return to her house follows, and&nbsp;an encounter with her husband which wordlessly resets the parameters of their&nbsp;relationship.[imgtoken data:2]"Wolf&nbsp;has so much narrative built into the lyrics, and it was such a dream to delve into these themes of hunger, connection, and wildness," says Avital. "Britt Lower and I used a movement-based technique to play with the nuances of this character as she seeks various forms of connection and moves from feeling trapped to wild to rediscovering a new form of intimacy with her husband."As a director, it’s rare to find such open minded artists like Karen, Nick, and Brian and I’m so grateful they put so much trust in our creative process."[imgtoken data:3]&nbsp;

Allie Avital

Gummy Films

Rachel Walden

Meg Murnane

Sarah Wilson

Robby Morris

Sienna Brown

Sonja Tsypin

Steven Grise

Rafe Scobey-Thal

Kaitlyn Battistelli

Nat Tereshchenko

Ethos Studio

B.art.vfx

Gisela Fulla-Silvestre

Melanie St Clair

Ghitta Larsen

Ryan Forte

David McCabe

Natasha Newman-Thomas

Mike Potter

Seiji

Izzi Galindo

Ashly Tsao

Rock

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Wolf' by Allie Avital

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Wolf (Official Video)

In a 20th anniversary celebration of Christina Aguilera's classic ballad Beautiful, Fiona Jane Burgess delves into what is plaguing the youth of today in a series of striking tableaux that focus on the threat of social media and 'influencer' culture on the wellbeing of the impressionable young.The video starts with a series of children blankly staring at their phones, their eyes lit up by their phone screens. Burgess brings each character’s insecurity to life as the camera pans from different perspectives. Young girls stare at themselves in the mirror, covered in cosmetic surgery incision lines, not convinced by the song’s powerful lyrics.&nbsp;But ultimately, as with Aguilera's classic song, this is ultimagely a message of hope.&nbsp;The video ends with a powerful shot of kids playing hopscotch and climbing trees. It is a reminder that should be instilled in every child; it’s okay to just be a kid.[imgtoken data:1] FIONA JANE BURGESS:“This film is a love letter to young people in 2022. It’s an acknowledgement of the fact that social media has totally transformed our relationship with our bodies, and in turn, our mental health."Young people are constantly fed images of unrealistic beauty standards, and with more images and influencers than ever circulating online, it’s virtually impossible to control what information young people consume. This in turn has created an online world which can be as positive as it is volatile. This film explores the tension between progression versus regression in terms of beauty standards and how our cultural relationship to it has evolved in the last twenty years, specifically in relation to the impact it’s having on children and young people.[imgtoken data:2]<blockquote>My hope is that this film opens up a conversation around... images and messages children are consuming.</blockquote>"Research suggests that time spent on social networking sites is associated with body image issues and disordered eating in teens. According to emergency room trends, there’s been a 50% increase in reported self-injury among teenagers since 2009."According to a paper published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, more than half of girls and one-third of boys ages 6 to 8 are unhappy with their body weight. And more than 80 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being “fat.” This is heartbreaking. This needs to change. And this film aims to be part of that change.[imgtoken data:3]"This film is an act of resilience. A celebration of courage and self love. A love letter, a signal for change in the way we perceive beauty. My hope is that this film opens up a conversation around the potential harm associated with what images and messages children are consuming, if it’s not spoken about and discussed."I think a lot of children and young people feel suffocated by the online world but don’t know if they’re alone in feeling this way, so for me this film is about acknowledging that they aren’t alone, that it’s normal to have insecurities and to try to have a balanced view of social media and not let it dictate the way we think of ourselves.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Fiona Jane Burgess

Blair Smith

Chanel Parkinson

Robert Diment

Andreas Bjørseth

Josh Brooks

Ola Austad

Seth Crosby

Max Bellhouse

Natalie Wilkins

Josh Knight

Grace Ellington

Jo Lewandowska

Okay Studio

Julien Alary

Untold Studios

Hannah Ashby Ward

Lane Casting

Kodak

Digital Orchard

Christina Aguilera 'Beautiful (2022 Version)' by Fiona Jane Burgess

Christina Aguilera - Beautiful (2022 Version)

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.”

Elizabeth Doonan

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