Director

Sophie Muller

Sophie Muller and Theo Adams give Jessie Ware a touch of Old Hollywood glamour and add a modern twist for Pearls - the first release from the singer's upcoming new album.With an unapologetic sense of fun and frothiness, Jessie finds herself in an all-white boudoir worthy of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers 30s musical. Meanwhile, her backing - and her destiny - comes in the form of a sassy girl group situated under a giant&nbsp;moon - the Pearlites.It is a joyous setting for a triumphant return with Pearls - a modern take on the disco classics of Chaka Khan, Gloria Gaynor and others. It's a blast.

Theo Adams

Chris Murdoch

Prettybird

Juliette Larthe

Fiona Bamford Phillips

Chris Kelly

Robbie Ryan

Connor Hutton

Rory Power

Jay Jaramillo Gomez

Leo Olesker

Alison Dominitz

Nancy Brown

Chloe Grace Press

Phoebe Walters

Patrick Wilson

Masumi Saito

Meshach Henry

Gwen Ghelid

Joseph Bicknell

Company 3

Cassidy Conway

Ailsa Robertson

EMI Records

Jessie Ware 'Pearls' by Sophie Muller & Theo Adams

Jessie Ware - Pearls

Sophie Muller directs an effervescent and emotional video&nbsp;for Zella Day, introducing the Arizona-born singer to the wonders and weirdness of the&nbsp;English countryside with typical panache.&nbsp;Shot over two days at Puzzlewood in the Forest Of Dean and&nbsp;Pen Moel Estate, the video for Mushroom Punch weaves together several creative vignettes, featuring Day running through landscapes and clawing her way through a luxurious&nbsp;Victorian manor house.[imgtoken data:1]Muller teams up again with DoP Robbie Ryan for this characteristically stylish showcase for the artist, confidently introducing experimental ideas in the cinematography and editing.It captures the intimate vibes of the track whilst keeping viewers on their toes with perpetually shifting imagery - and above all giving scope for a committedly intense performance from the compelling Zella Day.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Tiffani Rae

Dilly Gent

Sam Page-Jones

Margherita Fabbro

Concord Records

Zella Day 'Mushroom Punch' by Sophie Muller

Zella-Day-'Mushroom-Punch'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller directs a mesmeric performance promo for Kylie Minogue. In fact, this is Kylie, pure and simple - no distractions at all.So for Miss A Thing, we just have the glamourous disco diva, dripping in diamante, luxuriating in her domain - a black studio space.&nbsp;Shot by Robbie Ryan - and filmed on the vintage ikegami 79D TV cameras that were&nbsp;also used for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/11/18/kylie-minogue-jessie-ware-kiss-life-sophie-muller/73851" target="_blank">the Kiss Of Life video</a> - Muller just trusts in the sheer iconic status of her subject to prove you can remove everything else, and&nbsp;make a great Kylie video. In fact, distilling everything to the essentials just makes it better. &nbsp;Footage is&nbsp;layered into a hypnotic montage, with&nbsp;simple mirror VFX enhancing the mood, with the vintage camera adding texture. It is a characteristially Muller-esque display of confidence in its own simplicity. She knows that every so often, less is more.&nbsp;

Frank Strachan

Christian Vermaak

Kylie Minogue 'Miss A Thing' by Sophie Muller

Kylie-Minogue-'Miss-A-Thing'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Ellis-Bextor reunites with regular collaborator Sophie Muller&nbsp;for Hypnotized - and they are back on that dancefloor.Leading a group of dancers in a hypnotic haze, we see Ellis-Bextor perform under coruscating lights, with featured artist (and producer) Wuh Oh up on the decks. She leads the dancers&nbsp;- presumably in a reference to her very successful 'kitchen disco' lockdown videos - who grow mysteriously larger in number.[imgtoken data:1]It has all the trademarks of a Sophie Muller video - strong performance, bright spotlights, a naturalistic colour palette,&nbsp;and melodrama - with an added disco flair - and an edit that expertly builds the emotion around a strong, simple concept. Esteemed cinematographer Robbie Ryan brings his talents to this one too.&nbsp;The ending, as the dancers grow into an army behind Sophie E-B, is a spectacular display of understated choreography. Great.&nbsp;

