Blink

Director

Will Hooper

Will Hooper kicks off the New Year with an impeccable promo&nbsp;for Rag’n’Bone Man’s&nbsp;All You Ever Wanted.&nbsp;Visualising the song’s social commentary on overpopulation and gentrification, Hooper presents the idyll of a pristine model village, bringing his trademark charm and wit to the table.&nbsp; As the track progresses however, the layers are peeled back to reveal the reality hidden beneath: an unhinged dystopia playing&nbsp;out in live action.Every detail in the video had to be meticulously planned out through a series of animatics and storyboards. This took place weeks prior to shooting, in order for the model village set build - led by Jennifer Kidd - to work with the matchframe scenes in the live action.This attention to detail has paid off - the video is a stunning and unexpected take on very important themes, with an unforgettable aesthetic and visual style, which perfectly complements Hooper's recent steps into the bizarre and uncanny.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]

United Kingdom

Emma Wellbelove

Laura Northover

Sebastian Jowers

Ty Hack

Molly Manning Walker

Jerry Pardon

Ines Duarte

Amir Moulfi

David Hamilton

Emma Lipop

Nohelia Reyes

Hannah Ashby Ward

Sam Allen

Homespun

Richard Fearon

Black Kite Studios

Jack Stone

Dan Millar

Jack Bingham

Steven Enriaiyetan

Oliver Ford

Alasdair Baines

Josh Tiley

Leopold Neassens

Rag'n'Bone Man 'All You Ever Wanted' by Will Hooper

Rag-N-Bone-Man--'All-You-Ever-Wanted'-by-Will-Hooper

Will Hooper presents a quickfire tapestry of chaotic performance setups, in his promo for Awa's Feelings.&nbsp;Intercutting a mix of contemporary and lo-fi aesthetics, the video charges forward with a sense of no-nonsense, unabashed energy.The performances from both Awa and&nbsp;Scofield are top-notch, and DoPs Jaime Ackroyd and Stefan Yap (who shared shooting responsibilities across the two-day shoot) create a strikingly vibrant world which fits together seamlessly.&nbsp;"The symbols of the&nbsp;Wizard of Oz-style floating house, the storm, the roses and the planet Venus cut against Awa’s performance, representing the chaotic energy that is synonymous with love," explains Will Hooper -&nbsp; who i nominated for Best New Director at this week's UKMVAs.&nbsp;"Feelings of uncertainty and turbulence sparring with desire and ecstasy - it’s that tumble dryer of emotions that makes up the fabric of this video."

