Commissioner

Semera Khan

Francois Rousselet reunites with The Rolling Stones, for Angry - their first new music in 17 years - to bring the billboards of Sunset Boulevard brilliantly to life with decades of Stones' iconography.Sidney Sweeney plays the 'rock chick' who is having the time of her life, cruising the strip in a vintage Mercedes SL, past those iconic billboards.&nbsp;But the main business of the video, the real star of the show,&nbsp;are the billboards themselves - beautifully designed, crafted and wonderfully executed with outstandingly creative VFX work by the team at Black Kite Studios in London. The most iconic moments of the career of the Stones - six decades of material - come to life in a video for what turns out to be a properly good new Stones track.[imgtoken data:1]Although the eye-catching billboards have almost all disappeared today - they started as hand-painted boards in the early days of Hollywood and then became part of the burgeoning rock billboard scene in the 1960s&nbsp;- the locations have not changed.Rousselet designed the Stones' billboards himself - all 109 of them. Then Black Kite's VFX Supervisor George Brunt, on-set VFX Supervisor Jonny&nbsp;Freeman and senior&nbsp;colourist&nbsp;Richard Fearon&nbsp;were tasked with putting them back on Sunset Boulevard, so they appear from the point of view of the car in which Sidney Sweeney is travelling.[imgtoken data:2]“We took iconic archive footage of the band and used traditional comping and 2D and 3D roto methods to work the moving footage into each poster," says George Brunt, explaining&nbsp;the brief that they were given by Rousselet - who has worked with the Stones before, on the 2016 video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2016/12/02/rolling-stones-ride-%E2%80%98em-down-francois-rousselet/45023" target="_blank">Ride Em On Down</a>, starring Kristin Stewart.As well as the archive footage,&nbsp;there was also new live footage to reflect every stage of the band, with the lyrics of Angry as part of the composition of each billboard. Brunt says that a variety of tools were employed in order for the Stones' performance of Angry to come to life with the vintage footage.[imgtoken data:3]“The lyrics of the track were matched to the footage using a combination of&nbsp;lip-syncing and AI," he says. "We used 3D&nbsp;lighting to match the plates and replicate the quality and sheen of a classic billboard.&nbsp;The end result had to look slick, and working with different resolution types is challenging.&nbsp;The devil really is in the detail with this type of work but slick it looks and we love it.”Jonny Freeman was on set for Black Kite, the one day shoot took place on Sunset Boulevard with a camera on the hero car, the team in a truck behind and LA police escorts in front and behind the action to keep the famous street clear.&nbsp;The camera was placed from the point of view of Sydney Sweeney to recreate the sensation of moving among the flow of the billboards on the Strip with the rock icons appearing larger than life the whole way.[imgtoken data:4]"It was essential to get the lighting just right for the VFX team back at the studio," says Freeman. "I went on a tech scout the week before and shot lighting reference images to make sure we had additional light passes to help bed in compositions in the final film."Black Kite’s Rich Fearon, a long time collaborator of Rousselet, was in charge of the grade. The promo was shot on 35mm film, with Christopher Ripley as DOP, and this really enhanced the edgy LA look.&nbsp;“This grade was all about bringing out the brilliant LA light with a lot of contrast in the rich colour, whilst keeping the gritty texture of the film," says Fearon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Francois and this time was almost an extension of the last Stones’ promo we worked on together, for&nbsp;Ride ‘Em on Down."I almost instinctively knew what he wanted and this was apparent when he saw the first pass and loved it!”

United Kingdom

Harriet Cawley

Molly Dickson

Francois Rousselet

Jane Tredget

Josh Sondock

Hands 

Riff Raff Films

Christopher Ripley

Matthew Fone

Brooke Eliot

Josh Montes

Matt Planer

Glen Coco

Patrick Ta

Dominic Leung

Marsheen

Richard Fearon

Black Kite Studios

Abi Klimaszewska

Hannah Ruddleston

Jonny Freeman

George Brunt

Sydney Sweeney

Polydor

Kirstin Cruickshank

Rock

The Rolling Stones 'Angry' by Francois Rousselet

The Rolling Stones - Angry (Official Video)

