Director

Joe Wheatley

Having made three regular music videos together for her last album, it was time for singer-songwriter Billie Marten and director Joe Wheatley to mix things up - and get authentic - for the new one.&nbsp;The result is Drop Cherries - The Film, which features Marten, and accompanying musicians, performing four songs from the just-released album of the same name. What makes this 15 minute film of live music such a special experience is a combination of factors.&nbsp;Firstly, there are the outstanding performances of the songs, including impressive&nbsp;sound quality, achieved within a remarkable setting: a fabulous 1970s Hollywood-style house that happens to be located in the English East Midlands. But on top of that, is the fact it was genuinely captured in a single take.Starting with Marten's solo performance of Willow in the master bedroom; she moves to join string musicians&nbsp;around the house's indoor pool to play Devil&nbsp;Swim; before joining Will Taylor and Nicolas Hill (of the band Flyte) and singer Clara Mann for Acid Tooth. Then finally the largest number of musicians come together in the split-level lounge area of the house to play I Can't Get My Head Around You. And this was all achieved in one shot, captured by Wheatley with the help of DoP Ben Marshall.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We spoke to Joe Wheatley to tell us&nbsp;how they managed to do this, at a time of the year&nbsp;with virtually the least available&nbsp;daylight hours&nbsp;- and why.&nbsp;BTS photography by Rhys Herbert.[vidtoken data:0]&nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>The album... demonstrates Billie’s prowess as a songwriter but not as a performer. It was our opportunity to showcase that.</blockquote>PROMONEWS: What was the motivation behind making a four-song live film for Billie Marten's new album?JOE WHEATLEY: I had a budget to deliver four music videos across the album campaign. It’s very involved when you make that commitment to deliver all the videos for the album - it’s easy to make a batch of mediocre videos once you’ve divided the funds.&nbsp;Billie and I wanted to consider ways of using our time and the resources available in a more interesting way.&nbsp;Furthermore the album sonically and the way it was recorded with a plethora of talented musicians felt like it deserved to be approached differently. The album is very relaxed, it feels authentic and demonstrates Billie’s prowess as a songwriter but not as a performer – this was our opportunity to showcase that.[imgtoken data:1]Above: Joe Wheatley (centre, with camera) and Billie Marten (right) on the shoot day.&nbsp;How did you come up with the idea of shooting four songs in four different situations, all in a single shot?One-takers can be trite. A close friend of mine has said on multiple occasions ‘but who is it for?’ Is it just the director showboating? Or the cinematographer? Does the audience even notice or appreciate it or the work that has gone into it? All valid questions.In this instance I wanted to challenge Billie to demonstrate her ability as a performer. We could have done four individual tracks, sandwiched them together in an edit and perhaps snuck a few overdubs in here and there. The way we built it meant that Billie had to segue through four different vibes with different musicians and tunings whilst holding it all together. My guiding principle was ’the coolest rehearsal that would never happen’.[imgtoken data:2]<blockquote>My guiding principle [for this film] was ’the coolest rehearsal that would never happen’.</blockquote>How did you convince Billie that it was doable, and a good idea?I think from us working together on the last album [Flora Fauna] there’s a solid level of trust and friendship. Billie playing music with friends in a house is a far easier pitch than ‘<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/05/24/billie-marten-human-replacement-joe-wheatley/71025" target="_blank">what if you drive around central London in a tank</a>?'How did you find your amazing location?The location belongs to a friend of mine, which is just minutes from where I grew up in Nottinghamshire. It’s probably one of the finest examples of mid-century modern housing in the UK. I wanted to shoot something there for ages but never really felt like I had something worth it. We recce’d it for Liquid Love - a track on her last album - but it didn’t feel right.It’s not a ’new’ location. It’s been used a lot for fashion shoots and the occasional music video, but I was keen to do something new with it. So we essentially turned the whole house into a recording studio.[imgtoken data:3]Above: Joe Wheatley (right) with DoP Ben Marshall by the pool at the location in Nottinghamshire, "one of the finest examples of mid-century modern housing in the UK."What preparation did you do for the shoot? Was there much rehearsal time - for the performance and also the camera moves?In terms of the filmmaking, Ben Marshall [the DoP] and I had a lot of conversations about routes and journeys in the house. What each space could offer. We even got the original drawings of the house to help because it’s a bit of a maze.On the day we endeavoured to turn over around 12 and get a take in daylight. Then a take at 3 at dusk (it was January 9th) and a final take at night. The reality was, of course, different with both the camera and audio prep taking much longer.The musicians kind of jammed all day and just noodled but never actually performed a whole track or all of them together until we shot. Billie advised me to never tell them we were going for a take and just tell them everything is a rehearsal in order to keep everyone natural.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:4]<blockquote>Essentially we turned the whole house into a recording studio.</blockquote>What was the key in getting the live sound right?Billie managed to persuade <a href="https://www.dommonks.com/" target="_blank">Dom Monks</a>, who produced and engineered the album,&nbsp;to also engineer the film. Sound isn’t something I had any control over and I feel blessed that he was up for it. He has an impressive CV and I don’t think we could have had anyone more right for the job.Dom brought all kinds of equipment I didn’t understand. But I do know he was mixing 24 channels across the whole film and it wasn’t easy. He hadn’t done a recce of the house but as soon as he walked into the swimming pool he said ’the strings are going in here’, and it wasn’t up for debate! We had a monitor mix to camera on the day and it already sounded amazing. How many takes did you manage to get, and which is this one? Was it a difficult choice?We shot 3.5 takes. During one of them a musician placed a guitar or maybe a double bass somewhere that wasn’t part of the plan and Ben walked into it. The take we actually used was the first take, which was at around 3pm and the light was going.I was happy with all of the takes and would have put any of them out. Billie however bounced around all of them and at one stage nearly canned the film. She loved the filmmaking but just wasn’t confident in her performance, but grew to love it.[imgtoken data:5]Above: Joe Wheatley watches a take&nbsp;on Drop Cherries - The Film.&nbsp;&nbsp;Were there any happy accidents? Do you have a favourite moment or moments in the film?There is a moment where Billie can’t open a curtain but one of the musicians, Will, moves at the same time to kind of hide it. It’s real and I like it.• Joe Wheatley is represented for music videos by OB Management. More work <a href="https://www.joewheatley.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Electric Theatre Collective