Eleri Evans

Harry Hardwick

Jaime Ackroyd

Stefan Yap

Michael Hannides

Asia Rose Kilgallon

Ryan Monteith

Bon Walsh

Justin Hamilton

Marvin Francis

Liz Martins

Charlie Von Rotberg

Myles Bevan

Time Based Arts

Lucas Hrubizna

India Hope

Jahmarley Bachelor

Elena Argiros

Sony Music Entertainment

Tom Kelly

Chris Hayden

Asia Rose Kilgallon / Kiloran Mclaren

William Pope

Stefania Lucchesi

Awa ft JB Scofield 'Feelings' by Will Hooper

Awa-'Fkn-Feelings'-by-Will-Hooper

In this extraordinary year, could this be the biggest&nbsp;music-visual lockdown project of all? Back in the late spring, just as lockdown was easing, directors James Papper and Will Hooper were awarded&nbsp;responsibility&nbsp;for a very&nbsp;ambitious project: to create a visual&nbsp; accompaniment to&nbsp;the whole 50 minutes-plus length of an album of remixes&nbsp;of Dua Lipa's hit album Future Nostalgia.Collaborating with numerous visual creatives, who all&nbsp;worked under lockdown conditions from their home cities - including the likes of Berlin studio Sucuk &amp; Bratwurst, Ignasi Monreal from Madrid, LA-based collective Actual Objects, Seo Young Kwon in Seoul, Brooklyn-based Miza Roux, Mason London in London, and more -&nbsp;the plan was to mirror the structure of the mixtape, where Dua Lipa and DJ/producer The Blessed Madonna have a gathered an array of artist-collaborators,&nbsp;from Mark Ronson, Madonna and Missy Elliot to Joe Goddard, Moodyman and Jayda G.[vidtoken data:0]Will Hooper, the <a href="https://blinkprods.com/talent/will-hooper/" target="_blank">Blink-based director </a>of music videos in the past couple of years for the likes of Declan McKenna, Bree Runway and Slaves - and nominated for Best New Director at this year's UKMVAs - was responsible for the live action side of the project:&nbsp;the video for the Blessed Madonna remix of&nbsp;Levitating,&nbsp;also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tCHMagPOY" target="_blank">released separately</a>,&nbsp;and transitions between all the videos on the visual album.&nbsp;Meanwhile, James Papper led on all things animation - which involved him working with&nbsp;different design/animation creatives from all over the world, and supervising&nbsp;the making of fourteen individual&nbsp;films for the album featuring a wide range of animation styles, from fully-realised 3D worlds to 2D animation to illustration-led visualisers.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]Based at&nbsp;<a href="https://blinkink.co.uk/directors/james-papper" target="_blank">Blinkink&nbsp;in London</a>, Papper usually directs&nbsp;commercials - his work includes ads for&nbsp;Camden Town Brewery and Voxi. It was a step out of his comfort zone, but it was a challenge he relished, as it gave him the&nbsp;opportunity to work with people - other illustrators, designers and animators, that he has long admired. And as a result, with the&nbsp;addition of Hooper's VFX-fired live action video for Levitating - featuring Missy Elliot as well as Dua Lipa - the&nbsp;Club Future Nostalgia&nbsp;'visual album' is&nbsp;a true mixed-media extravaganza.&nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote>I have lists of people I want to work with&nbsp;[so] this project was a dream.&nbsp;</blockquote>"Following the work of artists is what I do with my own time," Papper tells us. "I have big lists of people I want to work with that I hold on to, [so] this project was a dream. Budget and Dua’s name allowed me to go to the top of that list." Firstly, he showed a selection of his favourite creatives and examples of their work to Dua Lipa, to see what would work for her. "I got to know what she liked visually, and was able to choose the best artists to fit her and her music," he says.[imgtoken data:2]Furthermore,&nbsp;the period of lockdown was also a real influence upon the whole project and how it was briefed out to the creatives, and Papper reveals that this was the core of his proposal when pitching to direct the whole project."At the beginning I was inspired by my own, and everyone else’s solitude during lockdown," he explains. "I wanted to explore our own daydreams whilst being locked inside, and that’s the idea for the video - escapism.&nbsp;With Dua in her room listening to records and being transported to a meditative, repetitive dreamworld."&nbsp;That idea then informed his briefs to the artists that he commissioned - and crucially, he asked the artists to use their own experience during lockdown as a jumping-off point for their imagination.[imgtoken data:3]"I wanted them to take me to their dreamworld," says Papper. "It’s not just about Dua’s experiences of solitude, but all of ours. Collectively, as a species, we were pretty much all experiencing similar levels of solitude, and something that shook up society and&nbsp;civilization as we knew it. In that sense, although we were in solitude, we were also connected.<blockquote>It felt like we were allowed to do whatever we wanted as long as we stayed true to our vision.