Tamara Cincik

Sam Barber

Jack Cowhig

Remo Catani

Davey Logan

Frankie Mulholland

Kirstin Halliday

Lisa Laudat

LS Productions

Cooking Vinyl

Sophie Ellis-Bextor x Wuh Oh 'Hypnotized' by Sophie Muller

Sophie-Ellis-bextor-'Hypnotized'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller and Theo Adams co-direct an impassioned performance promo for US artist Benson Boone.&nbsp;We see Boone sat in a desolate, cold bedroom set, pensive and alone, whilst the camera floats around him. At the chorus, his body whips up into a zero-gravity atmosphere, before he escapes to a new location, breaking free of his metaphorical prison.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Extending their collaborations on the recent Kylie Minogue videos -&nbsp;including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/11/18/kylie-minogue-jessie-ware-kiss-life-sophie-muller/73851" target="_blank">Kiss Of Life</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;this sees Sophie Muller sharing directing credits with Theo Adams for the first time, and it is another beautifully&nbsp;executed project, superbly shot by Joel Honeywell.It's also a great showcase for the charismatic,&nbsp;athletic Benson&nbsp;Boone. He gives a terrific, emotional&nbsp;performance&nbsp; - including just the right amount of dancing in the rain.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tom Davis Dunn

Carla Thomas

Reuben Esser

Norman Wonderly

Romaine Foster

Joel Honeywell

Muriel Narh

Daniel Castro Garcia

Jay Gomez

Matt Mccabe

Vis Sopjani

Angela Garcia

Deniz Yildiz

Louise Tse

Charli Avery

Ruth Wardell

Okay Studio

Warner Records

Benson Boone 'Better Alone' by Sophie Muller & Theo Adams

Benson-Boone-'Better-Alone'-by-Sophie-Muller-&-Theo-Adams

Hold on to your horses as two disco divas unite on the dancefloor - via&nbsp;the magic of music video - as Kylie gets together with none other than Gloria Gaynor, of I Will Survive fame, in Sophie Muller's dazzling video for Can't Stop Writing Songs About You.&nbsp;On a glittering runway, it's vintage disco vibes as we see Kylie and her crew strut their stuff under scintillating lights, with a lo-fi aesthetic that looks ripped straight from the clubkid era.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Gaynor appears in a separate performance vignette, backdropped by the night sky and overlaid with hypnotising effects and soft pastel silhouettes - which feels reminiscent of another iconic Muller video, for <a href="https://youtu.be/kRpZJ9EgJho?t=120">No Doubt's Simple Kind Of Life.&nbsp;</a>And&nbsp;its&nbsp;art directed by her longtime collaborator, production designer Alison Dominitz.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once again Sophie has also teamed&nbsp;with Theo Adams, whose company of performers provides&nbsp;Kylie's world with that extra pinch of pizzazz, and the result is&nbsp;a powerhouse visual for an irresistable track, pairing&nbsp;very nicely with previous Muller-Minogue videos for her other collabs on the new version of her&nbsp;Disco album - with Olly of Years &amp; Years on <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/10/12/kylie-and-years-years-second-midnight%E2%80%99-sophie-muller/73271" target="_blank">A Second To Midnight</a>, and with Jessie Ware on <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/11/18/kylie-minogue-jessie-ware-kiss-life-sophie-muller/73851">the telenovela-style Kiss Of Life.</a>&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

Ed Marler

Faye Purcell

Alex Cullen

Franklin Dow

Poppy Ashton

Andrea Gruioniu

Holly Smyth

Andrew Gallimore

Kylie Minogue & Gloria Gaynor 'Can't Stop Writing Songs About You' by Sophie Muller

Kylie-Minogue-X-Gloria-Gaynor-'Can't-Stop-Writing-Songs-About-You-'-by-Sophie-Muller

A group of schoolchildren create their own ABBA homage in Sophie Muller's touching seasonal promo for Little Things.&nbsp;The track&nbsp;is a gentle reflection on the joy of Christmas morning and family time around this special time of year, and the proceeds from CD sales are going&nbsp;to Unicef&nbsp;to help&nbsp;support the&nbsp;Global Child Protection Fund.&nbsp;In the video, we see a dedicated and ambitious group of school-age children, many of whom in real life are close to (or even related to!) the creative team behind the groundbreaking Voyage concerts.[imgtoken data:1]This next generation of geniuses are inspired to create an ABBA Voyage ‘Christmas Special’, and embark with irrepressible enthusiasm on the enterprise of motion capture, choreography, costume design, stage lighting and band rehearsals, culminating with the arrival of parents and family members, to watch a convincing performance by the re-imagined ‘ABBA’, as the track draws to a close.&nbsp;Evoking a sense of traditional Christmas wonder, it's a charming concept and a perfect accompaniment to the group's iconic comeback.&nbsp;

