Production Company

Pulse Films

Pulse have announced the signing of Kojaque to its growing roster of directors, for music video and commercial representation.Hailing from Cabra, Dublin, Kevin Smith - known professionally as Kojaque - is a renowned rapper as well as filmmaker. He&nbsp;has worn both hats throughout his career, directing the majority of his own music videos, notably, Casio, Town’s Dead - which picked up five Shark Awards, including Best Direction and Best Music Video -&nbsp;and most recently&nbsp;Eastside&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Ballad Of Jackie Dandelion.Kojaque has crafted a bold signature style, storytelling that blends raw honesty with sharp wit, firmly establishing himself as a rising force and a Director to watch. And he has now made a bold leap in his filmmaking journey, directing a trilogy of videos for fellow Irish artist&nbsp;Kean Kavanagh, blending grit, humour and melancholy in his three-part portrait of Pa 'The Hips' Campion, a down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator and Portlaoise kit man clinging to moments of small-town glory.The&nbsp;announcement of Kojaque joining Pulse coincides with the release of the second chapter&nbsp;of the Kean Kavanagh trilogy, A Cowboy Song.Rik Green, Global Head of Music Videos at Pulse Films, says:&nbsp;“I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Kojaque to Pulse. His sharp visual wit and instinctive storytelling set him apart — it’s rare to come across such a distinctive voice. He’s a phenomenal artist, in every sense of the word, and we’re genuinely excited to be part of his continued evolution as a Director."Kojaque adds that he is excited at the prospect of the new partnership.&nbsp;“I'm buzzing to be joining Pulse," he says "I know their work pushes boundaries and that's what I love doing in my work. Whether it's music, film, or art, I’m always chasing honest stories that resonate. Teaming up with a crew that backs that vision is exactly where I want to be.”• Watch Kojaque's work at Pulse <a href="https://www.pulsefilms.com/director/kojaque/music-video" target="_blank">here</a>

Kojaque

Kojaque joins directors roster at Pulse

Fa &amp; Fon reunite with Marina Satti, following the show-stopping Epano&nbsp;Sto&nbsp;Trapezi video, turning up the volume once again with their latest visual feast for Lola.This time, Satti steps into the role of the larger-than-life Lola - gracing talk shows, fronting magazine covers, dodging swarms of obsessive fans. Some worship the ground she works on, some imitate her, some are praying for her downfall... but no one can keep her name out of their mouth.&nbsp;A sharp and stylised commentary on celebrity culture and female power, Lola - Fa &amp; Fon's video and Marina Satti's alter ego -&nbsp;is loud, layered, and impossible to ignore.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Greece

Fa & Fon

Nomad Productions

Harris Tsabas

Olivia de Camps

Toby Leary

Chrysanthi Karfi Koi

Maya Tsamprou

Eirini Damianidou

Faidra Akritidou

Georgia Tal

Christos Mazurek

Chrysanthos Smyrnaios - Beehive

Marina Satti 'Lola' by Fa and Fon

Marina Satti - LOLA (Official Music Video)

Zac Dov Weisel hits the big time with a wonderfully weird and wacky video for the one and only Megan Thee Stallion.The video for Whenever&nbsp;starts with a low rider crashing into a waiting room, spirals into a surreal fever dream—think pool cue barre dancing, chess piece riding, scuba diving, clocks melting... and fish people.&nbsp;The Australian-born director, who first caught attention with work for Rodney Chrome and more recently for a series of videos with Audrey Nuna, including the UKMVA-nominated Cellulite, and Confidence Man's I Can't Lose You, has now graduated to make a huge statement for hip hop's badass queen Megan with a video both hugely assured and off-the-scale bonkers.Megan plays several parts, utterly imperious in all of them - the sizzling, sneering cowgirl, the pliable receptionist, mermaid, chess piece rider,&nbsp;vigourous twerker - within a world of colourful surreal comedy.&nbsp;This is one of her very best videos for sure.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

United States

Zac Dov Wiesel

Evan Thicke

Bigkid

Will Noyce

Shane Bagwell

Ariel Hutchins-fuhr

Rik Green

Camille Semprez

Mah Ferraz

Church Edit

Brian Charles

Frame 23

Hip Hop

Megan Thee Stallion 'Whenever' by Zac Dov Weisel

Megan Thee Stallion - Whenever [Official Video]

Award-winning director Keith McCarthy has joined&nbsp;Pulse’s global roster, bringing his signature mix of cinematic storytelling, sharp humour, brilliant casting and high-energy filmmaking.With a background in screenwriting, Keith McCarthy's reel&nbsp;spans major brands like Nike, Volkswagen, Adidas, Subaru, and Coca-Cola,&nbsp;where he’s consistently delivered visually distinctive work.&nbsp;His music-based projects came fairly early in his career, with videos for Florence &amp; The Machine and Andreya Triana.With a deep understanding of structure, pacing, comedic and emotional tone - skills that underpin everything he directs from stylised 30-second spots to longer-form narrative campaigns -&nbsp;his work&nbsp;has earned recognition from BAFTA, Cannes Lions, D&amp;AD, and the British Arrows.He is&nbsp;also known for his intuitive work with some of the biggest names in sport, including David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Paul Pogba. Behind the camera, his experience on the agency side has given him a strong collaborative instinct, as he understands the process and knows how to lead the vision while bringing everyone with him.“Keith’s work hits that rare intersection - cinematic, emotionally intelligent and tonally razor-sharp," says Pulse MD Jamie Walker. "He brings real range from kinetic, large-scale productions to smart, brilliantly cast, performance-driven storytelling. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”Keith McCarthy adds; “I’m into big ideas that probably shouldn’t work but somehow do. I’m always on the hunt for stylised, ambitious, slightly unhinged comedy with a cinematic finish - that’s my thing. I love shooting funny in a way that feels big, beautiful and oddly emotional. Pulse got that straight away. Great taste, great people, and the kind of creative energy that makes you want to get out of bed early. It just clicked. I’m properly excited for what’s next.”• Watch Keith McCarthy's showreel at Pulse <a href="https://www.pulsefilms.com/director/keith-mccarthy/commercials" target="_blank">here</a>

