Director's Representation

Hands 

First there was Telephones 4 Eyes, one of the most imaginative videos of the year so far. But it turns out that was just for starters. Here is&nbsp;the main dish, as served up by East London troubadour and top geezer Hak Baker and Irish director Hugh Mulhern. It's the&nbsp;remarkable&nbsp;tour de force that is Doolally.As Baker delivers a blow-by-blow account of a very messy night out - seemingly channelling Mike Skinner in his Streets pomp&nbsp;- Mulhern takes the turbo-charged pace and mix of live action, VFX and AI animation, and up the ante as he interprets this fruity story.&nbsp;It all starts in Hak's tower block flat, where the weirdness soon kicks in with the appearance of his nemesis - a pudgy grass-covered gremlin. When his mates arrive, to get in the party mood, the action turns&nbsp;into a computer game as they speed through London streets to reach their party destination.[imgtoken data:1]Then the mayhem begins, as Mulhern transforms the track's&nbsp;house party into a heaving mass of people in a club, constantly transforming in a way that feels all of a piece with Baker's&nbsp;hallucinogenic state. AI animation takes over - 2D and 3D - in a way that goes further than Telephones but still controlled to meet the vision.&nbsp;Mulhern uses AI&nbsp;so it augments his creativity rather than replacing it.There is a real sense of visiting the recesses of a the human mind in an altered state - when it's gone a bit Doolally. So between the human and&nbsp;artificial intelligence, there is a brilliance at work here.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]“Doolally is a party anthem,"&nbsp;says Hugh Mulhern. "But within the context of Hak’s album and its wider themes, I think it’s also about escaping, disassociating and connection through disconnection. I wanted to use this as an excuse to see how far we could push all the techniques and visual language I established for Hak with our previous video for Telephones 4 Eyes."We mixed 3D animation, AI generative animation, props, and puppets at an active warehouse party. I wanted to make something that felt like you were falling through different layers of reality swept up in the momentum of a night out that lasts 36 hours.”

United Kingdom

Rory Mullen

Naomi Barling

Hugh Mulhern

Alexander Handschuh

Riff Raff Films

Nadine Persaud

Joe Caple

Eoin McLoughlin

Laura Clayton

James Wicks

Joe Medlock

Ed Fay

Joseph Taylor

Assembly Rooms

Andrew Francis

Gabha Studios

Dafydd Upsdell

Daniel Morris

Awal Recordings

Alternative

Hak Baker 'Doolally' by Hugh Mulhern

Hak-Baker-'Doolally'-by-Hugh-Mulhern

The Sacred Egg - London-based directing duo Alex Mavor and Ed Kaye - direct&nbsp;a mesmerising, and thought-provoking promo for Depeche Mode.&nbsp;In&nbsp;this incisive, metaphorical short story,&nbsp;couple try to work their way through a&nbsp;communication breakdown in a world where talking in the normal fashion is evidently impossible - and can only be achieved underwater.It's a concept that bounces beautifully&nbsp;off the theme of the track Wagging Tongue,&nbsp;brought to life in a dramatic, and highly cinematic fashion, with&nbsp;gorgeous black and white&nbsp;cinematography by legendary DoP Simon Chaudoir, and consummmate performances from the lead actors, assisted by the use of visual effects in the underwater scenes that add a&nbsp;supernatural, otherworldly angle.&nbsp;Echoing the style of the band's longtime collaborator and creative director Anton Corbijn, the monochromatic colour palette adds to the raw aesthetic, and helps tie the concept&nbsp;to Depeche Mode's considerable videography to date.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

Mikey Hollywood

Ivan Kolev – Zlatniya

Vasilen Milkov

The Sacred Egg

Olwyn Fagan

Saul Levitz

Peter Kostov

Simon Chaudoir

Julian Richards

Hristo Genkov

Georgi Petkov

Vanya Ivanova

Momchil Tasev

Petya Simeonova

Gergana Batanova

Ben Corfield

Homespun

Philip Hambi

The Mill

Andy Steele

Peter Hodsman

Tatiana Mitova

Jacob Beswick

Simeon Germanov

Columbia Records

Sony Music

Electronic

Depeche Mode 'Wagging Tongue' by The Sacred Egg

Depeche Mode - Wagging Tongue (Official Video)