Kharmel Cochrane

Jess Horne

Alex Hudson

Noah Furrer

Siobhan Dillon

Claire Moore

Joe Brooks

Tara Sadeghi

Lee Sharrock

Juan Sanchez Minotta

Andreea Gruioniu

Sarah Frasson

Svana Gisla

Ludvig Andersson

ABBA 'Little Things' by Sophie Muller

ABBA - Little Things

Sparks fly and chaos reigns when Kylie comes to Jessie Ware's restaurant, in Sophie Muller's brilliant Telenovella-style video for Kiss Of Life.&nbsp;Kylie plays a mysterious dinner guest, secretly a critic out to deliver the verdict on the place&nbsp;run by the indominable Jessie, among an outrageously larger-than-life bunch of&nbsp;fellow diners. The mini-dramas of the women's rivalry plays out like an '80s Latin soap opera, with further nods to early Almodovar, and a bit of silent comedy for good measure - plus a cast from a Fellini movie&nbsp;-&nbsp;shot on authentic video camera equipment from the period, for that genuine oversaturated look. Phew.[imgtoken data:1]Muller's latest video for&nbsp;Kylie is also her second collaboration with creative director and performance director&nbsp;Theo Adams, after the Kylie and Years &amp; Years video for A Second To Midnight, and together they have a devised this delicious scenario in which both Kylie and Jessie play their parts - and perform the song - with suitable relish. In fact, could this&nbsp;be Kylie's first role in a soap since leaving Neighbours...?Adams says of collaborating on the music video with Muller: “It all happened quite organically between us both sitting at her kitchen table cackling away coming up with this fever dream of chaos!"Adams was responsible for recruiting the&nbsp;amazing cast of performers in the video, including&nbsp;nightlife royalty Princess Julia, among others. They are&nbsp;indeed the&nbsp;Theo Adams Company, and they play such a crucial role in bringing effervescent chaos to proceedings -&nbsp;shot in a real&nbsp;Italian restaurant in London's Covent Garden,&nbsp;the garishly maximalist Ave Mario's.[imgtoken data:2]As a result of the location choice, the whole video was shot overnight, when the restaurant was closed. And the&nbsp;shoot itself was undertaken rather like an episode of an 80s Telenovella, as Sophie Muller explains.&nbsp;“The video was all shot on an 80’s news camera - the ikegami 79D three-tube 1980’s colour portable - at a hair raising speed," she says. "And considering the hellishly late night/early morning hours of the shoot, everyone contributed their finest performances.”Apart from the necessary element of chaos - which was possibly quite easy to achieve - the whole&nbsp;kaboodle plays to the artists' strengths. The food connection works for Jessie Ware (cookery writer and podcaster as well as consummate soul singer) and the outrageously camp scenario obviously fits the&nbsp;Kylie iconography&nbsp;like a glove.&nbsp;But not only is this arguably the campiest video she's ever done, she looks utterly iconic in this. And she is funny.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:3]As has been <a href="https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/kylie-minogue-jessie-ware-kiss-of-life-fashion" target="_blank">pointed out elsewhere</a>, the video is also a haute couture spectacle - with the leading ladies decked out in Saint Laurent and Valentino&nbsp;- and this certainly involved a larger than normal&nbsp;glam squad. And it culminates with a rare music video monologue from Kylie, who reads out her five-star review of the restaurant as she types it up on an old typewriter. Well, she's tapping the keys anyway...It's so good. And after this, apparently there's a Kylie collab with disco queen Gloria Gaynor to look forward to...