The Trash Factory AKA James Arden directs a charming throwback to 80s television, in his video for Inhaler.&nbsp;The video for Love Will Get You There sees the group frolic through several late-night concepts, from The Late Late Show to a gunge-tastic gameshow.&nbsp;Packed full of personality and little easter egg throwbacks, it's an upbeat vision for an instantly catchy track - with plenty of playfighting and faux drama to create some conflict.&nbsp;"We shot this entirely on 40-year-old broadcast cameras that I’m honestly shocked we were able to get our hands on," Arden says. "I wanted to recreate the feeling of a world when terrestrial television ruled the airwaves and you could spend an evening skipping between channels."Visually, I was inspired by 1980s late-night talk shows, like Gay Byrne’s in Ireland, tacky game shows I used to watch after school and, of course, performances on The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops."The best memories were always when things got a bit out of control live on air… this promo is about those infamous chaotic moments."

Benny Cassey

Yasmine Sabri

Trash Factory

Elva Zhu

OB Management

Lowkey Films

Emily Jeffery

Harrison Newman

Rui Jiang Ong

Jamie Gamache

Danny Stoker

Soraya Wright

Chrissy

Elaine Lynsksey

James Arden

Katie Dymmock 

Coffee & TV

Ellie Pannett

Adam Galbo

Polydor Records

Inhaler 'Love Will Get You There' by The Trash Factory

Inhaler-'Love-Will-Get-You-There'-by-Trash-Factory

James Slater directs a high-energy promo for Irish rock band Inhaler.&nbsp;In the video for These Are The Days, we see the boys hanging out in several laidback vignettes; on a tour bus, in a bedroom and backstage.&nbsp;The environments are completely artificial - evidenced by the breaking of the fourth wall, and wider shots of the studio and set elements - and this blurs the line between reality and fiction, reflecting the dreamlike atmosphere in the track.&nbsp;The use of rear projection and in-camera effects also lends a nostalgic, vintage feel to the visual, along with the black and white aesthetic.&nbsp;

Nicola Bell

Lola Cookman

Jade Denne

James Slater

Rosie Ford

Jack Hartley

Alexa Haywood at Free Agent UK

Zomdic Films

Phil Hurst

Paul Mortlock

Ben Eve

Rob Beck

Sam James

Dan Mccaffery

Martin Perrin

Georgina Wadsworth

Lucy Matthews

Matthew Prickett

Work Editorial

Andi Chu

Inhaler 'These Are The Days' by James Slater

Inhaler-'These-Are-The-Days'-by-James-Slater

Brock Neal Roberts's new video for Sam Fender - his second for the South Shields singer-songwriter, after last year's&nbsp;MVA-nominated&nbsp;video for&nbsp;Seventeen Going Under - elevates an everyday story of teenage friendship&nbsp;with a clever visual device.&nbsp;In the video for Getting Started, we see four friends work their way down their tower block, picking each other up on the way as they prepare to head for a night out. And each stage is mainly presented as a three dimensional photo, the camera tracking through the boys as they are caught static,&nbsp;in the moment.[imgtoken data:1]Brock has mainly used&nbsp;in-camera effects to create this sense of hyperreality, with the young actors freezing their bodies in a physical way&nbsp;rather than achieving the effect in post-production - identical twins were used to play the same characters, to bring the complex blocking to life.&nbsp; Imaginative art direction assists to make this work, such as the spray of a deodorant can and smoke from a cigarette created with cotton wool.Sam Fender's performance&nbsp;is the final piece of the jigsaw, walking through the same night-time streets, the unseen narrator of the boys' lives. In the Director's Cut we are featuring here, he is slightly more incidental to the action than&nbsp;in the official release. Ultimately, it is a charming and positive representation of youth and young male friendship.[imgtoken data:2]