OB Management

Joe Wheatley on Billie Marten's 'Drop Cherries' film: "I wanted to challenge Billie, to show her ability as a performer."

Billie Marten - Billie Marten – Drop Cherries: The Film

Billie Marten 'Drop Cherries: The Film' by Joe Wheatley

Joe Wheatley directs an impressive promo for Billie Marten's just released new album Drop Cherries -&nbsp;an 18 minute live film featuring Billie and her band performing four songs from the album, brilliantly&nbsp;achieved in a single take.&nbsp;Shot in&nbsp;rural Nottinghamshire, the film has an intimate, gentle aesthetic, and makes brilliant use of the&nbsp;anachronistic house location. Dom Monks, who produced the album, was also recording engineer on the film, ensuring that the quality of the sound matches the work by Wheatley and his DoP Ben Marshall.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Caught up in the nostalgic, breezy atmosphere, Marten's performance feels wistful yet incredibly present, exploring the different moods and themes of the album.&nbsp;

Ben Marshall

Chanel Parkinson

Kelly Spacey

Collette Burke

Pete Wade

James Lahaise

Deimante Sprainaityte

Cassie Walker-Graham

Lara Himplemann

Lara Weidmann

Jason Wallis

Oliver Whitworth

Undefined

Yasmina Aoun

Joe Wheatley directs an idiosycratic and mysterious&nbsp;road movie&nbsp;for Ben Woods, aka The Golden Dregs.The black and white promo for Before We Fell From Grace opens with two characters travelling by foot across a wintry landscape. One of the pair - played by dancer Joe Grey Adams - is dressed entirely in white, and leads the other in&nbsp;a flamboyant folk-dance,&nbsp;seemingly inspired by some kind of otherworldly force.&nbsp;They reach a lake, and then the&nbsp;other character - played by Woods - pulls out a mysterious object. They walk further across the terrain through woods to a place where this enigmatic journey reaches its climax.[imgtoken data:1]"Ben approached me after Mark Jenkin, my old university lecturer and friend,&nbsp;never got back to him - and I don’t mind that at all," says Joe Wheatley. "He had some key references such as Bait, Paris&nbsp;Texas and True Stereo, my video for Willie J Healey. If there’s anything I might know how to do it’s people wandering around in places."I loved the track. He’s an extremely talented artist and fellow Falmouth graduate. I had some pretty heavy duty darker ideas that he liked but we ultimately settled on this kind of meditation on loss. Initially Ben wanted to find a body but we settled on the thing in the video that I still don’t know how to describe but the amazing prop maker, Rosie Tonkin, seemed to be telepathic and absolutely smashed it.&nbsp;"For the majority of my filmmaking I’m having the most fun dreaming up a project and then executing it. My enthusiasm wanes when I cross the finish line as I’m often worried if it’s any good or not. This project has been the exact opposite for me. Our first shoot day was cancelled midway through. We then waited a month whilst Ben was on tour to complete the shoot."As the sands of time rolled on to our second shoot day we battled with daylight saving hours, some of the worst rain I’ve experienced, a pheasant shoot holding us up and Ben getting an unauthorised haircut. Needless to say I was thrilled to get this one across the line."