A robot vacuum cleaner goes walkabout in search of connection, in Aube Perrie's second video for Harry Styles.&nbsp;The video for Satellite is Perrie's follow-up to <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/10/31/harry-styles-music-sushi-restaurant-aube-perrie/79016" target="_blank">Music For A Sushi Restaurant</a>, where Harry played a captured Merman.&nbsp;This time, he hands over the spotlight, even as he is performing to thousands of&nbsp;fans on his current arena tour.&nbsp;Backstage, when a news report of the Mars Curiosity Rover appears on TV,&nbsp;the robot vacuum stops its routine business to take notice, and then takes on a life of its own.Soon we are with the little robot as it makes its determined way, out of the arena (we briefly see Harry out on stage) and into the big city, across dangerous highways, and into the surrounding country - just to get closer to that equally solitary robot on the TV. And he ends up, stargazing with none other than Mr Styles...&nbsp;This is a riveting fantasy of a quite a different type to the Sushi Restaurant video&nbsp;- warm-hearted, poignant, and probably influenced by&nbsp;several Pixar movies, including all the Toy Storys and, of course, the incredible Wall-E. But the fact is, it also looks like it was done mostly in-camera.&nbsp;Perrie gives it a beautiful visual aesthetic - and an irreverent twist -&nbsp;that sets this, and him apart from the crowd.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

United States

Patience Harding

Sydney Levy

Aube Perrie

Rik Green

Bryan Younce

Francesco Rizzo

Pulse Films

Mathias Pieralta

Christopher Ripley

Nnena Nwakodo

James Sorton

Davud Karbassioun

Josh Montes

Sean Hunt

Nathone Giordano

Matt Planer

Bradley Wilder

Malina Burdette

Jerry Sun

Gwen Ghelid

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Harry Styles 'Satellite' by Aube Perrie

Harry-Styles-'Satellite'-by-Aube-Perrie

Rich Hall puts indie band Elephant Kind on an intergalactic tube train chockful of aliens - in his superb video for Love As.The production team at Riff Raff&nbsp;says: "Possibly the most extreme recce we’ve done in a while, was to the Moon and back. Rich Hall wanted to set Elephant Kind’s video there, so we popped over to get the vibe. But the train on the way back to Earth was just so packed with characters, it was like a casting director’s hallway. So Rich said f*** it, let’s just shoot it now."The DoP decided zero-gravity worked in favour of a spinning train carriage shot, and the producer agreed to pay travel expenses for being outside the M25, only because they’d save on camera kit by using alien drool to a dolly effect."So the band warmed up, and busted out their single ‘Love As’. And that’s how we got a video for an indie band about intergalactic space train love.*"*actual sequence of events may have differed."[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3][imgtoken data:4]

Oian Arteta

Leanne Flinn

Rich Hall

Luke Tierney

Kidda Selassie

Will Shanahan

Adam Bell

Ben Todd

Suzan Mustafa

Alasdair Copland

Jake Whitehouse

Barney Batchelor

Will Crafts

Celia Arias

Dom Hamilton

Georgia Olive

Pete Oppersdorff

Will Howland

Lora Nikolaeva

Mola Records

Elephant Kind 'Love As' by Rich Hall

Elephant Kind - Love As (Official Video)

A naughty schoolboy&nbsp;goes on a sugar-fuelled rampage, in French director and graphic designer&nbsp;So Me's promo for Riton's infectious Sugar - featuring&nbsp;Soaky Siren.&nbsp;The eccentric promo sees the young rascal (played by&nbsp;Ethan Wesley) tear up the town, stealing various sugary treats in a riotous, explosive adventure - much to the dismay of the poor people trying to go about their day.With&nbsp;frantic, in-your-face cinematography, a great supporting cast,&nbsp;some laugh out loud moments - as well as some lively choreography - it's a brilliant video that takes a fun concept and pulls it right to the edge of absurdity... and the track couldn't have asked for a more catchy visual.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Road Casting