Keith McCarthy

Pulse sign Keith McCarthy

Known for their genre-defying creativity that blends live-action with animation, Waaaw, the dynamic directing duo of&nbsp;Jack Antoine Charlot&nbsp;and&nbsp;Sidney Van Wichelen,&nbsp;is the latest signing to the evolving Pulse roster.Together as Waaaw, The France- and Belgium-based duo have carved out a distinct creative identity of hyperreal aesthetics, surreal humour, and a keen insight into culture and youth trends. Their portfolio spans campaigns for global brands like Adidas, Nike, Swatch, McDonald's, and Asus, as well as award-winning music videos for SCARR, Tahiti Boy and Krisy.The pair have joined forces as Waaaw after enjoying individual success. Charlot is a visionary animation director, with&nbsp;10 Vimeo Staff Picks and recognition from various festivals. From Mika’s&nbsp;Lollipop&nbsp;to Netflix’s&nbsp;Big Flo &amp; Oli&nbsp;documentary, his work celebrates the fusion of animation with emotional depth. Van Wichelen, named Cannes Lions’ 2022 Director of the Year, combines vibrant visuals, rich narratives, and a touch of humor in both ads and short films, always striking the perfect balance."We’re only interested in making films that hit hard, that make people go 'woah'," comment the directors. "Whether it’s surprise, awe, fascination, or straight-up goosebumps, we aim to spark real emotion. We do that by mixing grounded, real-world imagery with high-end visual effects - not the loud kind, the clever, precise kind: our aim is always sharp, bold, and tasteful."Pulse has consistently been known for backing their directors with serious craft, smart instincts, and killer taste. And from the first conversations, they just got us, our vision, our vibe, our DNA. So teaming up was a no-brainer. We're all in.’’Pulse MD, Jamie Walker adds: “We were immediately blown away by Jack and Sid's ability to blend unique visuals with VFX and animation crafting films that have cinematic scale and are emotionally resonant. Their vision is the perfect addition to the kind of ambitious work we strive to create and we are incredibly excited to have them join the Pulse family.”&nbsp;• Watch Waaaw's music video showreel at Pulse Films <a href="https://www.pulsefilms.com/director/waaaw/music-video" target="_blank">here</a>

Pulse add director duo Waaaw to UK roster

K-Pop royalty Rosé releases her second single Toxic Till The End, complete with a mesmerising video directed by&nbsp;Ramez ‘Mezzy’ Silyan.&nbsp;Following&nbsp;super&nbsp;smash hit Apt with Bruno Mars, Rosé's latest release takes on a more melancholic vibe, pondering a former relationship.&nbsp;Detailed through a striking narrative set against&nbsp;Old Westbury Gardens in New York, the video sees Rosé and guest star&nbsp;Evan Mock share a variety of beautiful moments tinged by their shared toxicity.&nbsp;Evocative, sharp and breathtakingly shot, Silyan and team knock it out the park, giving the artist's impassioned fanbase&nbsp;a real visual delight.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ramez Silyan

Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder

Sean Price Williams

Evan Mock

Zach Rubin

Milena Gorum

Dan Majkut

Brian Paison

Jason Crump

Kodak

Cece Liu

Walton Nuñez

Trevor Joseph Newton

Elena Argiros

Hands 

K-Pop

Rosé 'Toxic Till The End' by Ramez ‘Mezzy’ Silyan

Rosé-'Toxic-Till-The-End'-by-Ramez-‘mezzy’-Silyan

Zac Dov Wiesel directs another show-stopping promo for Audrey Nuna. It's surreal and silly - and super-cool.The video for Baby OG takes a journey through&nbsp;ultra-modern, glossy vignettes, boasting an offbeat vibe throughout.&nbsp;In the vein of editorial fashion portraiture, the video is beautiful to look at, and blends live action setups with captivating VFX work.&nbsp;A singular vision that demands to be rewatched - and a perfect complement to the track.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;&nbsp;

Audrey Nuna 'Baby OG' by Zac Dov Wiesel

Audrey-Nuna-'Baby-Og'-by-Zac-Dov-Wiesel

Ramez Silyan directs an incendiary promo for Khalid, as the video for Heatstroke switches between conceptual performance setups and a slowly burning miniature environment, reflecting the title of the track.&nbsp;Radiating an anachronistic, wistful vibe throughout&nbsp;the video has&nbsp;a lingering sense of surreality permeating the concept, which is elevated by the unusual techniques on display.Combining the R&amp;B artist's performance with a&nbsp;Thunderbirds-like miniature set, that's burning up under the power of the sun is a striking way to address the theme of the song - and also address real-world concerns.&nbsp;An offbeat and inspired idea that also manages to fit the lilting energy of the track.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Mike Lev

Marz Miller

Mino Jarjoura

Khalid 'Heatstroke' by Ramez Silyan

Khalid - Heatstroke (Official Music Video)

