Production Company

SMUGGLER

The latest video for music from Sampha's new album Lahai is a beautifully-realised piece by Smuggler director Saad Moosajee, who has taken inspiration from cameraless photography to create a mesmerizing&nbsp;dreamscape, untethered from time and reality, through which Sampha passes.The video for the track Can't Go Back sees abstract scenes repeated and undergoing constant&nbsp;change - an African landscape, a sun's eclipse, a young man and woman in a white abstracted space. Sampha encounters them all, like a traveller through a dimension where anything is possible, although as viewers we can also sense that&nbsp;each scenario has its own special meaning for him.&nbsp;Moosajee, whose&nbsp;previous work includes acclaimed videos for Woodkid, Thom Yorke and Mitski, has employed a combination&nbsp;of live action and CGI and other types of VFX to craft this distinctive, highly abstracted&nbsp;black and white (and white and black) world. As he explains below, it is very much a creative response to the theme of the song and the challenge posed by Sampha's brief for the video.&nbsp;The result is throughly compelling. And for the viewer, one you want to watch again&nbsp;and again, for its stunning aesthetic and successive moments of visual beauty and&nbsp;to decipher the&nbsp;ambiguities and visual codes that lie within.Mooajee points out that the&nbsp;song is a story about trying to get back to yourself, and his film was inspired by the idea of time traveling through memories – moving forwards and backwards through a metaphysical world.[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>Sampha gave our team ample creative freedom to experiment and to find something unique.</blockquote>"Sampha’s initial brief was expansive, mentioning everything from wormholes to the spirituality of nature," he reveals. "I drew inspiration from both magic realism and Afrofuturist literature, imagining a visual style equally stark and surreal, centered around light and shadow. A key visual inspiration was cameraless photography – Infrared light, the photograms of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, [and] the black paint known as Vantablack.&nbsp;"It was through these types of natural visual phenomenon of light and shadow, that I attempted to visualize this interplay between the natural spiritual qualities of nature and the more scientific elements of the universe mentioned in Sampha’s initial brief.&nbsp;"It was an amazing experience working with Sampha, who is to me not just an amazingly talented and innovative musician but also such a grounded and curious individual. I have nothing but respect for the way he approaches music&nbsp;– how with each project he carves new sonic territories that are also emotive. He gave our team ample creative freedom to experiment and to find something unique. We spent a lot of time in the preproduction phase dreaming up visuals for the world, discussing the art direction and talking about these critical concepts of time, space and memory.[imgtoken data:2]"I think the most interesting thing about the approach is the different explorations of light and shadow across the different mediums of the piece. It’s interesting to think about the initial seed inspirations of cameraless photography and photograms, and how those ideas of light and shadow are explored throughout the piece – whether in the physical tree elements painted in matte white, the black hole lens refractions, or the glitch inversions of Sampha that almost turn him into two dimensional linework.&nbsp;"At times Can’t Go Back&nbsp;is almost like watching an inversion – that very simple notion of black and white and white and black, flipping forwards and backwards across mediums that are tangible and intangible, is the most interesting thing to me about the film.&nbsp;"The approach in Can’t Go Back&nbsp;was to create a film where each scene felt like a photograph, or a piece of art. The piece is grounded in the performance of Sampha within the wormhole as a structural element, cutting back and forth between him and a series of vignettes throughout the track.[imgtoken data:3]"A variety of mediums were used interchangeably in the different vignettes – of particular note was the combination between live action production design and CGI / VFX. Physical sets painted fully in white were built practically, then mixed and combined with CG to enhance the stark, surreal aesthetic. This approach was used to create environments that were textural and tangible while still having an otherworldly quality – at times the imagery almost feels entirely like CGI, while still being grounded in reality."This combination was further explored in the lens effects and distortions. To push the feeling of time and memory in certain scenes, In-camera distortions were layered with VFX based refractions and blurs."