Louis Simonon

Bardha Krasniqi

Holly MacDonald

Brock Neal Roberts

Manoela Chaibai

George Telfer

Agile Films

Vini Curtis

Precious Mahaga

Sana Khan

Smera Kumar

Elle Lotherington

Nick Teulon

Barney Batchelor

Chris Starkey

Katya Bourvis

Kiloh Falby Clark

Ed Cooper

Assembly Rooms

Bruce Langfield

Digital Orchard

Sam Fender 'Getting Started' (Director's Cut) by Brock Neal Roberts

Sam-Fender-'Getting-Started-(dc)'-by-Brock-Neal-Roberts

Sam Fender goes toe-to-toe&nbsp;with iconic actor Stephen Graham in a moving drama&nbsp;for Spit Of You, directed by Philip Barantini.Barantini is the actor turned director/producer of acclaimed British crime thriller Villain, and recently directed Graham in his new movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11127680/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3" target="_blank">Boiling Point</a>, set in the kitchen of a top restaurant. In Spit Of You, the director explores the complicated relationship between a father and son, reflecting the theme of Fender's song, and the result is terrific.With powerful performances from both Graham and Fender, Barantini gets to grips with the numerous layers that make up a father-son relationship at a certain point in their lives - when the son is now a man himself, and the father is ill-equipped to deal with it.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;Graham has appeared in a lot of music videos but it's hard to remember him giving a better performance than this one. But Sam Fender really matches him - and the director has no doubt about his potential as an actor."Such an incredible experience, and what a joy working with two absolute powerhouses!" says Barantini. "It was a lot of fun and I'll definitely be casting Sam in one of my projects soon! He’s a natural!"

Philip Barantini

Jack Lightfoot

Blindeye Films

Matriarch Productions

Matt Lewis

Ben Sansom

Max Hodgkinson

Zenon Clements

Elaine Lynskey

Alex Fountain

Dan Moran

Stephen Graham

Singer-songwriter

Sam Fender 'Spit Of You' by Philip Barantini

Sam-Fender-'Spit-Of-You-'-by-Philip-Barantini

Director Charles Mehling captures the intoxicating spirit of Paris for The Rolling Stones’ “Living in the Heart of Love,” the first song released off the 40th anniversary edition of Tattoo You. A hedonistic rock and roll love story set in the City of Light’s most shadowy hours, the monochromatic film serves as the de facto homage to Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away just days after the video wrapped.“Living in the Heart of Love” tracks two female heroes – a modern-day Sid and Nancy (played by actors and real-life couple Nailia Harzoune and Marguerite Thiam Donnadieu) – and a cast of like-minded characters who traverse Paris after-hours, down for whatever magic the night has in store.Known for his ability to capture iconic and sexy yet spontaneous moments, Mehling and his crew, assembled by executive producers Marieke Tricoire (Womanray Paris) and Olivier Gauriat (Barnstormer Productions), took a cinéma vérité approach over the two night-shoot, utilizing gritty, atypical Parisian backdrops and even the director’s own room at Hotel Grand Amour for the interior party shots. Archival footage of the Stones is cleverly interwoven into the scenes of a bacchanalian night to remember - culminating in an adventure that is glamorous, rebellious, and fun to watch.The editing stays in lockstep with Charlie Watts’ swing-and-stomp drumming, channeling the Delta blues by way of Swinging London. The film was given an added stroke of relevance and poignancy by the timing of Watts’ passing just two days after wrapping.Even more so by Mick Jagger’s request to close the film with the words “Charlie is My Darling,” a nod to the 1966 Stones documentary of the same name, written in script over an early morning shot of Sacré-Cœur and the sleeping city below.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Charles Mehling