JADE launches her post-Little Mix solo career with a jawdropping video directed by Aube Perrie.It's safe to say that Perrie's video&nbsp;for Angel Of My Dreams is one of the most memorable reinventions in modern memory. Jade Thirwell takes on different characters - or different versions of herself - each&nbsp;at different points on the ladder of pop star&nbsp;fame, in an&nbsp;imaginative, biting&nbsp;and often bizarre satire on the music biz. There's plenty for the fans to unwrap on this one.The overarching concept loosely follows the lyrics of the track - a love/hate message to the music industry as a whole, and the various challenges JADE has faced to get to this point. And in true Aube Perrie style, this becomes super-heightened and hyperreal in the video, crammed with detail, embracing chaos and even the grotesque. And there is a memorably monstrous Bad Guy.&nbsp;From busking on the streets through to a mega-diva and everything in between, JADE's intriguingly disrupts her previous pop image. There's&nbsp;even some real home video footage mixed in for good measure - which provides a counter to the darker side of fame, which becomes the predominant theme of the video.&nbsp;In fact this remarkable work also declines to resolve in a neat, happy ending -&nbsp;another reason why it's a milestone achievement for both artist and director.&nbsp;Mesmerising work.And the sharp-eyed (and the in-the-know) should be able to spot the link between this and Perrie's video for Fontaines D.C.'s Starburster earlier this year.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

United Kingdom

Sarah Asmail

Hannah Ashby Ward

Nat Tereshchenko

Jamie McFarland

Zack Tate

Ellie Walker

Aube Perrie

Joseph Goldman

Luke Tierney

Kat Cattaneo

Steve Cameron

Christopher Ripley

James Dyer

Dave Bradshaw

Orlando O’mahoney Morris

Natalie Brown

Hannah Smith

Mette Linturi

Blake John Wood

Aaron Carlo

Natasha Lawes

Mona Leanne

Gwen Ghelid

Kaitlyn Battistelli

Ethos Studio

Erfan Saadati

Kate Ryan

Selected Works

Pete Hodsman

RCA Records

JADE 'Angel Of My Dreams' by Aube Perrie

JADE - Angel Of My Dreams (Official Video)

Pulse Films' new signing Zac Dov Wiesel directs the 100% naked, 100% sky high promo for Aussie pop duo Confidence Man.&nbsp;The video for I Can't Lose You is a frantic romp through sexy helicopter performance vignettes, rave-style choreography and an abundance of cheeky censorship bars.Completely unabashed and energetic, it's safe to say the video will stay in your mind for a long time, and it's a great match to the duo's audacious personality.&nbsp;A bold visual from Dov Wiesel, now signed to Pulse, who is blazing his own path in the space following memorable visuals for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/06/13/rodney-chrome-money-zac-dov-wiesel/76793">Rodney Chrome</a> and Audrey Nuna.&nbsp;

Australia

Oscar Stewart

Maggie Curwin

Louis Danckwerts

Connor Adam

Jake Hunter

Danny Rumbelow 

Darren Quinn

Sam Rawlings

Will Crafts

Mike O Gorman

Grace Ellington

Ayodeji

Adrian Kader

Guy Bergman

Confidence Man 'I Can't Lose You' by Zac Dov Wiesel

Confidence Man - I CAN'T LOSE YOU (Official Video)

Tom Emmerson and Celeste AM invite you to Doechii’s cloning lab where the&nbsp;Florida rapper is harnessing the power of science&nbsp;and the supernatural to cultivate her own army of mini-mes in captivity - with the assistance of rapper JT.Until one of them breaks free, that is...The 'ALTERnate' video for the fast-rapping, dirty-talking&nbsp;performers' track&nbsp;Alter Ego is a mind-boggling cartoon creation, with the cheeky wit that has been the hallmark of Emmerson's brilliant videos for AntsLive, smart FX, and a generous helping of&nbsp;near-nudity - the ultimate weapon against scrolling...&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

Arae Webner

Miso Tran

Sam Woolf

Celeste Am

Tom Emmerson

Tristan Moffatt

Cory Burmester

Vladen Ponomar

Megan Chumbley

Marc Polanski

Paul Wiedt

Codi Roberts

Daniel Oregel

Malcolm Marquez Robinson

Tevin Washington

Deanna Carrion

Jazzmin Jordan

James Demetriou

TenThree

Joseph Bicknell

Company 3

Thermonuclear

Top Dawg Entertainment

Doechii, JT 'Alter Ego' by Tom Emmerson, Celeste AM

Doechii,-Jt-'Alter-Ego'-by-Tom-Emmerson,celeste-Am

RM - aka BTS bandmember Kim Nam-joon - is lost within the confines of a TV studio, in a maze&nbsp;and his own&nbsp;mind, in Aube Perrie's playfully surreal and subversive&nbsp;video for LOST!This solo outing for the rapper/songwriter and member&nbsp;of K-Pop's biggest boyband is a fully fledged trip through a liminal otherworld, full of hypnotic hallways and video game-style environments.&nbsp;Focussing heavily on set design and 'God-view' high angles, the video is purposely otherworldly yet domestic, almost like a haunted game of The Sims.&nbsp;Imbued with Perrie's sense of conceptual surrealism - and sense of humour - the visual is a masterful blend of Korean and Western promo aesthetics, demanding the viewer's attention for its unpredictable and mysterious storyline,&nbsp;and never less than wonderfully entertaining.&nbsp;And it's another big&nbsp;salvo in the resurgent creativity in music videos right now.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]