United Kingdom

Jabez Bartlett

Saad Moosajee

Theo Hue Williams

Steve Cameron

Maximilian Pittner

Elizabeth Doonan

Dylan Edwards

Foreign Xchange

George Dyson

Luca Chapman

Georgie Dale

Gosia Herman

Przemek Drosik

Wobbly Way Productions

Singer-songwriter

Soul

Alternative

Sampha 'Can't Go Back' by Saad Moosajee

Sampha-'Can't-Go-Back'-by-Saad-Moosajee

Jai Moseley directs a thought-provoking narrative&nbsp;video for Skinny Pelembe's Don't Be Another,&nbsp;introducing us to Hilario, a farm worker in California, as he faces the transition from boy to man across&nbsp;a series of evocative vignettes.&nbsp;Grappling with the&nbsp;responsibilities and the constraints of his environment, Hilario resorts to&nbsp;familiar coping mechanisms. It's a stirring visual, a beautifully observed and deftly executed film that offers a convincing portrait of a young man struggling with the reality of his life.&nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"When I listened to Doya’s (Skinny Pelembe) track for the first time, I was really gripped by this very specific tale of human imperfection," Moseley explains. "It had this strong feeling for an unquenchable thirst for a better life. I knew instantly, the video would have to be one where the experience and feeling for a complicated life, overruled all else."The choice of subject matter comes from the meshing of this, with a story&nbsp;I had read through the discovery of photographer Matt Black’s work. The story was of a field worker named Hilario Guzman, who had crossed the border into the US with his family. One day, after working in the fields, picking 250 trays of grapes over 10 hours (and making only $50), he crashed his truck drunk into an alfalfa field. It was said, in Hilario’s culture, when you die in the fields your soul gets stuck there.[imgtoken data:2]"Hilario’s story felt like a poignant commentary that echoed the dilemmas of our track. With this in mind, we headed up to the farming towns of the Central Valley, to find an organisation we could consult and make this story in partnership with."Immense gratitude needs to be expressed for Re-establishing Stratford, a charity dedicated to empowering and re-establishing the once prosperous community of Stratford, CA. To the two founders, Ramon Chavez and Robert Isquierdo. To Robert’s parents, John and Gloria Nimmons, the town of Stratford, CA, and Kevin Clark at Screens. Thank you all so much."

Mark Smith

Adam Vevang

Jai Moseley

Kevin Clark

Polly Millner

Sam Davey

Screens

Mayer Chalom

Jake Wolfert

Travis Moore

Exile Edit

Mikey Pehanich

Blacksmiths

House Post

Tanner Merrill

Partisan Records

Skinny Pelembe 'Don't Be Another' by Jai Moseley

Skinny-Pelembe-'Don't-Be-Another'-by-Jai-Moseley

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

Max Randall

Sofi Keenan

Femi Koneth

rubberband.

Ghandi El-Chamaa

Michael Lewin

Pat Golan

Polly Woollard

Jess Horne

Becky Lee

Laurie Walters

Hannah Ryan

Britini  Campbell

Gina Blondelle

Cabin Edit

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Bakar

Sony Black Butter

Bakar 'I'm Done' by rubberband.

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

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

United States

Bon Walsh

Martin Metcalf

Sebastien Nuta

Adam Newport-Berra

Brian Carmody

Patrick Milling Smith

Sidney Arthur

Ty Hack

Justin McGillivray

Chris Cole

Ben Talbott

Jylle Navarro

Armen Harootun

Omar Apollo

Omar Apollo 'Ice Slippin'' by rubberband.

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

Phillip Youmans returns to music videos for the first time since his aard-winning video for Michael Kiwanuka with&nbsp;a fun and high energy video, shot on 16mm film, for Jon Batiste's Uneasy, featuring&nbsp;Lil Wayne.Jon Batiste is cinematically captured on a battery hunt, disguised as a janitor in a corporate space. The video then transitions to Wayne’s world - an indoor skatepark - where Batiste performs with Lil Wayne.Yeomans delivers a video that is not only entertaining but also visually captivating - and keeps you guessing what will happen next.