Julie Gonssard

Just Fred

Marieke Tricoire

Lola Bernard

Martin de Chabaneix

François Pallud

Natalie Yuksel

Quentin Guyen

Laurie Moreau

Benjamin Ricart

Nightshift Paris

Maxime Mourey

Marguerite Thiam

Nailia Harzoune

Womanray Paris

Barnstormer Productions

Olivier Gauriat

Alexa Haywood

The Rolling Stones 'Living In The Heart Of Love' by Charles Mehling 

The-Rolling-Stones--'"living-In-The-Heart-Of-Love'-by-Charles-Mehling-

Raja Virdi's latest video for&nbsp;regular collaborator Holly Humberstone takes her on a truck driven by her best friend - and subject of the song.Trawling up and down a moving arctic lorry, Humberstone gives&nbsp;an exhilarating performance, whilst best friend Scarlett drives it down an airport runway.“I really love the video for this track, the song is about my bestie Scarlett so she had to be in the video - especially after being named an ‘emotional grim reaper’" Humberstone explains.&nbsp;"The two of us break into an airport hanger, steal and spray paint an arctic truck, then I perform on the back of it as Scar drives it down the runway. It was honestly the most fun and so jokes. I was clinging on as I was being thrown about. If you look closely the guitar I throw off the truck is the same one from my very first video for Deep End and the banners were at my London shows at O’Meara!!"I really hope it feels as empowering to watch as it did to be on the back of it performing!! Loved how ironic the ‘bad British weather’ line is when we got the nicest sunset going for the video.”Breathtaking and liberating in equal measure, Raja and Holly have knocked it out the park once again.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]

Raja Virdi

Rob Jelley

Noir

Javier Alejandro

Greg Smith

James Dyer

Sam Meyer

Benjy Kirkman

Adam Kavanagh

Jasper Clarkson

Amy Holden-Brown

Emma Regan

Connor Coolbear

Electric Theatre Collective

Oliver Whitworth

Tk-fx

Mouthpiece

Louis Danckwerts

Darkroom/interscope

Holly Humberstone 'Scarlett' by Raja Virdi

Holly Humberstone - Scarlett (Official Video)

Baby Queen goes back to school in Harry Law's angsty promo for You Shaped Hole.&nbsp;Let loose in a high school in North East London, the video follows Baby Queen - aka&nbsp;Bella Latham - as she screams into the isolated, empty spaces within&nbsp;the building.&nbsp;Playing up the adolescent, rebellious vibes of the track, it's a great showcase for her performance skills and her love for nostalgic aesthetics.&nbsp;"We wanted to make a different kind of performance film, picturing Baby Queen against the spaces, not the characters, that caused the fabric and form of the song," says&nbsp;Harry Law.&nbsp;"It's an intelligent, subversively written record about heartbreak, and the aftershock of being left alone."

Harry Law

Fred Bonham Carter

Jake Gabbay

Chris Hayden

Krunal Saadrani

Tilda Bonham Carter

Elyse Raphael

Tenthree Editing

Andrew Rawson

Alternative Pop

Baby Queen 'You Shaped Hole' by Harry Law

Baby-Queen-'You-Shaped-Hole'-by-Harry-Law

Brock Neal Roberts pieces together&nbsp;an intimate portrait of youth, in his promo for Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under.&nbsp;Built around the idea of trying to find existence and clarity amongst the chaos of being 17, the video interconnects naturalistic vignettes which touch upon romance, growing up, and fights between friends.&nbsp;The video boasts striking cinematography from&nbsp;Benjamin Wearing, and a bold change in style for Brock&nbsp;Neal Roberts from his last video, the surreal vision for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/04/15/eli-brown-talk-show-trouble-brock-neal-roberts/70411">Eli Brown's Trouble.&nbsp;</a>[imgtoken data:1]

Ersan Beskardes

Emily Mulkerrins

Aidan Robert Brooks

Ellicia Lotherington

Benjamin Wearing

Anil Duru

Joshua Dadson

Alan Ramsey

Lisa Davidson

Charles Gamble

Ivan Hinchley

Cinelab Film and Digital

Alternative

Sam Fender 'Seventeen Going Under' by Brock Neal Roberts

Sam-Fender--'Seventeen-Going-Under-'-by-Brock-Neal-Roberts

Raja Virdi directs his latest video for regular collaborator Holly Humberstone - another example of the artist delivering a charismatic performance in a scenario&nbsp;of unfolding dramatic tension.&nbsp;In fact, for The Walls Are Way Too Thin, Raja and Holly are channelling&nbsp;Die Hard, no less. We find Holly frantically crawling through a vent, having seemingly set the place on fire.Yippee-aye-oh...[imgtoken data:1]

Semera Khan

Commissioner

Videos featuring Semera Khan

2023 (1)

2022 (3)

2021 (11)

2020 (9)

2019 (13)

2018 (12)

2017 (7)

2016 (9)

2015 (8)

2014 (14)

2013 (10)

2012 (14)

2011 (13)

2010 (9)

2009 (7)

2008 (5)

Popular content

Is this your profile?

Feedback

Latest Videos