South Korea

San Yawn

Two Happy

Sehoon Jang

JNKYRD

Louis Barron

Chris Ripley

Ion Palcau

Studio Augmenta

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Lane Casting

RM 'LOST!' by Aube Perrie 

RM 'LOST!' Official MV

Pulse Films have announced the addition of&nbsp;Rodrigo Saavedra&nbsp;to its US commercial and music video director roster.Originally hailing from Rio de Janeiro, the advertising creative-turned-director has a richly decorated career as a filmmaker, collaborating with global brands including&nbsp;Coca-Cola, Heineken, Corona, Honda, VW, Facebook, Dropbox&nbsp;and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. As a director of music videos Saavedra has collaborated with the likes of DJ Snake and Selena Gomez (on the UKMVA-winning video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/03/22/dj-snake-ft-selena-gomez-selfish-love-rodrigo-saavedra/70086" target="_blank">Selfish Love</a>)&nbsp;Céu&nbsp;and Niki &amp; The Dove.&nbsp;In the UK Rodrigo is represented by his own production company&nbsp;Immigrant, and&nbsp;Pulse and Immigrant will now jointly&nbsp;represent Saavedra in the UK music videos sphere, repped by Hands. &nbsp;&nbsp;“I have been watching Rodrigo’s career bloom since working together in Marseilles - we are still debating who instigated a tussle with a group of local pickpockets," says&nbsp;Mino Jarjoura, Global President of Commercials &amp;&nbsp;Music Videos at Pulse."I am absolutely thrilled to collaborate with Rodrigo at Pulse. His nuanced level of detail and boundless imagination are seamlessly interwoven in story, style and character. A truly unique filmmaker, he has a vision, working alongside him promises to be an inspiring journey."Rodrigo Saavedra adds: “When Mino first contacted me, he already knew I was a Flamengo supporter. That says a lot about him. Instead of the cliché ‘I love your work’, he tapped into culture to find common ground. And to me that’s what Pulse is about. They’re a company that champions culture, going beyond the norms of advertising, and when they do traditional ads they make sure that it seeps into the pop realm.”• &nbsp;&nbsp;

Rodrigo Saavedra

Pulse Films sign Rodrigo Saavedra

Fontaines DC are back - with an extraordinary, thought-provoking&nbsp;video by Aube Perrie.&nbsp;The video for Starburster opens with vocalist Grian Chatten dressed as a football referee, heading out for a kick about, until the ball rolls under a garage door.&nbsp;From there, we see Chatten morph into dozens of different characters - from the whimsical to the straight up creepy, with a special shout-out to the gimp suit and a horrifying prosthetic mask.&nbsp;In a frantic blur of strange little vignettes, we see the artist interact with his bandmates and random people, backdropped by the eerily quiet landscapes behind him. There is also a real sense that somehow Chatten has wondered into other worlds, and we are finding out about those worlds from his perspective, before quickly moving on.&nbsp;The use of an inhaler puff to break up the structure, is also very effective device to highlight the&nbsp;fragmented, almost unreadable nature of the narrative.&nbsp;A truly inspired, almost bizarre&nbsp;visual that earns its status of one of the most surreal clips of the year so far. It's also arguably Aube Perrie's strangest video yet - and that comes as the biggest compliment.&nbsp;

Fin Mulligan-Wild

Mathieu Perez

Glassworks

Antfarm Film Services

Molly Singer

Danny Usman

Chris Sarginson

Ruta Staseviciute

Helena Smythe

Jonny Thorpe

Mark Hellaby @ 750mph

Scott Wright

XL Recordings

Rock

Alternative

Indie

Fontaines DC 'Starburster' by Aube Perrie

Fontaines D.C. - Starburster (Official Video)