Harry Buck

Andrew Morrow

Francesca Brazzo

Anete Salinieka

Kylie Minogue & Jessie Ware 'Kiss Of Life' by Sophie Muller

Kylie Minogue & Jessie Ware - Kiss of Life (Official Video)

Sophie Muller directs the glistening&nbsp;performance video for Kylie’s A Second to Midnight,&nbsp;featuring Years &amp; Years - aka Olly Alexander - and some 'wait, what...?' moments of role-reversal between the two performers.Shot in London's historic Collins' Music Hall, the concept sees the leopard print-clad duo dance around under a spotlight, briefly switching roles - with the clever application of 'hair swap'&nbsp;technology&nbsp;- while the accompanying dancers also 'become' Kylie and Ollie with their use of face masks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Muller collaborated with Theo Adams, in the role of&nbsp;performance director&nbsp;on the song-and-dance routine executed by the pop stars. The results&nbsp;exudes that sense of pure joy that is the hallmark of any great Kylie video, and a complete&nbsp;delight to watch.PRETTYBIRD UK co-founder Juliette Larthe says:&nbsp;"The insanely wonderful pairing of the maverick alchemists of vision and movement, the geniuses&nbsp;of vespertine delights - Sophie Muller and Theo Adams - repeatedly inculcate the aureate of their crafts individually, and now together for the first time with Kylie and Olly. The result is epic-ness of the most MAJORNESS and we utterly love it."

Callum Toms

Naomi Hancock

Kylie And Years & Years 'A Second To Midnight’ by Sophie Muller

Kylie-And-Years-&-Years--''a-Second-To-Midnight’-'-by-Sophie-Muller

Maroon 5's Adam Levine takes a hallucinatory drive through a fantasy LA skyline, in Sophie Muller's promo for Beautiful Mistakes.&nbsp;Falling somewhere between an&nbsp;LSD trip and a lucid dream aesthetically, the hyper-saturated backdrops provide a dreamlike playground where anything can happen - be it flying unicorns, cereal rain or a fly-in visit from featured artist Megan Thee Stallion.&nbsp;Balancing Steve Chivers' glossy camerawork with increasingly surreal visual effects, Muller ensures the focus remains on the artists and their performance throughout.&nbsp;

United States

Grant Jue

Candice Dragonas

David Cho

Andrew Coffing

Steve Chivers

Rudy Salas

Jeff Lynn

Louis Weissman

Annie Sperling

Matt Goldman

Ingenuity

Jared Shelton

Michelle An

Carla Aviles

Hip Hop

Maroon 5 ft Megan Thee Stallion 'Beautiful Mistakes' by Sophie Muller

Maroon-5-Ft.-Megan-Thee-Stallion-'Beautiful-Mistakes'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller directs a feelgood promo down at&nbsp;the high school gym for Gwen Stefani's Slow Clap.As one of&nbsp;the most iconic artist-director pairings in music video history - having worked together since the mid 90's&nbsp;- &nbsp;Stefani and Muller's&nbsp;latest collaboration is a throwback to the easygoing nostalgia of the era.&nbsp;Stefani returns to high school with featured artist Saweetie, getting caught in a whirlwind of&nbsp;choreography, basketball and jumping rope, bringing the same energy and charm we have all come to expect across her illustrious solo career.&nbsp;It's a glossy video with a bubblegum pop aesthetic, and an absolute delight to watch - made even more addictive by the track's memorable refrain.&nbsp;

Gwen Stefani ft Saweetie 'Slow Clap' by Sophie Muller

Gwen-Stefani-Ft-Saweetie-'Slow-Clap'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller directs a haunting promo in reverse for regular collaborator Birdy.&nbsp;Following the stripped-back seaside vision for Surrender back in January, the video for Loneliness encompasses the same vulnerability and wistful performance style, with a more conceptual and experimental aesthetic.&nbsp;With cinematography by Robbie Ryan and art direction from Alison Dominitz, Muller&nbsp;mixes contemporary, dilapidated locations with vintage patterns and materials, giving the project a universal and timeless feel. The desaturated colour palettes elevate the melancholic atmosphere, and are reminiscent of their previous collaborations, and one of the director's most iconic visuals, Nelly Furtado's Try.&nbsp;The use of reverse footage adds another layer of surreality to the promo, representing the themes of loss and loneliness, and the feeling that things aren't quite what they seem.&nbsp;