United Kingdom

Joe Grey Adams

Cassie Walker Graham

Ynez Myers

Agile Films

Sophie Hall

Joe Cook

Sana Khan

Precious Mahaga

Joe Mulvihill

Corey Milo

Milo Brown

Riccardo Angei

Adam Jones

4AD Records

Rosie Tonkin

Lulu Johnson

Indie

Alternative

Singer-songwriter

The Golden Dregs 'Before We Fell From Grace' by Joe Wheatley

The-Golden-Dregs-'Before-We-Fell-From-Grace'-by-Joe-Wheatley

A knight&nbsp;in armour returns on horseback to his manor, discovering he is&nbsp;mortally wounded. And then he embarks upon a remarkable ritual in Joe Wheatley's mesmerising new video for TV Priest.Shot by eminent DoP Kristof Brandl, and featuring a stunning peformance by TV Priest frontman Charlie Drinkwater as the wounded knight, Wheatley has drawn on&nbsp;the sense of weariness and smouldering fury in the song One Easy Thing with an unlikely scenario that radiates cinematic gravitas.There is great filmmaking craft at work here. Brandl bringing his unmistakeable skill to bear on this gloomy, pain-ridden world, shooting on black and white film&nbsp;to create amazing images. Wheatley and Drinkwater, working for the third time following the TV Priest videos for Decoration and Press Gang, give the dying knight's last moments&nbsp;transcendent meaning.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Aidan Brooks

Kristof Brandl

Christopher Orr⁣

Simon Donnellon

Sub Pop

Jake Butt

Kodak

Rock

TV Priest 'One Easy Thing' by Joe Wheatley

Tv-Priest-'One-Easy-Thing'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Joe Wheatley directs a precious moment in time for Billie Marten's Liquid Love.&nbsp;Shot in one smooth take, as the singer-songwriter&nbsp;walks to where her friends are hanging out in an idyllic summer scene by the lake, the visual transcends the format, feeling almost like a scene unfolding somewthere between real life and a dream.&nbsp;Meditative in its presentation, the choice to shoot on film and keep things to one take elevates the authentic nature of what is captured in front of the camera - including Billie's subtle performance -&nbsp;and the video already feels remarkably timeless and iconic.&nbsp;Keep an eye out for frequent Wheatley collaborator Willie J Healey - on the tree swing -&nbsp;and Will Taylor from&nbsp;Flyte, among the cast of friends.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Femi Anderson

Kristina Pringle

Adam Singodia

Ernest Tu

Davide Scalenghi

Sasha Hilton

Sandra Hahnel

Kite Chuang

Beau Pritchard James

Eleanor Gadsby

Fiction Records

Billie Marten 'Liquid Love' by Joe Wheatley

Billie-Marten--'Liquid-Love-'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Billie Marten heads out onto the streets of London in Joe Wheatley's&nbsp;video for Human Replacement - in a tank.Decked out in combat gear,&nbsp;Marten sits upon the top of the huge armoured vehicle, as it cuts through nighttime streets in the West End. But the extraordinary sight is also delivered in an understated&nbsp;fashion. And what initially seems enjoyably absurd is armed with a message.Wheatley and Marten's&nbsp;second collaboration together following&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/04/12/billie-marten-creature-mine-joe-wheatley/70344">Creature Of Mine,&nbsp;</a>makes a jaw-dropping scenario seem routinely commonplace in order to make its&nbsp;underlying point more effectively: this is what women have to do to feel safe at night.Having passed other women, all similarly dressed, the moment that Billie steps off the tank to enter a shop and buy a pint of milk, and then gets back in her tank, really hits home.Marten and Wheatley have made a thought-provoking work that gives&nbsp;a memorable image a&nbsp;proper&nbsp;political meaning and significance. The&nbsp;message should be taken seriously.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Amara Rossell

Tom Elliott

Oliver Bingham

James Tilyard

Harry Buck

Colleen Finnerty

Emma Regan

Beth Roberts

Billie Marten 'Human Replacement' by Joe Wheatley

Billie-Marten--'Human-Replacement-'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Billie Marten takes an intrepid journey through wintry English countryside,&nbsp;in Joe Wheatley's haunting video for Creature Of Mine.&nbsp;Taking place somewhere between a conscious and unconscious world, we see the artist traverse a forest and jump into a small boat, sailing towards an unusual, bright green glow in the distance. But is it just a hallucinatory vision?Wheatley achieves a dreamlike&nbsp;atmosphere with echoes of&nbsp;Picnic At Hanging Rock -&nbsp;despite the difference in location and climate -&nbsp;with a combination of Billie's purposeful journey through woods and lake, her vintage costume and the cinematography by Isaac Eastgate, shooting&nbsp;on 35mm.&nbsp;“Joe and I wanted this video to represent that needless search for something other than what you have." Marten says of the video.&nbsp;"Something intangible and elusive, something also quite beautiful and abstract to pair with the song – an inconclusively painted picture.”[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Isaac Eastgate