From a trio of videos&nbsp;for singer-songwriter Ezra Williams to a high profile&nbsp;series for Spotify, and now supervising the launch of DJ/producer Salute's debut album, Jocelyn Anquetil is showing the way&nbsp;when it comes to combining the roles of director and creative director.&nbsp;We caught up with the Pulse Films director to find out more about her recent&nbsp;projects, why she's comfortable making visualisers - and her saucy-sounding side project.Since she emerged as a video director a few years ago, Jocelyn Anquetil has consistently demonstrated her versatility. Whether its alternative artists like King Krule, hip hop&nbsp;queens like Bree Runway and Sudan Archives, rockers like IDLES, Anquetil builds visual worlds dovetailed to their needs, while also playing to her own strengths - a cutting edge visual sensiblity allied a cherishable sense of humour.Furthermore, Anquetil is often called upon to take on more than one role than just music video director - and is happy to do so. Having started out in&nbsp;set design for live shows and festivals, her background and also her attitude distinguishes her from many of her directing peers. "I didn't come from a place where I was saying: 'I want to be a director, I want to work in film'" she points out during our discussion.<blockquote>I've always wanted to do the whole package.</blockquote>Perhaps that is why she is able&nbsp;to view the artist beyond the context of the music video - a skillset has never been more valuable than it is now. In the past year or so Anquetil has been both music video director and creative director on a number of projects, all quite&nbsp;different in terms of style and scope.At both ends of that period there are two ‘indie’ projects – one for Irish singer-songwriter Ezra Williams, the other for emerging Manchester-based DJ/producer&nbsp;Salute, recently signed to Ninja Tune. In between, she directed music videos for Tkay Maidza, King Krule and IDLES – and then also helmed a&nbsp;huge project for Spotify’s new live music video series, featuring an array of international pop stars including Troye Sivan, Tinashe, Nessa Barrett&nbsp;and Ivan Cornejo.Spotify's Green Screen is a six-part series where live studio performances by the artists are transformed by the creation of virtual environments around them. Most of the six episodes have&nbsp;now been released&nbsp; - most recently the episode featuring rapper NLE Choppa -&nbsp;our conversation began with this high profile project which, due to its complexity and her role, dominated her time in the latter half of 2023.[vidtoken data:0]<blockquote>It wasn’t sufficient to say&nbsp;‘hey, lets put Troye Sivan on a cloud’. There had to have some relevance.</blockquote>PROMONEWS: How did you get involved with the Spotify Green Screen project?JOCELYN ANQUETIL: Spotify sent through a short deck saying that they wanted to create a series called Green Screen, where artists perform on a green screen and then we transport them into some kind of animated world.It was a nuts idea, really. A mammoth project. If you want to do a high-end green screen situation, a lot of elements are involved. It has to be well planned, and as we know in the music industry, everything happens last minute. But that was the brief. And as I saw it I had to create some purpose to the worlds we were creating. Why did they exist? It wasn’t sufficient to just go ‘hey, lets put Troye Sivan on a cloud’. There had to have some relevance.I rewrote a brief that pointed out that the worlds need to mean something towards the music. I created a series of questions for each artist, including: If you imagine this song, what colour is it? Or when you're performing this song, does it take you anywhere? Or if you could perform this song anywhere - if there was no rules of reality or anything - where would you perform it? From those prompts, we built each world. Some of them were built off emotions or lyrics in the songs, and some were built from an artist saying: I imagine this.[vidtoken data:1]P: So each artist had their input in the idea?JA: Yeah. Which was really nice. It’s similar to the way I work for a music video, in that I speak to the artist about the song. We talk about visuals that the lyrics bring up or anything that they feel really strongly to do with the song. Then I would develop a design idea and pitch it to them. It was very fast-paced as well. We would have about a week to just concept it all out, which was kind of mad, but fun.Obviously, there were limitations within our budget and the timeframe, so we couldn't really have loads of scenes. But we would create a world where you could do this live performance that is somewhere that you would never be able to do in real life. We went for things that were impossible or a bit surreal or kind of stupidly beautiful.We were playing with how you could make real things - albeit computer generated - look kind of surreal and designed in a way that you wouldn't be able to get in real life. That's why a lot of them involve a reveal, because we couldn’t just cut to another scene. Each one would be a setting and then we'd think about some way to amplify it, whether that would be like a lighting change or a reveal.<blockquote>I’m happy with all of them... but Tinashe is my favourite.</blockquote>P: So how did you create the worlds? It's all CGI, presumably?JA: Apart from the stool that Troye is sitting on, and the mics, nothing is real. We worked with this really cool post duo called Mad Ruffian, out in LA, and they killed it. They did a really good job. We had a ‘house look’ for the series, which was this hyperreal, set designed feel. We had rules, so that we weren’t going to do anything that felt real – like cityscapes, or existing places. It had to be quite designed and working with the same post team meant that a lot of it was very consistent.[vidtoken data:2]I’m happy with all of them, but I think the Tinashe one is my favourite. The concept and execution worked well together. It's quite difficult when you're on green screen with a particular concept, and you light for it, if anyone decides they want to change something in post, then it becomes like a whole mission in post to adapt. The Tinashe world is actually very complex - it's all sky and clouds. But we were totally on point. The colours are&nbsp;&nbsp;P: You’re credited as director on the Spotify project although your role arguably crosses over into creative direction, and as well as directing videos you’ve creative directed other projects in the past year – Ezra Williams, Tkay Maidza and now Salute. Is this a recent development for you?I think when you direct, you always end up doing bits and bobs.&nbsp;When I was first starting out, I did some creative direction for [German singer]&nbsp;Au/Ra. Then&nbsp;I did an Ashnikko video and I did the single artwork for that.For me it’s been a natural progression. I've always wanted to do the whole package. And now with Salute, I’ve been creative directing the whole album campaign – everything. The vinyl, the CD, the cassette… Also the custom vinyls, all the visualizers, the press shots, the artworks for the singles. It's been really cool.P: So what can you tell us about the&nbsp;Salute project? It's mostly still under wraps isn't it?JA: We shot all the stuff with the visualizers before Christmas. The first one, for System, has come out. We're currently editing the second one.The whole direction is very much inspired by 80s car commercials and there are two Japanese artists on the album, so around those ones, we've taken 80s Japanese advert influences. It's been really fun to kind of play around with the references, but then also kind of bring it a modern perspective so it doesn't feel too nostalgic. We definitely stretched this budget because it's a new artist. So I think we got a good quality outcome.[vidtoken data:3]<blockquote>It's been fun to play around with references, but then bring it a modern perspective.</blockquote>P: So how do these visualisers differ from proper music videos?JA: I think it's a grey area. We've definitely been trying to establish that with the label and management side, like what that is so that it doesn't spiral into becoming a music video.But essentially we don't have enough footage, really, to do full music videos. We shot all the footage for three visualisers in one day. The tracks have really obvious musical sections, and we’re doing loops. For System, there’s a loop for a certain part of the song and then another&nbsp;loop for the chorus.I do feel like System did get&nbsp;quite elaborate and ended up probably heading towards being a music video, but ultimately we are reusing footage. The process was not as intense as it gets with a music video. We didn't storyboard it. And I didn't completely lose my marbles.P: Does that make it different from the experience of making a video?JA: Maybe it does for labels and management, who are always going to expect something big. But for me, I'm happy if it's shot nicely. The cinematography is really good, the grade is beautiful and that it's edited in a way that amplifies the track.I know it's not a music video, so it's fine. I quite like it, if you're trying to work with a low budget - even if there’s a lot of managing expectations on the other side.P: One of your creative direction projects last year that did lead to a really great music video was for&nbsp;Tkay Maidza. How did that happen?JA: I'm quite lucky in that a lot of the projects I've done have been direct to me, so I've had the luxury of being able to say 'let's chat'.