Hayley Williams - 1st AD

Kitt Sullivan

Aldene Johnson

Georgina Hamed

Dan Curwin

Atlantic Records

Birdy 'Loneliness' by Sophie Muller

Birdy--'Loneliness'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller reunites with Birdy, and creates a poignant promo for returning single Surrender with her singular DIY approach.&nbsp;Whether it's overlooking windswept seas from the beach, a sunset through a condensation-covered window, or travelling on an shadowy&nbsp;train, the director harnesses Birdy's distinctive vulnerability&nbsp;as she delivers her trademark performance style, within a timesless, visceral English landscape.And having established a strong relationship with Birdy over numerous previous videos - usually made as true collaborations, with great resourcefulness - Muller has just gone a step further here. She&nbsp;has employed a&nbsp;similar method to the video for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/interviews/sophie-muller-shooting-iphone-and-her-homemade-video-james-righton/64100">James Righton's Start, </a>released last year, and&nbsp;shot this on her iPhone, near her adopted home on the East Sussex coast, then edited and graded herself.A wonderful video,&nbsp;made possible by the level of trust between artist and director - and the combination of remarkable new technology with the skill and experience of Sophie Muller.

Birdy 'Surrender' by Sophie Muller

Birdy-'Surrender'-by-Sophie-Muller

Kylie and Sophie Müller head down to Fabric and make some more music video magic in their latest collaboration.It's a classic Kylie confection, shot by Rina Yang, for the supremely catchy Magic - a disco banger that gets the unapologetic dance floor fantasy it thoroughly deserves.&nbsp;

Rina Yang

Thom Nicholson

Jonny Lewis

Elliot Beach

Matthew Josephs

Faith Holmes

Josh Brooks

Disco

Kylie Minogue 'Magic' by Sophie Muller

Kylie-Minogue-'Magic'-by-Sophie-Muller

Mae Muller laments her 'issues' with a jerk of a boyfriend in this marvellous video for So Annoying, directed by Sophie Muller...&nbsp;no relation!Flipping between vignettes of Mae in performance-based setups at several locations across town with a flashback&nbsp;of her breaking down over her ex at a club, the breezy video is charming and funny, and a killer match to the lilting track.&nbsp;And even if there is no prior&nbsp;family connection between Mae and Sophie, the chemistry between the artist and the director is palpable. Under Sophie's direction, Mae comes of age on-camera, and it's a joy to behold.

Thomas English

Ben Oliver

Tom Carpenter

Ryan Delahunty

Fred Allsop

Adele Cany

Zara Ali

Emily Tedrake

Mae Muller 'So Annoying' by Sophie Muller

Mae-Muller-'So-Annoying'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller directs a zesty, effervescent promo for Kylie's return to her disco comfort zone.&nbsp;Taking place in the outer reaches of the disco galaxy, the video cycles between glittering performance shots - atop an opulent horse statue, no less - and snippets of choreography, all overlaid with shooting stars and galactic visual effects.&nbsp;The maximalist video&nbsp;pays homage to some of Sophie Muller's strongest work - most comparably&nbsp;the dream sequence in No Doubt's Simple Kind Of Life -&nbsp;but with a fresh and contemporary twist.Kylie's performance is as animated, dynamic and Kylie-esque as ever, encapsulating the fun and unabashed energy of the track whilst reminding her contemporaries why the world first fell in love with her some three decades ago.&nbsp;This is Muller and Minogue's fourth video collaboration together - but the first for a while. Of course it's a match made in Heaven...