Matt Hillier

Oliver Craig

Billie Marten 'Creature Of Mine' by Joe Wheatley

Billie-Marten-'Creature-Of-Mine'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Director Joe Wheatley and TV Priest frontman Charlie Drinkwater explain the video for Press Gang, a tragi-comic depiction of a grimy past that resonates in the filthy present. It's got legs!In December, director Joe Wheatley and British post-punk outfit TV Priest shot their second music video together, occupying the cavernous Printworks in South London to shoot an impressionistic period piece about&nbsp;macho culture, bullying bosses, and old-school media for Press Gang, the lead-up single to the release of the band's debut album Uppers, released today (Feb 5th).In the <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/01/07/tv-priest-press-gang-joe-wheatley/68861" target="_blank">Press Gang video</a>, frontman Charlie Drinkwater is both the swaggering boss&nbsp;who becomes the victim of press harrassment, and a TV director barking orders in a vintage TV control room. He gives a bravura performance, swinging between&nbsp;drama&nbsp;and tragi-comedy in the manner of seasoned British character actor, supported by bandmates Alex Sprogis, Nic Bueth, and Ed Kelland&nbsp;as his sharpsuited, 70s-coiffed sidekicks. This occurs within a sensibility of grim post-war Britain, realised by Wheatley in collaboration with the tangibly gritty camerawork of DoP Rik Burnell.[vidtoken data:0]We spoke to Wheatley (winner of an UKMVA last year for his <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/15/willie-j-healey-true-stereo-joe-wheatley/64284" target="_blank">Willie J Healey video for True Stereo</a>; and recently signed to <a href="https://agilefilms.com/" target="_blank">Agile Films</a>),&nbsp;and Drinkwater (also a creative director&nbsp;on music campaigns for artists as wide-ranging as Sigrid and Lianna De Havas to Sports Team and Fontaines DC) about their collaboration which began with <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/10/30/tv-priest-decoration-joe-wheatley/67524" target="_blank">the video for Decoration</a>, the band's previous release,&nbsp;last summer.The lyrics deal with a post-truth world and the media's role in current events. But this is set in a 20th century timeline rather than the present day. Where did the inspiration for the video concept come from?CD: The song is informed by my grandad’s time working as a photographer in Fleet Street during the heyday of British daily newspapers [see some of photojournalist Terry Fincher's remarkable work <a href="http://https://www.gettyimagesgallery.com/collection/terry-fincher/" target="_blank">here</a>, and appearance on TV show This Is Your Life&nbsp;below - ed]&nbsp;and uses a personal history as a kind of ‘jump off point’ to explore our relationship with news, truth and information now. It’s quite an ‘uneasy’ song in that it doesn’t really provide any solutions or really seek to condemn or celebrate. So I think it was a tough nut for Joe to crack![vidtoken data:1]&nbsp;JW: Charlie sent over some background on his grandfather’s past and I’d recently watched All The President’s Men. Visually I was really attracted to that period of the media, and I wanted the challenge of attempting to recreate a time period, but with stuff a little off-kilter.[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>A personal history serves as a jump-off point&nbsp;to explore our relationship with news, truth and information now.</blockquote>How has it developed from that initial idea to what we see on screen? And how did you find the era-appropriate locations and props?CD:&nbsp;I sent a brief explanation of the meaning to Joe, but really wanted to see where he’d take it and explore his vision so had no real visual clues to share. Joe took it and ran with it, building a kind of alternate historical reality that dumped us in a mid century setting that felt really appropriate for the message of the song.JW: I wrote a bunch of setups that were mostly vignettes for performance. From there it grew and we spoke about a sinister conflict placing Charlie in a position of power but is brought down by his own empire. I actually just watched ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cicunsmUnas" target="_blank">Every Day Is Like Sunday’ by Adam Curtis</a>, which follows the rise and fall of press baron Cecil King, and wished I’d watched it a couple of months ago.[imgtoken data:2]Above: Pages from Joe Wheatley's video treatment for TV Priest 'Press Gang'CD:&nbsp;Somehow I think our visual idea of journalists is still shaped by this era, and those classic 70s films that kind of celebrated them as ’truth seekers’ and mavericks. So it felt apt to play and kind of ‘bend' that.JW: In terms of locations I knew of a fully functioning 1960s-70s outside broadcast truck which I’d been wanting to shoot in for some time - so this immediately came to mind. Then Alex of the band also serendipitously threw in an ‘Oh, I think I might be able to get us Printworks’ - as he works there. I’d never considered it, for budgetary reasons, but it was just so appropriate - a huge decommissioned newspaper print works in London.For props I worked with the amazing Phoebe Shakespeare and her also amazing assistant Georgia Currell. Cassie Walker nailed the costume and Sophie Rechtberger (fresh off of Chewbacca) did some GOAT stuff with the wigs.<blockquote>I wanted the challenge of attempting to recreate a time period, but with stuff a little off-kilter.