&nbsp;I like working closely with the artists. I prefer going for a coffee or having a lot of phone calls and sort of working on it together. I pick up so much inspiration from what they see or what's in their head or their lyrics and stuff.&nbsp;And it was very nice to work with Tkay because she's just a total sweetie.[vidtoken data:4]<blockquote>Ultimately we decided to channel the budget into one big video rather than lots of visualizers.</blockquote>I did a remote music video with her during lockdown – shot over Zoom on greenscreen – when she was in Australia and I was in my living room in London. We just hit it off, and she came back and said ‘I'd love you to see some creative direction for this and do a few different things.’With that one, she was just texting me random things for months. And we were playing around&nbsp;with different references, different movies, that we like. Tkay loves Baz Luhrmann’s&nbsp;Romeo+Juliet, but then also loves weird, dark and dirty things. But ultimately we decided to channel the budget into one big video rather than lots of little visualizers.&nbsp;There's always a toss-up between doing lots of little things, or whether you just do one big video work from there.That video was also crazy. We shot it in the back of Lewisham Shopping Centre, where there’s a fairly horrible old derelict leisure centre - like a haunted gym. It was meant to be this sweaty, underground,&nbsp;Fight Club-esque dungeon where people are fetishizing over money. It was fun to play with that and get into nailing that as an aesthetic for a very punchy, fast paced song - poppy, but also with like a grimy vibe.P: Then you directed IDLES' Dancer. Was that a more straightforward&nbsp;directing commission?JA: In some ways it was&nbsp;different from everything else I've done recently, but it was also very much the way I like to do things.&nbsp;Firstly, I have to admit that I'd never listened to IDLES before I was sent the track!&nbsp;I think I told Joe [Talbot, lead singer] that as well. I just don't know what I thought they were, but when I actually listened to their music while I was pitching on it, I realised I liked these guys.&nbsp;The original idea came while I was cleaning my new house – we had just moved in – and I was&nbsp;cleaning the place over and over, and listening to the song on repeat. And in my head I was thinking: isn't this the kind of shit people do to summon the devil? They listen to songs over and over again and do, like, weird, repetitive dancing? So I thought: okay, Idols are the devil. And these people are dancing and they can't stop.[vidtoken data:5]<blockquote>I admit that I'd never listened to IDLES before I was sent the track.</blockquote>Anyway, I write this crazy treatment in half a day - because they were saying: it must be in immediately - and then hear nothing for three months. Then, out of the blue, I get a call. They love the treatment. Do you want to make the video?&nbsp;Then working with Joe, was very much in the world that I like. We had a direct line, we were on the phone to each other, coming up with ideas, firing them back and forth. Joe is&nbsp;a funny man - very charismatic. It was really nice to work with him and build the video, again&nbsp;in a very short period of time. Everything's always in a very short period of time…We had two very different references – the walking shots in Thamesmead in Clockwork Orange, and then a video by The Whispers, the 70s soul group, where they are really being quite camp and performing to camera. So it’s a kind of a weird collision of the two.Joe thought it would be really unexpected to perform like that, in a Clockwork Orange-esque brutalist location, because people see them as these sweaty, angry blokes. But actually - and they might hate me for saying this - they are a bunch of softies. They're really sweet and lovely and humble and very nice to hang out with.P: Then there are your trio of videos with Ezra Williams - very low-budget but surprisingly, almost shockingly gory! How did that happen?JA: Ezra's team were looking for someone who could create direct five videos for their EP,&nbsp;Supernumeries. I just spoke with Ezra and learned a lot about them that was really interesting. From that I did&nbsp;three mini-budget videos at the beginning of last year.That was more like creative direction in the sense of trying to find a thread or create a flow between the videos or a visual world. As it was basically no budget, I pretty much had free rein. I was trying to just do single, simple concepts and execute them well.&nbsp;And I was also into some of the visual cues that Ezra gave. For instance, the emphasis&nbsp;on blood and guts. I was like: 'Yes, let's go!"[vidtoken data:6]<blockquote>I thought it'd be really fun to try and make someone feel sick when they're watching the video...</blockquote>So we went with these ideas of having different characters that could represent the music. Characters that are&nbsp;living the story of the song. And I think we were actually really lucky. We found some really strong performers and actually, we didn't do traditional casting.With Skin, they wanted someone that you thought was in a relationship. Then you discover that one of them was eating the other one. We just ran with that! I thought it'd be really fun to try and make someone feel sick when they're watching it. I wanted to do that thing where nothing really happens for a while. You're lulled into thinking that this is all there is. And then... bang. I was just trying to push it for as long as possible, before it turns, for the biggest impact.[vidtoken data:7]And then the concept for Babyteeth&nbsp;was: you’re a teenager at a house party where your ex is somewhere and your teeth start falling out. Like a bad dream, but turned into reality.We spent all the money on the teeth, basically. We had this really good tooth prosthetic artist that made the teeth so they could go back in, so we could do numerous takes. However, monitoring the continuity of which teeth came out when - and how much blood there was - was a nightmare. So it became more like a fever dream - which I guess is my rationale for absolutely everything that I ever do.I see Skin and Babyteeth more as like fantasy horror. But I do think people thought Skin&nbsp;was a bit gross…P: How do you see the current landscape for music videos - or directing other kinds of visuals for artists?JA: I think things will always evolve and change, people consume stuff differently. You can still direct content that surrounds music. It just sometimes might be different, but it's still video, it's still directing, it's still a world.It seems like the industry is leaning towards that at the moment.&nbsp;The downside is that it&nbsp;can be a nightmare when it comes to deliverables. When the message is: 'you need to shoot it so it's this way, this way, this way and this way - but we won't pay for it to be shot multiple times.'&nbsp;I don't mind reshooting things. I think it's interesting shooting stuff in different formats or different shapes. But it's when you have to make it so&nbsp;its 'one size fits all'. That&nbsp;takes away from something by squishing it or cropping it changes.I haven't necessarily come from a place where I've been like, 'I want to be a director, I want to work in film'. I've come from having done set design. So I think for me, I naturally would want to be involved in different stuff that isn't just linear like the filmmaking thing. But I think if we strayed totally away from music videos for a while, then there would&nbsp;be some renegades out there saying:&nbsp;‘no one does music videos anymore. I’m going to make a music video.’P: And is it true that as well as all the other projects, you&nbsp;also have an interesting side project you're working on?JA: Yes. I started shooting a short film last year. It's a comedy horror - called Porntageist. It's&nbsp;about a woman that gets haunted by the ghosts of some murdered porn stars.&nbsp;It's a little bit batshit, but I think that’s good. If it’s a short, then it's got to be impactful, hasn't it?&nbsp;Having said that,&nbsp;it was actually surprising how many casting agents asked: ‘It's not actually porn though, is it?’• Jocelyn Anquetil is at <a href="https://www.pulsefilms.com/work/music" target="_blank">Pulse Films</a>&nbsp;for music videos and commercials, and repped for music videos by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/handsvideo_/" target="_blank">Hands</a>.