Benji Landman

Cristina Cretu

Connor Travis-hunter

Andy Cole

Matthew Josephs, Ed Marler

Ross McDowell

Dancer: Kaner Flex

Kylie Minogue 'Say Something' by Sophie Muller

Kylie-Minogue-'Say-Something'-by-Sophie-Muller

Sophie Muller is a music video directing legend. But - shock, horror - Sophie Muller is not a fan of shooting on film. In her long career, she has had plenty of experience of shooting on all the main film formats, from 35mm to Super 8mm. But these days it is no exaggeration to say that she would prefer to shoot a music video on an iPhone.That is exactly what she did with her most recently released music video, for ex-Klaxons member and now solo artist James Righton. What's more, the video for Start&nbsp;was created with no crew whatsoever, making it something of an outlier in regard to shooting music videos during the pandemic crisis. If you overlook the fact&nbsp;it was shot mostly outside on a deserted seafront in East Sussex, that is.&nbsp;&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]But this was definitely a one-woman job, and not just in the shooting. The Righton video is also another excellent example of Sophie Muller's other less-appreciated skill as a music video&nbsp;editor. And in this case, the video also benefits from her willingness to experiment with the VFX plug-ins that come with her editing software.As she is currently in lockdown at her home in London, I spoke to Sophie on the phone about the making of the Start video,&nbsp;and discovered&nbsp;that this is not the only video she has shot on an iPhone. It turns out that she has lots more prior experience creating big mainstream&nbsp;music videos on domestic camera equipment too.&nbsp;Our phone conversation began with me explaining my own ongoing attempts&nbsp;to commission a video&nbsp;with a band self-shooting a visual for their upcoming single, using a mixture of non-professional cameras, potentially including Super 8mm.<blockquote>I don't know why people are so in love with the idea of film.</blockquote>SM: It's a long time since I've shot on Super 8mm. I don't bother with that. Why not get a Super 8 app for&nbsp;your phone?&nbsp;It's&nbsp;brilliant.&nbsp;I shot a video for The Kills, for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2016/04/20/kills-heart-dog-sophie-muller/40896" target="_blank">Heart Of A Dog</a>, and we shot some of that on Super 8. Then I shot some more on my iPhone, on a Super 8 app, and no one could tell the difference.&nbsp;The only thing I don't like about the app is the fake dirt, but you can minimize that - which is what we did on that video in post.[vidtoken data:1]DK:&nbsp;How much have you used an iPhone to shoot music videos before the Righton one, apart from The Kills?SM: James's video&nbsp;was my first one [in full]. I actually made it about a year ago, last April,&nbsp;in St. Leonards [next to Hastings, on the East Sussex coast], which is why the weather is as it is in the video.The reason that I made it on an iPhone was down to the first&nbsp;Shakespears Sister video I made last year, in the desert [for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/05/22/shakespears-sister-all-queens-horses-sophie-muller/58799" target="_blank">All The Queen's Horses</a>].&nbsp;That shoot was in February, and we shot it mainly on&nbsp;an Alexa. But there was one scene where they were out and I had my phone, I put it on the black and white app, and I shot it - a take. I looked at it back, and I went, "Oh my God, that's absolutely amazing!" And I was&nbsp;zooming into it, and it never deteriorated, even if you&nbsp;zoomed in like three times as much.&nbsp;So it occured to me that if you use an iPhone properly - not just chucking it around and everything -&nbsp;you can do really good videos.[vidtoken data:2]<blockquote>I realised on the Shakespears Sister shoot that if you use an iPhone&nbsp;properly you could make really good videos</blockquote>So when James said: "Will you make the video?", I said, "Why not come down to St. Leonards. It's going to be very beautiful weather. Let's just work there." We didn't want anyone else to be in it - you'll notice there's no one else in the video.&nbsp;So we just got up at 5:30 in the morning and shot a bit at night, when there wasn't really anyone else around. And so that's just what happened. We just sort of made it up as we went along.When you said,&nbsp;'shoot it properly', what do you mean?I mean mindfully. I shoot lots of stuff on iPhone anyway, but I don't think about shooting it for purposes beyond recording family pictures, or 'that's a lovely scene'.&nbsp;So what I mean&nbsp;was&nbsp;trying to&nbsp;do things like tracking shots, trying to conceive of a way of doing something exactly how I would do it, if I had a crew with all the equipment. And making that judgement of, okay, this shot can be used like now, and if I do this shot like this, that looks better than if I did it like that.&nbsp;And I've got these little lenses, little&nbsp;screw-on lenses. That was using my iPhone 10, by the way.&nbsp;That was before the 11 was around.[imgtoken data:1]Do you use some kind of device to hold the iPhone, other than your hand?Yes, I've got this thing:&nbsp;it's like a square frame,&nbsp;and it's got two handles either side. You put the iPhone in the middle. So that means on either side you've got handles, and that it's very steady. Cost about £10. I don't know what its called [probably a <a href="https://www.ulanzi.com/products/u-rig-pro-smartphone-rig-ulanzi" target="_blank">Ulanzi U-rig Pro Smartphone video rig</a>] but I use that. I have a couple of&nbsp;wide-angle lenses on it too, one which is kind of a fisheye.As I said, James was just up for it, and he's got this beautiful white suit. So we basically just walked around St. Leonards for one evening, and one morning, and then the bit where he plays at the bar [Sophie co-owns a bar in St. Leonards]. So it was just really fun to do it.