</blockquote>"Those were the themes I wanted to explore: connectivity, dreams, escapism. And that was what I spoke with every artist about. Their interpretation of this is what made this project interesting. Loads of amazing creative minds coming together under one roof." [imgtoken data:4]Each artist had the same simple one-line brief:&nbsp;Dua in her bedroom daydreaming. After that, Papper says "we built ideas together", but his the elvel of communication and day to day involvement in their work varied greatly. "Everyone was different, and it was an organic," he says process. "With some, contact was minimal; with others we spoke pretty much every day. It was cool."But the fact that there were creatives all over the world working on the project meant that it felt like a relentlessly non-stop process.&nbsp;"Because everyone was in a different timezone it meant that it was always being worked on," he says. "Like 24 hours a day someone, somewhere was working on it. Which was kinda&nbsp;mental,&nbsp;but also made for great productivity as it spread it out nicely."[imgtoken data:5]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It clearly required a can-do attitude, and a calm head to marshall this project, and Papper admits that "the sheer magnitude of it" was the most intense and challenging aspect. His team at Blinkink - particularly Gareth Owen, who produced each film, and EP Josef Byrne - were there to help with the strain. But also, Papper says that, crucially, the artist and her team were hugely supportive throughout the process.[imgtoken data:6]"Dua and her team were very cool about feedback, and super-trusting," he says.&nbsp;"It felt like we were allowed to do whatever we wanted as long as we stayed true to our vision. Being a commercial director I’m not used to that level of freedom. So it was nice knowing we had the means to make whatever we wanted, that loads of people were definitely going to see it, and that we’d be supported in our decisions."<blockquote>I wanted to explore our daydreams whilst being locked inside - it's about&nbsp;escapism.</blockquote>While this activity happening all over the world, Will Hooper was in London creating a live action video for Levitating, at the moment that shoots were starting again under the strictest conditions due to the pandemic crisis. This involved shooting only couples who had spent lockdown together - including Dua and her boyfriend&nbsp;Anwar Hadid - in a world where young lovers harness the power of a cosmic event. Then Missy Elliot was filmed in the&nbsp;US, directed by Hooper remotely from London.[imgtoken data:7]"I was brought onto the project a short while after James and Dua’s team had started laying the groundwork for the album film," says Hooper. "James and I were initially gravitated towards the collaborative nature of what Dua had achieved with bringing all these artists from across the world together and we wanted to lean into that with the visual."Working with James was mega. He’s a very creatively smart person and the first couple of weeks we spent smacking our heads together trying to work this thing out are sorely missed. We spent a lot of time on Zoom, James likes to look out of his window while he’s articulating his ideas and it’s very cute."We asked Papper&nbsp;to give us his take on each of the fourteen films he directed on the project.JAMES PAPPER ON EACH COLLABORATION FOR THE CLUB FUTURE NOSTALGIA VISUALISERFuture Nostalgia Director: James Papper Design &amp; Illustration: <a href="https://robinvelghe.com/" target="_blank">Rhymezlikedimez</a> (Ghent) JP: "Robin [Velghe, aka Rhymezlikedimez] is cool and just top of the game at what he does. It was nice working closely with him to make something that just looked very good."[vidtoken data:1]Cool Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation:&nbsp;<a href="http://sucukundbratwurst.de/" target="_blank">Sucuk &amp; Bratwurst</a> (Berlin) "For the most part I let these guys do their thing. I’ve been a big fan of their work for a long time and I didn’t want to constrict their way of thinking. The interesting part of this job for me was adapting to every artists different workflow and nuanced ways in which they like to be directed."[vidtoken data:2]Good In Bed Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/zawhatthe/?hl=en" target="_blank">Jonathan Zawada</a> (Sydney) "Jonathan is not only a mega-talented cool guy but also just very lovely, and I enjoyed really nice phone calls with him where he would be very positive and excited about all potential ideas. His enthusiasm is contagious."&nbsp;[vidtoken data:3]Pretty Please Director: James Papper Creative Direction: <a href="https://actualobjects.org/" target="_blank">Actual Objects</a>; directors: Claire Cochran, Rick Farin&nbsp;(Los Angeles) "Actual Objects were amazing to work with. Their stuff is so sick and nostalgic to me, it reminds me of the movies that would play out in between levels you played on Playstation. Like when you completed Tekken and would get a character movie or something."Our process was chilled we just spoke a few times about ideas, then I wrote up a brief, put it in a deck and they just blasted it out. I love it, it’s one of my faves for sure."[vidtoken data:4]Boys Will Be Boys Director: James Papper Artwork &amp; Design: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/robertbeattyart/?hl=en">Robert Beatty</a> (Lexington, KY)&nbsp; "Robert’s stuff is sick. As soon as I knew he was involved I just thought about an alien club in space. I miss going out, dancing, etc. I just wanted to see an extreme version of what I wanted in life."