Marian Wood

Stephanie Amelie

Phillip Youmans

Joseph Barbalaco

Johnny Hernandez

Tate Mccurdy

Jeff Leeds Cohn

Manny Caston

Sophia Youssef

Ryan Murphy

Tiger Whitesides

Caitlin Brown

Matthew Borek

Sarai Marales

Jemel McWilliams

Hip Hop

Jon Batiste ft Lil Wayne 'Uneasy' by Phillip Youmans

Jon-Batiste-Ft-Lil-Wayne-'Uneasy'-by-Phillip-Youmans

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

Izzy Garcia

Andre Muir

Tashi Bhutia

Jake Bloom

Grade A

Underhil

Nicholas Emmanuele

Brandon Hoeg

Saró Melero Bonnin

Blacksmith

Mick Jenkins 'Smoke Break-Dance' by Andre Muir

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

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

Katherine Fu

Patrick Golan

Black Butter Records - Sony Music

Barney Batchelor

Chris Starkey

C Prinz

Experimental

Indie Rock

Bakar 'Alive!' by rubberband.

Bakar-'Alive'-by-Rubberband.

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

James Gooding

Danny Durr

Adam Newport Berra

Luigi Rossi

Tyler Wilson

Adam Kolegas

Lucas Deans

Henry Nyguen

Cabin Editing Company

Aubrey Woodiwiss

The Mill

Matt Fuller

Dominic Fike 'Mama's Boy' by rubberband.

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

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

Moonstruk

Jaycee

Amber Saunders

Philipe Archambault

Jake Monfils

Stéphane Leblanc

No.8

Kalpesh Bhikhabhai Patel

Skiifall '2 Charming' by rubberband.

SKIIFALL -  2 Charming

<h3>Released late last year, the video for Bicep's Water, featuring Clara La&nbsp;San, marked the return to music videos for director Aoife McArdle. The look of the mesmerizing clip required beautifully-crafted post&nbsp;work at Black Kite Studios in London. We spoke to Jonny Freeman, VFX Supervisor at &nbsp;Black Kite, about the challenges posed by the project.&nbsp;</h3>As a female patient on a hospital bed is transported through white corridors with no apparent destination, the video has a cinematic style and dreamlike tone that echoes Severence, the acclaimed Apple TV+ series released last year that Aoife McArdle worked on as director and producer. But it was made in very different conditions to the&nbsp;big-budget television drama.McArdle has a longstanding relationship with Black Kite, and Jonny Freeman explains how this required a very thoughtful and rigorously detailed approach by the studio’s VFX and Colour departments to achieve McArdle’s pristine vision.[vidtoken data:0]PROMONEWS:&nbsp;The relationship between Aoife McArdle and Black Kite runs deep, but&nbsp;how and when did you personally get involved in the Bicep project?&nbsp;And have you worked with Aoife before?JONNY FREEMAN: I became involved in&nbsp;the project at an early pre-production stage, after Aoife had a first draft of storyboards.Aoife and I had worked together earlier in the year on a project together that unfortunately is still to be released! But we did get know each other while shooting that project in Romania.<blockquote>Each camera move had to be carefully planned before a camera even made it on to the set.</blockquote>Did you attend the shoot? Was it everything shot in the same location?Yes, I was on location in an amazing old army barracks in Prague. Everything was shot on the same corridor and the rooms the film takes you into are scattered around the building.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2][imgtoken data:3]Above: An endless hospital corridor is created, via grade and green screen, in the Bicep 'Water' video&nbsp;&nbsp;What were the main challenges that you identified in the pre-pro and shooting stage? How much discussion and planning went on during this phase?&nbsp;The biggest challenge we faced was that the location layout of the hero corridor and rooms were not geographically next to each other. This meant we had to work out how to shoot the film to make it feel the camera was moving seamlessly between locations.This proved challenging due to the space we had to shoot in, so each camera move had to be carefully planned before a camera even made it on to the set. This ensured would be able to stitch shots together and make certain shots feel like one take.&nbsp;The second issue was the length of the corridor we had, knowing the final look was to feel as through the corridor was endless.[imgtoken data:4]&nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:5]Above: More VFX and grade work transforming the army barracks location to create Aoife McArdle's visionSo what was the full process for extending the corridors?When the schedule was being built for the shoot day we worked with the 1st AD to ensure we captured as much of the corridor as possible in clean plates and stills to build the corridor extension. This also meant we had to shoot using green screen at the end of the real corridor.Then back in London, the 3D team here at Black Kite created a Digital camera which we then used to rebuild and project new walls, floors and ceilings to create the endless corridor.How did you multiply rabbits, objects and people in the video?This was achieved by replicating the same camera move multiple times with each character, animal or object in a different part of the shot. We then would use roto to isolate the object or person on each plate and then place them into the hero plate for that shot. &nbsp;We did not have enough chairs on the day, so the decision was made to rebuild these&nbsp;in CG. While on the shoot I took some HDRI and camera information which the 3D team used to rebuild the chairs and place them in the shot.[imgtoken data:6][imgtoken data:7]Above: Multiplying bunny rabbits via rotoscope in the Bicep Water videoAnd it turns out that the corridor location was not the pristine off-white it appears in the video. How did you achieve that?I have to hand this one to our colourist George Kyriacou. George managed to pull so much out of the plates and push the look and feel to meet Aoife's vision.What about the atmospheric strobing shots?Most of these effects were shot in camera. So we just matched where necessary when extending corridors or transitioning into rooms.&nbsp;Was there anything that emerged as an issue that needed to be fixed during the editing and post stage?As the location was an old building that was somewhat derelict there was a lot of dirt, grime and general untidiness. There was some extensive clean-up done as well and some major help from the grade to really push the look of the location to give it the look and feel it needed.&nbsp;• Watch the BTS/Making Of Bicep's Water <a href="https://wdrv.it/0042a9692/grid/presentation/19940979/asset/130043699?" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;