<blockquote>After making the video with James I thought: 'let's just use iPhones and spend all the money on art department.'</blockquote>I was kind of amazed that it was shot on an iPhone. I really don't think you can tell.I was just trying to make it as beautiful as possible. Because the weather was really beautiful. The sky is beautiful. Most of the time it's just literally outside, like right on the beach exactly kind of where we were staying. And then there's this place where there's the beautiful big windows - the flat of a friend of mine. We were probably there for like twenty&nbsp;minutes or something. It wasn't a very long shoot, but enjoyable. I managed to have a nice dinner and get drunk on tequila the night before, but was fine.And then after I was editing, I started messing around with a few effects and things. I wanted to make it, more slightly otherworldly, I suppose.&nbsp; You know where the water's coming out the sides?&nbsp;I was just like messing around in Premier and thought it looked good. Then I started messing around with the kind of cutting out things. It's really crudely done, but I actually quite like the crudeness of it rather than it being slick.&nbsp;It's basically completely homemade. I had no help at all.[imgtoken data:2]I think it's kind of inspirational for people, to see what they are able to do at this present moment.SM: Yeah, exactly. And that was before I found out how you are actually supposed to do it.&nbsp;The thing with an iPhone is that it fluctuates the aperture, and&nbsp;you can't really control the fact that it kind of compensates for light. That's what often gives it away.&nbsp;There's <a href="https://www.filmicpro.com/" target="_blank">an app called FiLMiC Pro</a> that if you film it through that, you can actually control that. But I didn't know that then.&nbsp;You have used the iPhone to shoot stuff since then?I then went on to make that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/07/22/easy-life-earth-sophie-muller-ross-mcdowell/59877" target="_blank">Easy Life video [for Earth,&nbsp;</a>which she co-directed with Ross McDowell], which was set in the rubbish dump. Did you see that one? That was done on iPhone as well. Because having done the video with James my thinking was: 'let's just use iPhones and spend all the money on art department.'[vidtoken data:3]&nbsp;The problem with the Easy Life one was that we were shooting that in Morocco. It was 103 degrees and phones don't work in that heat. They just pack up, and you have to keep putting them in an ice bucket. So that's not much fun.But then in October I got this call from LA about making two Selena Gomez videos, and Apple iPhone were supporting it. So so we then made two videos on iPhones - Lose You to Love Me, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u-_64S7plI" target="_blank">Look At Her Now</a>. They were both made on iPhones - one's black and white, one's colour.&nbsp;That was then used as a kind of commercial for iPhone - for the&nbsp;11 Pro.[vidtoken data:4]<blockquote>Well-exposed 35mm looks exactly like digital to me. I honestly can't tell the difference.</blockquote>Have you shot anything on it since?Yes, I made a video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9o0Gujuoc">Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani in December, for Nobody But You</a>, when all the stuff with them, the natural stuff is shot on the iPhone. Not natural, just stuff that's not in the studio.It's a bit like how I was about the HVX. Remember that camera? It was around 2000, I think. I suddenly realized that you didn't need to&nbsp;have the whole camera package if you just used this little video camera. I made loads of videos on that.Was it a DV camera?That's right, DV tapes. I&nbsp;made a Garbage video, a Rufus Wainwright video, and loads of other stuff on this HVX camera that wasn't considered a professional camera - but I thought it was amazing!&nbsp;[Sophie then looks it up on Google] Here it is...The Panasonic HVX 200 - full HD.&nbsp;There's one for sale on eBay. I might buy it actually - I had two, and both were stolen. The first one, which used the DV tapes - that was really good.There's a Rufus Wainwright video I made for Going To A Town. I think that was the first one I actually made totally on that, and it looks amazing. I defy anyone to say that's not Alexa, or any of those things.[vidtoken data:5]You definitely seem to be flying in the face of accepted wisdom about film as a medium, especially in music videos. So many directors regard it as being superior, and looking amazing.Does it look amazing? I mean, maybe badly-exposed 16mm has a sort of thing. But, well-exposed 35mm looks exactly like digital to me. I honestly can't tell the difference, and I don't know why people are so kind of in love with the idea of it.Unless there's certain sorts of film that look credible. One is&nbsp;reversal, which I have a stock of. But that's only going to used on a very special idea. And that's obviously&nbsp;great. But a lot of that stuff, it just looks like digital anyway. It doesn't look... different, which is why I hated film in the end because it just was so plastic-looking.Any advice to other filmmakers (or indeed artists) trying to make&nbsp;a music video during lockdown - and using their phones to shoot?It's just about courage and choice. Everything and anything works and fits - if the atmosphere suits the music. • Sophie Muller directs (most) music videos through&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prettybirdus.com/" target="_blank">Prettybird</a> in the UK and US. She is represented in the UK by Hands London.&nbsp;