</blockquote>There's a studio photo shoot sequence, which provides a colourful contrast to the cinematic&nbsp;griminess. What was the thinking behind that?JW: Initially it was just a pure visual thing, looking for opportunities of ‘people with cameras’ and I unashamedly referenced PTA's The Master for this with some great work from my DP&nbsp;Rik Burnell. We then figured it was a good way of allowing the veil to fall on the characters by using the pose vs their natural self, particularly in Charlie’s case of being a company man douchebag. There’s also the bonus of just showing the whole band in all their costume, hair and makeup.[imgtoken data:3]As you've suggested the other bandmembers are wearing wigs, but not Charlie. Why no additional Seventies-style hair&nbsp;for the frontman?JW: I heard people were bald back then too.CD:&nbsp;I’m a bald man, and let's face it, I’ve gotta own that. Planning on going full Liberace for album 2 though.&nbsp;You've mentioned this vintage OB truck. What else can you tell us about it?JW: I made a music video a few years ago with friends and we hired a bunch of 3-tube broadcast cameras from a guy who specialises in vintage TV gear. His operation is a kind of anxiety-inducing Scrapheap Challenge-cum-Aladdin's Cave cum-nightmare. But he has some interesting stuff. ’The 90s is too modern’ he proclaims. Anyhow he has the original camera that shot the Queen’s coronation, amongst loads of other esoteric shit including three fully functioning outside broadcast trucks that he uses for shows and hires out for film and TV.With our budget we had to go to him rather than him to us, so it was a bit of a schlep into rural Lincolnshire to shoot there for a few hours. But I think any art department would have a huge undertaking on their hands to recreate such a beast.[imgtoken data:4]<blockquote>With our budget we had to go to the guy with the OB truck in Lincolnshire, rather than him to us.</blockquote>The TV studio sequence also includes a (modern) band performance on the vintage monitors, which looks in-camera. How did you pull that off?JW: We had to take Covid tests pre-shoot, so we met at the band’s studio for tests and then carried out the costume and wig fittings. Whilst one member was getting fitted out we shot the others on a mini-DV cam. My editor cut it together as a mini-performance video the day before the OB truck shoot, and we just provided a feed and it sent out to the monitor stacks nicely.[imgtoken data:5]You previously worked together on the TV Priest video for Decoration. How did that experience inform the making of this one? Is there a sense of continuity with that video?JW: Both films rely on vignettes and zooms to reveal story/content so they share a style for sure.&nbsp;CD:&nbsp;I think Decoration was such a liberating experience for us as a new band working with someone who’s work we loved. We’re pretty DIY and make most of the visual world ourselves, so there was an element of relinquishing a sense of ‘control’ that you have to get used to.<blockquote>There was an element of relinquishing a sense of ‘control’.... but then you’re looking for people who can bring themselves to the work.</blockquote>But I think we all passionately believe that when you collaborate with a filmmaker or any other creative&nbsp;you’re always looking for people who can bring themselves to the work and just let them have the creative space and freedom to interpret the music and do what they want.Hopefully that way you make something greater than the sum of its parts![vidtoken data:2]JW: I think for me I learned a lot on the first one in terms of how to work with the band, and it turns out they’re just super easygoing and let you do your thing. We have developed trust. Charlie’s CV as an art director on paper could be a shitstorm situation for a director, but that couldn’t be any more wrong.CD:&nbsp;I think this spirit of working together was the main continuity from Decoration. I can't wait to keep making videos with Joe to see&nbsp;where our shared visual&nbsp;language ends up.[imgtoken data:6]Above: Joe Wheatley (left) and Rik Burnell on set of TV Priest's Press Gang videoHow did Covid limitations inform the production of the video?CD:&nbsp;Luckily we shot this just before the current lockdown, so restrictions we’re not quite as stringent as shooting now. It was lots of social distancing, hand sanitiser and face masks (and it helped we shot in Printworks which is cavernous)!JW: We all had to have yet another swab test but aside from that Printworks is pretty cavernous so it’s difficult to not social distance![imgtoken data:7]<blockquote>I’d rather the visual world capture the spirit and ethos of the music than present us as some ‘last gang in town’ nonsense.</blockquote>The band has been mates and playing music since school days, then had a long break, and then got back together and TV Priest all fell into place. Has the fact this process has happened later than normal&nbsp;influenced the band's approach to making videos?I think it certainly has. I don’t think we’re particularly interested in looking ‘cool’ or mysterious in the videos. I actually told Joe that I should look pretty disgusting in the Decoration&nbsp;video. I’d rather the visual world capture the spirit and ethos of the music than present us as some ‘last gang in town’ nonsense that still seems to pervade contemporary ‘rock’ music 50+ years after the invention of the ’teenager’ as a cultural force.• Joe Wheatley is represented by <a href="https://agilefilms.com/" target="_blank">Agile Films</a>; TV Priest's debut album Uppers is out today (Feb 5th)