Jocelyn Anquetil

Jocelyn Anquetil on flexible creativity: "My inspiration comes from what's in the artist's head."

Troye Sivan - “Still Got It” | Live from Spotify Green Screen

Nessa Barrett - “club heaven” | Live from Spotify Green Screen

Tinashe - Gravity - Live from Spotify Green Screen

salute - 'system' (Official Visualiser)

Tkay Maidza - Ring-a-Ling (Official Video)

Idles-'Dancer'-by-Jocelyn-Anquetil

Ezra Williams - Skin (Official Video)

Ezra Williams - Babyteeth (Official Video)

Award-winning Spanish directing collective MANSON have joined the Pulse Films&nbsp;directors' roster for UK representation for commercials.Hailing from Barcelona and comprising of three creatives -&nbsp;Gerardo del Hierro, Pau López and Tomás Peña -&nbsp;MANSON are known for their ever-changing visual style and ability to work across diverse content formats and mixed media.&nbsp;MANSON are renowned for their commercial work, for global brands such as Adidas, Nike, Google, Facebook, Pirelli and Stella McCartney. In addition to several award-winning brand films and campaigns, the collective has also created music videos for top artists including Katy Perry and&nbsp;Rosalia. &nbsp; Drawing on their extensive background in animation and design, the directors find inspiration to break free from the constraints of physical laws and realism.&nbsp;Drawn from the creative possibilities of&nbsp;animation, MANSON&nbsp;have&nbsp;integrated this creative ethos into the commercial sphere. Their work is focused on live action performance and the importance of story,&nbsp;spanning from elevated cinematic worlds to traditional animation, motion graphics and 3D, showcasing a diverse range of execution styles.“We’ve been given a unique opportunity to work with MANSON, a collective force whose expansive creativity makes the mind boggle,"&nbsp;says Pulse's co-MD Jamie Walker. "Their ability to tell stories and create visual worlds across so many mediums makes them a huge asset to the evolving Pulse roster and we can’t wait to break some boundaries with this dynamic trio.”&nbsp;• Watch MANSON's showreel at Pulse Films <a href="https://www.pulsefilms.com/director/manson/commercials" target="_blank">here</a>