[vidtoken data:5]Love Again Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation: <a href="https://www.joeprytherch.com/" target="_blank">Mason London</a> (London) "Mason [aka Joe Prytherch] absolutely killed it and was a pleasure to work with. I tried to let him do his thing for the most part, because he is so good and so experienced already. He’s also a very nice guy."[vidtoken data:6]Break My Heart Director: James Papper Designer: <a href="http://www.mizaroux.com/now" target="_blank">Miza Roux</a>&nbsp;(Brookyn, NY); Animator: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/casparwain/" target="_blank">Caspar Wain</a> "Miza and I made friends throughout the project which was nice, as I had not much time outside of it to socialise. We just wanted to take what she had already been doing (cool/surreal bedroom scenes) and animate them."Her style is very sick and I’ve loved her work for a long time. Luckily I also had Caspar Wain to help with extra design and animation and he went above and beyond."[vidtoken data:7]Hollaback Director: James Papper Artwork:&nbsp;<a href="https://ignasimonreal.com/" target="_blank">Ignasi Monreal</a> (Madrid); Design &amp; Animation: <a href="http://connorcampbell.studio/" target="_blank">Connor Campbell</a>[vidtoken data:8]<blockquote>"Ignasi and Connor were a dream team..."</blockquote>Love Is Religion Director: James Papper 3D Design &amp; Animation:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/saidamagic/?hl=en" target="_blank">Saida Saetgar</a>&nbsp;(Vancouver) "Saida was very nice and took direction well. We went through a load of different ideas, thinking about themes of love, religion, etc, and came to something very cool. Saida is not only great at brainstorming but good at coming up with beautiful visuals which are very satisfying to watch."[vidtoken data:9]Don’t Start Now Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation: <a href="https://studiodosage.com/" target="_blank">Studio Dosage</a>&nbsp;(Bristol) "Ben Dosage was amazing to work with on this. Ben and I have known each other for a while so it was good to work with a mate."Ben and I discussed ideas a lot and worked closely, but for the most part Ben did his thing and it was really cool to see. His visuals were amazing and I love the story he told."[vidtoken data:10]Physical Director: James Papper Co-Director: <a href="https://ignasimonreal.com/" target="_blank">Ignasi Monreal</a>&nbsp;(Madrid);&nbsp;Design &amp; Animation:&nbsp;<a href="http://connorcampbell.studio/projects" target="_blank">Connor Campbell</a> "Ignasi and Connor were a dream team. I first got Ignasi involved and we spoke about ideas. Ignasi was pulling up a lot of anime references and we were trying to figure out who would be good to pull his work together."That’s when we found Connor, who was amazing. The pair worked so well together and came out with an amazing product at the end."[vidtoken data:11]Kiss &amp; Make Up Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation:&nbsp;<a href="http://glander.co/" target="_blank">Julian Glander</a> (Brooklyn, NY) "Julian is cool and funny and I just wanted him to do his thing. I love reading the chat down the side of his visualiser, it’s such a funny addition. That’s kinda what I mean about being allowed to do what we want. We just chucked that in there and Dua loved it."&nbsp;[vidtoken data:12]<blockquote>I love reading the chat down the side of Julian's visualiser, it’s such a funny addition.</blockquote>That Kind Of Woman Director: James Papper Design &amp; Animation:&nbsp;<a href="http://vewn.us/" target="_blank">Victoria Vincent aka 'Vewn'</a>&nbsp;(Los Angeles, CA) "I've been a fan of Vewn’s for a while. Her films are super funny and she’s a great storyteller. She was a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t have asked for someone better to go on this track!"[vidtoken data:13]Break My Heart (Moodymann remix) Director: James Papper Design:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/tototatatu/" target="_blank">Seoyoung Kwon</a>&nbsp;(Seoul) "Seo’s artwork is amazing, I love what she does. She is also incredibly easy to work with. I had been watching a lot of 80s anime around the time I found her,&nbsp;and I just wanted to make something very satisfying and glowy. Luckily she was keen to work with me and so we made this together.[vidtoken data:14]"I mentioned '80s anime to our compositor Richard Perrigo and he got super excited by that and was able to push things in compositing stages to achieve this effect. I really wanna work with Seo and Rich again to do this more. If you are a famous popstar and you’re reading this, hmu so I can work with these two again pls xxx."Future Nostalgia Remix Album&nbsp;- Production CreditsProduction Company: &nbsp;Blinkink&nbsp; Production Company:&nbsp;&nbsp;Blink&nbsp; Director: &nbsp;James Papper&nbsp; Director:&nbsp; Will Hooper&nbsp; Producer: Gareth Owen&nbsp; Producer: Corin Taylor&nbsp; BlinkInk Executive Producer: Josef Byrne&nbsp; Blink Executive Producer: Laura Northover&nbsp; Production Manager: Rosanna Morley Production Manager: Seb Jowers&nbsp; Editor: Jamie Harris&nbsp; Commissioner: Katie Dolan• James Papper is represented by <a href="https://blinkink.co.uk/our-work/" target="_blank">Blinkink</a> for commercial and music projects; Will Hooper is represented by <a href="https://blinkprods.com/" target="_blank">Blink</a> for music videos and commercials &nbsp;