Charlie Drinkwater

Behind TV Priest's 'Press Gang' video with Joe Wheatley and Charlie Drinkwater - "Our idea of journalists is still shaped by the 70s"

TV Priest - Press Gang [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

This Is Your Life : Terry Fincher

TV Priest - Decoration [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

TV Priest 'Press Gang' by Joe Wheatley 

TV Priest take on the role&nbsp;of shady 20th-century business execs in Joe Wheatley's mesmerising promo for Press Gang.Dissecting the media's omnipresent role in world events, and the changing tides of the news cycle and dissemination of information, the enigmatic video takes place in an unspecified&nbsp;past, reeking of late industrialisation and analogue technology. Frontman Charlie Drinkwater -&nbsp;playing both pinstriped boss of a cavernous factory, and TV director barking orders in a vintage control room - exudes macho strength&nbsp;at first, even gangster-like threat. But then the facade is stripped away, as Drinkwater's businessman character is pursued by unseen forces.Switching between abstract narrative segments and calm, quirky portraits, the video is infused with a sense of dark humour and parody, whilst turning a critical eye on the world's news media. This is delivered with an anachronistic, vintage aesthetic, achieved through the use of 16mm film and retro styling.DoP Rik Burnell&nbsp;creates a frenetic yet balanced energy, switching between static shots and&nbsp;no-holds-barred, jerky&nbsp;camerawork.&nbsp;Meanwhile the band's modern day performance is delivered through the tiny monitors of the 70s-era TV control desk. A brilliantly executed promo with style and attitude to boot.&nbsp;

Aidan Robert Brooks

Hayley Williams

Rik Burnell

Thomas Reid

Fabio Cachucho

Federico Belloli

Phoebe Shakespeare

Sophie Rechtberger

Cassie Walker

David Knight

Sam Knight

Joe Wheatley teams up with Nottingham indie band Do Nothing to create a world made of cardboard boxes for their breakthrough track Glueland.Singer Chris Bailey describes the song as being about stuck in a weird limbo, and Wheatley places the frontman in a tunnel, composed of cardboard boxes (made in Nottingham), occasionally emerging into open spaces&nbsp;where seemingly unconnected things, from the innocuous to the outlandish,&nbsp;are taking place.“As a native of Nottingham it was great to connect with a local band that are making genuinely interesting music," says Wheatley. "Chris explained the rationale of the album art with references to Xanadu from Citizen Kane, and the concept developed from there. Fast forward and we had 400 cardboard boxes to deal with.”

Guy Jenkins

Do Nothing 'Glueland' by Joe Wheatley

Do-Nothing-'Glueland'-by-Joe-Wheatley

The latest in Willie J Healey and Joe Wheatley's marvellous series of collaborations this year - including the UKMVA-nominated <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/15/willie-j-healey-true-stereo-joe-wheatley/64284" target="_blank">True Stereo</a> - sees Willie head to the gym for an energetic workout,&nbsp;with a squad of feisty&nbsp;ballerinas.Like an indie version of Taylor Swift in Shake It Off, Willie is a fish out of water among more elegant associates to start with - but eventually the ballerinas come around to his way of moving. It's a suitably uplifting end to the visual campaign around his superb Twin Heavy&nbsp;album.&nbsp;And as with the&nbsp;video for&nbsp;Fashun, director Wheatley has a cameo&nbsp;in the video -&nbsp;in a dramatised account of how they came up with the idea for this one...&nbsp;