Sophie Muller on shooting on an iPhone - and her "homemade" video for James Righton

James-Righton--'Start'-by-Sophie-Muller

The-Kills-'Heart-Of-A-Dog'-by-Sophie-Muller

Shakespears-Sister-'All-The-Queen's-Horses'-by-Sophie-Muller

Easy-Life-'Earth'-by-Sophie-Muller/ross-Mcdowell

Selena Gomez - Lose You To Love Me (Official Music Video)

Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town

James Righton 'Start' by Sophie Muller

Sophie Muller's video for James Righton is an understated example&nbsp;of how she is a master of the craft of music video making. It could also be an object lesson on the possibilities of continue to make credible music video content during the current crisis.&nbsp;Shot on the south coast&nbsp;at Hastings - the director's hometown - Righton performs Start in a wood-panelled room, and wanders on the seafront and under the pier in his white suit, on a cold, bright&nbsp;day. It's simple and straitforward, and it unquestionably more watchable&nbsp;that the ex-Klaxons man is blessed with old school matinee idol&nbsp;good looks. He has a similar charisma to the suave, blue eyed soul man&nbsp;Robert Palmer.The simple focus on Righton and his performance is augmented by some subtle VFX. In fact, this was probably created 'in-camera', as Muller shot this video herself on an iPhone. It's quality is jawdropping evidence of what is now possible.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Indie

Rock

Shakespears Sister have released their second video from their comeback EP, directed by long time collaborator&nbsp;Sophie Muller - and it's another throwback to the style of video they made back in the day. And this time guest artist Richard Hawley gets in on the act.The film noir style pastiche cleverly weaves the three singers into characters in a psychiatrist's office, with Siobhan taking the psychiatrist role, Marcella as the patient and Richard appearing as a&nbsp;moving photo in a frame on the desk.It's quirky, and Muller's iconic style&nbsp;is evident from the very first shot- a slow zoom in as Siobhan spins in her chair to face the camera, beautifully lit with a&nbsp;soft haze. This one shot represents&nbsp;Shakespears Sister's comeback, and the willingness of both artists to finally put their differences aside and focus on what brought them together in the first place - the music.&nbsp;A flurry of UFOs outside of the window nods towards more surreal elements, but the performances are very much centre stage in When She Finds You. Comfortable and confident, both artists are back in their element and celebrating&nbsp;their unexpected reunion, creating a video that feels both timeless and incredibly timely.&nbsp; In the final few seconds, Siobhan reads a message with a magnifying glass, that reads 'You mean we could have been friends all of this time?". It's incredibly poignant, and as she looks up to Marcella with a shocked demeanour, Marcella smiles warmly back towards her, ready to move on and make more magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

London Records

Shakespears Sister With Richard Hawley 'When She Finds You' by Sophie Muller 

Shakespears-Sister-With-Richard-Hawley--'When-She-Finds-You-'-by-Sophie-Muller-

Murray from Easy Life becomes King of his own rubbish tip, in a world full of trash.In the video that sees Sophie Muller and Ross McDowell resume their occasional directing partnership, and shot in Morocco, the band occupy a local recycling plant, to be eventually replace by icon-sculptures made of trash. In fact there's so much rubbish, it's also in the sky...&nbsp;&nbsp;It's a cool effect, using the deep blue of the Moroccan sky as a matte to play with perception and perspective and ultimately make this a very trippy tip.

Hannah Bellil

Easy Life 'Earth' by Sophie Muller & Ross McDowell

Sophie Muller

Director

Interviews featuring Sophie Muller

Videos featuring Sophie Muller

2023 (1)

2022 (5)

2021 (7)

2020 (4)

2019 (5)

2018 (2)

2017 (2)

2016 (4)

2015 (2)

2014 (11)

2013 (4)

2012 (3)

2010 (4)

2009 (3)

2008 (5)

Popular content

Is this your profile?

Feedback

Latest Videos