Jonny Freeman

Black Kite Studios

George Kyriacou

Aoife McArdle

VFX Breakdown: Black Kite Studio's Jonny Freeman on Bicep's 'Water' video 

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

Bicep ft Clara La San 'Water' by Aoife McArdle

Directing duo&nbsp;rubberband. have ingeniously crafted the breathtaking promo for Lucky Daye's N.W.A. - the OUTSIDE version -&nbsp;blending physical and digital mediums to create something truly distinctive.&nbsp;This is the alternate version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOuos3tU3AE" target="_blank">the official video directed by rubberband for the track</a> earlier this year, where the duo have created a real magazine with stills from the original video.&nbsp;Comprised of just under one hundred individually designed pages, the creative team programmed a robot to flip through individual pages,&nbsp;taking the viewer on a journey through a living, breathing work of art. &nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Each magazine spread is&nbsp;meticulously crafted, boasting eclectic aesthetics and styling, with an overarching feeling of nostalgia, harking back to the magazine culture of the duo's youth.The seamless combination of physical and digital elements - tied together with brilliant VFX work - results in a visual that is not only extremely captivating, but also truly innovative.&nbsp;By combining different creative mediums such as fashion, editorial, music, and film, rubberband.&nbsp;have proven once again that their creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is an intrinsic part of their filmmaking DNA.

Patrick Milling-Smith

Lottie Abrahams

Matt Benton

Kristen Knisley

Seb Johnson

Bobby Wotherspoon

Miranda Lorenz

Hensel Martinez

Natalia Brito

Alexander-Julian Gibson

Melanesia Hunter

Dara Hamidi

Dennis Kang

James Siewert

Danna Takkako

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

Lucky Daye - NWA feat Lil Durk (OUTSIDE Version)

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

Ondrej Lipensky

Michelle Corney

Dasa Stefflova

Vasek Sejna

Jakub Dvorak

Dan Vagenknecht

Michal Ralis

Zbynek Kunc

Dan Sherwen

Final Cut

Amy Richardson

Alexandra Vondrackova

Angela Nwagbo

Unit+Sofa

Dance

Electronica

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

SMUGGLER

Production Company

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