Yala Records

Junior Agyeman-Owusu

Willie J Healey 'Heavy Traffic' by Joe Wheatley

Willie-J-Healey-'Heavy-Traffic'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Joe Wheatley, director of four&nbsp;videos for Willie J Healey this year&nbsp;- including <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/15/willie-j-healey-true-stereo-joe-wheatley/64284" target="_blank">the UKMVA-nominated True Stereo</a> - plus other acclaimed videos for The Magic Gang, TV Priest and others, has joined Agile Films for music video and commercial representation.Nottingham-based Wheatley (above)&nbsp;was previously a part of the directing collective Pilgrim, and has spent the past year or so building his reputation as a solo director. He directed a short film last year, <a href="https://vimeo.com/315443543" target="_blank">Rona</a>, about his late grandmother, that gained a Vimeo Staff Pick and wider acclaim, followed by&nbsp;his series of videos for Healey. The most recent one is for Heavy Traffic, features the singer-songwriter&nbsp;in a gym accompanied by ballet dancers."After leaving my last production company, I took a big step back to take a step forward," says Wheatley. "Since January I have been driving vans, making large lasagnas, moving lots of heavy objects and begging camera/post houses to get everything for nothing.&nbsp;I’m excited for my new journey with Agile to do less of that stuff, and create new opportunities to make more interesting and ambitious work."Hayley Williams, head of music at Agile Films, says: "We’re really happy to have Joe on board! We're pleased we can help him with the large lasagnas. And creating the right environment for him to continue to develop his reel - building on an already strong body of work - is exciting."Joe manages to bring something inventive, fun and surprising to all of his videos, and we're looking forward to collaborating on many more projects."&nbsp;• Watch Joe Wheatley's showreel on Agile Films' website <a href="https://agilefilms.com/directors/music-videos/joe-wheatley/" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;

Joe Wheatley signs to Agile Films

Joe Wheatley brings&nbsp;post-punk outfit TV Priest's piledriving Decoration&nbsp;to the screen with a series of brilliantly oddball, occasionally poignant&nbsp;scenarios, featuring the band's mercurial frontman Charlie Drinkwater.Drinkwater's vocal is&nbsp;a witty digression on the detritus&nbsp;of modern life that sticks in your brain - sparked by a quote from Simon Cowell on Britain's Got Talent, of all things - against a thrilling wall of guitar and drum noise. Joe Wheatley has made the connection with those lyrics and the really strange stuff you see on the internet - and has recreated many of those set-ups, mainly with Drinkwater as his muse and accomplice.Eating pasta from a bag, hanging from a tree, walking the dog while dressed as a dog, having bread as your head, kicking a TV into a grave while wearing a Georgian outfit...&nbsp;the images just keep coming, and coming. And through Adam Jones's canny edit, the non-sequitor stream of images bonds with the controlled aggression of the track.The result is testimony&nbsp;to Wheatley's resourcefulness as well as vision - it was filmed in Nottingham with a crew of just himself and&nbsp;DoP Rik Burnell over a weekend- and to the band's willingness in creating a video that resembles&nbsp;an art piece. A wonderful way to mark this longtime group of friends' forthcoming debut album - and their recent signing to legendary Seattle label Sub Pop.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

TV Priest 'Decoration' by Joe Wheatley

Joe Wheatley follows up his fine series of&nbsp;videos for Willie J Healey with an enigmatic and brooding&nbsp;visual for The Magic Gang's (The World) Outside My Door.&nbsp;Taking place within the confines of a bedroom, the video is a slow-burning exploration of vocalist Jack's psyche, as he unravels distant memories and attempts to separate the past and present.DoP&nbsp;Rik Burnell experiments with increasingly surreal lighting and angles to capture the feeling of confusion and muddled emotions, and a climactic ending reframes the former clips into something more existential and intriguing.&nbsp;"Jack from The Magic Gang approached me after watching my films for Willie," says Wheatley. "He had the bones of an idea from an old episode of&nbsp;The Twilight Zone. I worked it up and we went in a slightly different direction to get here."It's a challenge to keep one location interesting, but I've been&nbsp;told we achieved that."

Kai Newton

Liam Reardon

Conrad Russell

Warner Music UK

The Magic Gang '(The World) Outside My Door' by Joe Wheatley

The-Magic-Gang-'(the-World)-Outside-My-Door'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Joe Wheatley's latest video for Willie J Healey - his fourth for songs from the singer-songwriter's new album Twin Heavy - is his simplest: Healey plays&nbsp;Big Nothing, captured in a single take. It starts in a close-up, and then it gets wider, revealing the specacular location for the performance.As Wheatley points out, it's the result of some quick thinking while shooting Healey's entertaining video for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/15/willie-j-healey-true-stereo-joe-wheatley/64284" target="_blank">True Stereo</a>, in the Scottish Highlands.&nbsp;&nbsp;"This was one of those 'whilst you're there' add-ons from the label," he explains.&nbsp;"I had a simple idea I wanted to execute. After a long day's shooting in the mountains, Will went back to the house, put on his suit and joined us at the loch. For something that was indeed an afterthought I'm really pleased with the result."