Manson

Pulse Films signs MANSUN for UK representation

At the <a href="https://www.ukmva.com/" target="_blank">16th annual UK Music Video Awards</a>, held last night at Magazine London, Mette’s Mama’s Eyes, directed by Camille Summers-Valli, took three awards including Video Of The Year, Aube Perrie won Best Director and two Best Video awards, Hugh Mulhern won two awards, including Best New Director – and Pulse Films won Best Production Company.[imgtoken data:1]Above: Pulse Films' EP&nbsp;Nnena Nwakodo, centre with award, surrounded by colleagues after accepting&nbsp;Best Production Company from Sam Clark from award sponsor Kodak (second right)Other big winners on the night were Rik Green, Pulse’s global head of music videos, who won the Best Producer accolade; Sony Music commissioner Kat Cattaneo (pictured top with Ana Matronic), who won the Best Commissioner prize for the second time in three years; cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko, who won Best Director of Photography; and Alexa Haywood, winning Best Agent for the second year in succession.[imgtoken data:2]Above: Candice Lo (right) accepts Best Producer award on behalf of Rik Green, from Barnaby Laws of award sponsor WPA[imgtoken data:3]Above: Nikita Kuzmenko accepts Best Director of Photography award, with presenter Ana MatronicOn a night of triumph and emotion – superbly hosted by DJ, presenter and Scissor Sisters frontwoman Ana Matronic – the UK Music Video Awards once again confirmed its position as the biggest night of the year for music videos, with a glittering, glitzy occasion at Magazine London, on the banks of the river Thames, overlooking the Canary Wharf skyline.[imgtoken data:4][imgtoken data:5]Above: Magazine London fills with guests ahead of the 16th annual UK Music Video AwardsAmong a parade of popular winners during the course of the evening in which awards for 37 categories were handed out, first time MVA winners included Tom Emmerson winning Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Video UK for AntsLive’s Number One Candidate; Crowns &amp; Owls winning Best R&amp;B/Soul Video International for Lil Yachty’s Say Something; and directing duo rubberband. Winning Best Alternative Video UK for Bakar’s Alive.[imgtoken data:6]Above: Tom Emmerson (right) accepts Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Video UK for AntsLive's Number One Candidate, with co-producer Billy King[imgtoken data:7]Above: Directing duo rubberband. accept the Best Alternative Video UK award for Bakar's Alive!The absence of Aube Perrie at the ceremony, due to him shooting a new video in Romania, meant that Pulse EP Nnena Nwakodo came to the stage to accept his awards for The Hives’ Bogus Operandi winning Best Rock Video International, and Harry Styles’ Music In A Sushi Restaurant winning Best Pop Video UK.Other Best Video UK winners were Kasper Haggstrom, for Squid’s The Blades, winning Best Rock Video UK; and Amber Grace Johnson for Jorja Smith’s Try Me – collected by Object &amp; Animal’s Morgan Clement and commissioner Erin Corrian-Alexis. Nnena Nwakodo returned to the stage with producer Archie Johnston Steward to collect the Best Dance/Electronic Video UK award on behalf of Oscar Hudson, director of James Blake’s Big Hammer.[imgtoken data:8]Above: Morgan Clement of Object &amp; Animal (left) and&nbsp;Erin Corrian-Alexis of FAMM accept Best R&amp;B/Soul Video UK for Jorja Smith's Try Me[imgtoken data:9]Above: Pulse's Nnena Nwakodo (left) and Archie Johnston Steward accept&nbsp;Best Dance/Electronic Video UK for James Blake's Big Hammer&nbsp;Some of the biggest cheers were devoted to the Technical Achievement categories where Vid Price of Trim Editing won the Best Editing in a Video for his work on Mette’s Mama’s Eyes – his first win of the award after being nominated six times – and Gregory Ohrel’s Dakar-shot video for Fatoumata Diawa’s Nsera winning in both Best Styling (the award going to Dabby Naval) and Best Production Design (Anais Profit).[imgtoken data:10]Above: Dabby Naval shows off her Best Styling in a Video award for&nbsp;Fatoumata Diawa’s Nsera&nbsp;[imgtoken data:11]Above: Vid Price with his Best Editing in a Video award for his work on Mette's Mama's EyesThere was an explosion of joy and surprise from the winner when in a very tough field, new artist Truman won Best Performance in a Video for James Alexandrou’s video for Charley Boy. In another tough field, colourist Felipe Szulc at Nomad Editing won Best Colour Grading in a Video for Katie Melua's Love And Money. And Germain Robin of Ocurens led the VFX team from Square onstage to collect the Best VFX in a Video prize for Audrey Nuna’s Locket – completed after the tragic death of its director Valentin Petit.[imgtoken data:12]Above: Truman (right) celebrates wins Best Performance in a Video with Charley Boy director James Alexandrou[imgtoken data:13]Above: Felipe Szulc (left) with his Best Colour Grading in a Video award, with Tomas Katter of award sponsor Studio RMThe evening also included a video tribute to Valentin Petit, and to Claudia Wass, the indomitable editor of hundreds of music videos and concerts, who passed away earlier this year. The UKMVAs also bestowed its prestigious Icon Award for the first time since 2019, to a directing team who have been making extraordinary music videos for nearly 30 years: Dom &amp; Nic. Supergrass member Danny Goffey presented the award to the pair – Dominic Hawley and Nic Goffey (Danny’s brother) and their longserving producer John Madsen – following a film highlighting their incredible work for Chemical Brothers, David Bowie, Oasis, Robbie Williams, Supergrass and others.[imgtoken data:14]Above: Dominic Hawley from Dom&amp;Nic, centre - with Nick Goffey (Dom&amp;Nic), Ana and John Madsen (far left) - accepting the Icon Award[imgtoken data:15]Above: Abigail Wilson accepts Best Rock Video Newcomer award for Stone's Left Right ForwardThe evening began with the Best Video Newcomer awards, with honours handed out to Enea Colombi (for Ariete’s Mare di Guai), Jay Green (for San Soucis’s I Know Your Present), Abigail Wilson (for Stone’s Left Right Forward), The Reids (for Mura Masa’s Whenever I Want) and Hugh Mulhern (for Hak Baker’s Telephones 4 Eyes). Mulhern later returned to the stage to collect the prestigious Best New Director award.[imgtoken data:16]Above: Hugh Mulhern (left) accepts Best New Director award, with Jon Davey from LEAP and Ana Matronic looking on.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:17]Above: Camille Summers-Valli sent a video message for winning Best Pop Video International for Mette's Mama's Eyes, which won three awards including Video of the YearThe last section of awards commenced with Ukranian cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko accepting the Best Director of Photography award for his work in music videos over the past year, and thanking the music video community for their support of his country in the ongoing war with Russia. Rik Green's prize for Best Producer was presented by sponsor Barnaby Laws of WPA&nbsp;to&nbsp;his wife Candice Lo, in his absence. Pulse Films then won Best Production Company, which saw the whole team present on stage to accept the award.&nbsp;&nbsp;Camille Summers-Valli, working on a shoot overseas, sent a video message, shown when Mette’s Mama’s Eyes won the Best Pop Video International award. Kat Cattaneo, commissioner of the video, and this year’s Best Commissioner, then accepted the final award and biggest award of the evening from Ana Matronic: Video Of The Year.• UK Music Video Awards 2023 – all the winners <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/news/2023/10/26/uk-music-video-awards-2023-all-winners-announced-ceremony-tonight/83903" target="_blank">here</a>

UK Music Video Awards 2023: Mette’s Mama’s Eyes wins Video Of The Year for Camille Summers-Valli, Aube Perrie named Best Director, Pulse Films wins Best Production Company at glittering UKMVAs ceremony