Yéléna Dos Santos

Lucy Isobel-bonner

So Me

Iconoclast

Kim Jarrett

Krunal Saardani

Matias Boucard

Cora Rodriguez

Maëva Tenneroni

Lana Salfiti

Nycollas Abreu

George Cassavetti

Beau Williams

Thomas Nicholson

Ellie Spigariol

Laura Swaine

Molly Whiteley

Jon Echeveste

Thomas Canu

Ethan Wesley

Atlantic Records

Riton ft Soaky Siren 'Sugar' by So Me

Riton-Ft.-Soaky-Siren-'Sugar'-by-So-Me

Hugh Mulhern directs a visual assault on the senses&nbsp;for Hak Baker's fierce anti-tech anthem Telephones 4 Eyes.&nbsp;Mulhern's video is a mesmerising clash of live action, animation, stock footage and VFX, smashed together in a frantic, hypnotic fashion - with a little help from AI.&nbsp;In the song, Baker is lamenting&nbsp;the state of the society we live in today, and the video matches the lyrical content of the aggrieved track, and the deluge of visual iconography matches the neverending stream of content we consume on a day-to-day basis.And in a real change from his excellent back catalogue of music videos, the most you see of Hak Baker is his mouth appearing from a tear in a man's stomach. You won't not&nbsp;be looking at men's torsos in the same way in the near future.&nbsp;Taking advantage of trends whilst completely flipping them on their heads, Mulhern has created something singular and visionary, which not only brilliantly reflects the times we are living in, but also a project that is impossible to tear you eyes away from.&nbsp;"If I told you I had an initial rationale for everything in the video and it was all carefully figured out, I’d be lying," admits Mulhern. "In truth it was one of those ideas that came together almost instantaneously. I think that’s to do with how clear Hak’s ideas are in the song. Tetsuo the Iron Man was a key image, and I also think the inside of [the song’s producer] Dan Carey’s studio played a part in inspiring our phone thief’s lab. HR Giger meets Abe’s Odyssey circa this weird stop motion cartoon called Mr Bumpy."We spent hours figuring out what found footage felt right and was obscure enough to feed the sensation of over stimulation. We intentionally wanted to steer away from doing anything that felt too political or pointed when the song was carrying that message so effectively."Things went off the deep end in the final few days of the video. We sent some stuff over to Dom (infinite.vibes) to create AI sequences stylistically informed by the stop motion animation and what he sent back far exceeded my expectations. It’s my favourite thing I’ve made to date and all I wanna do now is expand on the techniques we experimented with.”&nbsp;

Lisa Foo

Jorge Higgins

Wolf Wasserman

The Assembly Rooms

Peter Opporsdorff

Jack Rolf

Indie

Hak Baker 'Telephones 4 Eyes' by Hugh Mulhern

Hak Baker - Telephones For Eyes (Official Video)

Andrew Litten's thought-provoking video for Belle &amp; Sebastian features&nbsp;Olympic figure skater&nbsp;Jonathan Cassar, who uses his time on the ice&nbsp;to&nbsp;escape from the demons of his&nbsp;past.Litten's approach to&nbsp;I Don't Know What You See In Me - a song from the new Belle &amp; Sebastian album Late Developers - is to create a starkly cold aesthetic and faintly disturbing atmosphere at a vintage ice rink, which is deserted apart from the presence of Cassar.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;a real counterpoint to the familiar lightness of B&amp;S frontman Stuart Murchoch's voice, and then the champion skater begins a&nbsp;graceful routine on the ice with plastic bag taped around his&nbsp;head. This powerful symbol of suffocation remains until the final moments of the video. &nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"The band was passionate about this being a character study of a figure skater,&nbsp;and referenced one of my favourite noirs, The Swimmer," Litten explains. "I wanted to juxtapose the sensitivity of the song - which speaks to depression, self image and acceptance -&nbsp;with a narrative that confronts these feelings head on."The bag and the pulses of suffocation serve as a reminder of the baggage we carry throughout our lives, and how we cannot truly see ourselves until we have done the work to do so.&nbsp;I have endless gratitude to Stuart and the band for allowing us to create something so bold and unnerving with a hint of catharsis."It's a touching and powerful exploration of self acceptance, with plenty of engaging visuals to keep viewers hooked.