Emma Greengrass

Yala! Records

Willie J Healey 'Big Nothing' by Joe Wheatley

Willie-J-Healey-'Big-Nothing'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Willie J Healey has fame on the brain, in Joe Wheatley's video for Fashun.&nbsp;Bringing his trademark, off-the-wall charisma to a tapestry of bizarre vignettes, Healey is joined by his friend, the director&nbsp;Joseph Bird, as he navigates photo shoots, awkwardly posed portrait setups and a fair&nbsp;amount of rolling around on the floor...&nbsp;Having already shot two videos for Healey this year, Wheatley has confidence and assurance in his direction of this one, that was created during lockdown. He manages to celebrate the off-kilter goofiness of each set-up whilst still reigning it in before it gets to a slapstick level. This balance creates a charming and happy-go-lucky vibe that permeates the concept at every level.&nbsp;

Willie J Healey 'Fashun' by Joe Wheatley

Willie-J-Healey-'Fashun'-by-Joe-Wheatley

In Joe Wheatley's second video for&nbsp;Willie J Healey, the singer-songwriter practices social distancing, possibly before it was strictly necessary, by going solo hunting in the desolate&nbsp;Highlands of northwest Scotland.Loch Maree provides the extreme and beautiful backdrop for the video for True Stereo -&nbsp;taken&nbsp;from Healey's upcoming album Twin Heavy.&nbsp;It&nbsp;follows on from Healey's previous outdoor antics in Wheatley's&nbsp;playful video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/02/06/willie-j-healey-why-you-gotta-do-it-joe-wheatley/63130" target="_blank">Why You Gotta Do It</a>.&nbsp;Beautifully shot by Rik Burnell on 16mm, we find Willie trekking across snow-capped mountains in pursuit of his target,&nbsp;in Deer Hunter meets Deliverance style.&nbsp;Turns out he's after a surprising catch.• BTS pics at <a href="https://www.readdork.com/features/willie-j-healey-behind-the-scenes-of-his-new-video-true-stereo" target="_blank">DORK</a>

Luke Fraser

Loop Talent

Willie J Healey 'True Stereo' by Joe Wheatley

Willie-J-Healey-'True-Stereo'-by-Joe-Wheatley

Somewhere in the distant hills of the English Cotswolds, Willie J Healey finds a little piece of the American Deep South with the help of director Joe Wheatley.We find Willie embracing his own scaled-down version of ranch-life, from&nbsp;his early morning samurai-sword&nbsp;routine, to navigating his way around chickens and tractors - including a lo-fi recording session in his caravan base&nbsp;thrown in for good measure - and all the while sporting a fine gold (well, gold-like) grillz on his teeth, as a&nbsp;symbol of his tremendous good fortune.&nbsp;Shot on sumptuous&nbsp;16mm by Rik Burnell over one sunny day in January, this is the latest in the growing canon of sweetly quirky videos for Healey - this time from Wheatley, was previously part of the directing trio Pilgrim, and is now going it alone.&nbsp;It the video for&nbsp;Why You Gotta Do It is a very enjoyable start to his solo career.

Alex Gregory

The Mill

Rob Antill

Wildlife Entertainment

Cinelab Film and Digital

Willie J Healey 'Why You Gotta Do It' by Joe Wheatley

Willie-J-Healey-'Why-You-Gotta-Do-It-'-by-Joe-Wheatley

British rock band&nbsp;Milk gets an affecting,&nbsp;cinematic treatment for their track No Interruptions. gaffer-turned-director Rik Burnell&nbsp;and co-director Joe Wheatley create piece in which feeling&nbsp;run high, showing&nbsp;the tail-end of a terrible scene.The viewer catches the aftermath when a&nbsp;man walks out of the front door of someone&#39;s home&nbsp;with bloodied knuckles and a torrent of&nbsp;emotion&nbsp;flitting across his face.&nbsp;The suggestive imagery and raw emotion of the piece appeals to our&nbsp;curiosity as well as our expectation to know our subject&#39;s&nbsp;backstory, but the piece simply lets&nbsp;our imagination decide.Burnell and Wheatley says that the song provided all the inspiration for their interpretation.&nbsp;&quot;When we heard No Interruptions&nbsp;for the first time, the emotion behind the song was so evident.&nbsp;We could imagine it playing over a scene in a film where a character was experiencing a harrowing situation.&quot;

Joe Wheatley

Director

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