Evaline Wu Huang

Claudia Guevara

Andrew Litten

Sara Clausen

Hands London

Stink Films

Gabe Spierer

Sam Wilkerson

Trevor Wineman

Ryland Burns

Drew Weaver

Corey Brown

Erick Aguilar

Ali Arminio

David Arteaga

Randy Gardner

Mike Howell

Color Collective

Jonathan Cassar

Matador Records

Belle & Sebastian 'I Don't Know What You See In Me' by Andrew Litten

Belle-&-Sebastian-'I-Don't-Know-What-You-See-In-Me'-by-Andrew-Litten

Hector Dockrill directs a heartwrenching promo for new Lewis Capaldi track Pointless.&nbsp;The narrative for the video captures a mother-son relationship with beautiful and heart-breaking intimacy. Spanning a couple of decades, the concept follows a&nbsp;single mother who strives against all odds to give her son the life she never had, and is packed with an emotional punch.&nbsp;With a wonderful performance&nbsp;from&nbsp;BAFTA winner Niamh Algar (The Virtues, Raised by Wolves)&nbsp;and three actors playing the son at different stages of his life - including Charley Palmer-Rothwell as her grown-up son -&nbsp;the video reinterprets the song's lyrics to explore a different type of relationship, and it works perfectly.[imgtoken data:1]The naturalistic cinematography and relatable themes help make the video feel incredibly realistic and universal, and it will no doubt have viewers thinking about their own loved ones as we enter the festive period.&nbsp;With mixed dialogue throughout, we both hear and see glimpses into the ups and downs of their daily lives over the years including financial hardship and the tightrope of being a working single parent. And in keeping with the theme of family, Laura Dockrill – Hector’s sister - wrote the script, making this a family affair both on and off screen.“Lewis had a beautiful idea that focused on the mother/son bond, and how responsibility shifts as you grow older," says Hector Dockrill. "Niamh Algar is a phenomenal talent and we’re already chomping at the bit to work together again. With only a week’s prep, she managed to immerse herself into the role and completely make it her own. This is definitely a special film that everybody can connect with – a shout out to every mother.”

Hector Dockrill

Joseph J Goldman

Zoe Gunn

Ty Hack

Patrick Golan

Anthony Mchugh

Steve Cameron

Robyn Wilton

Verity May Lane

Natasha Lawes

Begona F Martin

Holly Shearn

Stitch Editing

Sarah Adewunmi

Rich Woolway

Oscar Wendt

Lane Casting

Caroline Clayton

Lewis Capaldi 'Pointless' by Hector Dockrill 

Lewis Capaldi - Pointless (Official Video)

A robot boyband take the world by storm in Maxim Kelly's alternative history of computing and artificial intelligence for Hot Chip - in which music video takes an even more important role...&nbsp;&nbsp;For Broken, taken from the band's recently released eighth album Freakout/Release, we follow the engaging story of Jerry Fairchild, creator of the Fairchild 7000, and its role in turning computer nerds into music video directors (including one named Jon Glazer). That is the introduction&nbsp;to the 'proper' video that features anonymous, frequently multiplying android pop stars, busting moves in a familiar white-syc studio.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]As in some of his previous work - perhaps most notably the video for shame's Nigel Hitter - Kelly reworks obscure vintage corporate film footage to create the foundations for his concept.Then he has created his robot boyband by adding cool robot mask prosthetics&nbsp;to a trio of denim-clad dancers presenting them in a pop video, rooted in the classic form. And that is hugely effective for a song that is at the catchy pop-end of Hot Chip's musical&nbsp;spectrum.[imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I’m intrigued by AI machines doing artwork," says Kelly. "In the future, robots and computers might make music videos too - and this is what I imagine the first will look like."I referenced the boyband videos I grew up watching on MTV - overly sentimental with emotional and gut-wrenching performances. In this video, soulless androids run through all the motions and cliches of these videos with deadpan robotic precision. It’s a pop video with all the entertaining and watchable bits taken out.”