James Papper

Blinkink

Behind The Video Album: James Papper & Will Hooper on Dua Lipa x The Blessed Madonna 'Club Future Nostalgia' 

Dua Lipa & The Blessed Madonna - Club Future Nostalgia (Official Visualiser)

01_FutureNostalgia.mp4

02_Cool.mp4

03_GoodInBed.mp4

04_PrettyPlease.mp4

05_BoysWillBeBoys.mp4

06_LoveAgain.mp4

07_BreakMyHeart.mp4

08_HollabackGirl.mp4

10_LoveIsReligion.mp4

11_DontStartNow.mp4

12_Physical.mp4

13_KissAndMakeUp.mp4

14_ThatKindOfWoman.mp4

15_Moodyman.mp4

Created during the depths of lockdown the theme of collaboration can be seen and heard; it’s the backbone of the 50 minute Future Nostalgia mixtape, featuring Dua’s collaborations with the likes of Mark Ronson, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Stevie Nicks. &nbsp; BlinkInk’s James Papper directed thirteen different artists and animators from all around the world working on each bespoke visualiser.&nbsp; Each artist worked under lockdown conditions from their home cities: Madrid, Seoul, Sydney, Berlin, LA, Vancouver, New York, Kentucky, Gent and London to name a few. Having each track designed by a different artist, mirrored the structure of the mixtape itself; with each track being taken on by a different musician.Blink’s Will Hooper directed all of the live action elements, including the video for Levitating featuring Madonna &amp; Missy Elliot, remixed by The Blessed Madonna. The live action video features Dua Lipa with her boyfriend Anwar Hadid.Artists from around the world were brought together to give their own unique touch to Dua’s album. Such a wide array of musicians have been involved, from Mark Ronson and Missy Elliot to Moodyman and Jayda G, this mixtape has crossed the commercial line into the underground and back to Madonna!&nbsp;With this in mind, Blinkink and Blink joined forces to create a master plan for the remix of Future Nostalgia, with James Papper leading on animation and Will Hooper overseeing all things live action.&nbsp; From the beginning, their plan was to mirror the structure of the mixtape and have as many incredible artists as possible work on the visuals. The result is a mixed media masterclass of some of the finest animators, illustrators, artists and studios around the world coming together to create a wild 50 minutes of entertainment.The list of collaborators is impressive; HipHops’s favourite&nbsp;Rhymezlikedimez&nbsp;takes on the first track, Future Nostalgia featuring Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard. From there we enter the world of Berlin Collective&nbsp;Sucuk &amp; Bratwurst, with the remix of Cool handled by Jayda G. Ausi based artist&nbsp;Jonathan Zawada, takes on the Zach Witness’s remix of Good in bed. LA’s&nbsp;Actual Objects&nbsp;created an incredible 3D world for London based producer Midland’s remix of Pretty Please. Design legend&nbsp;Robert Beatty, working out of Kentucky, flexes his surreal talents for another Zach Witness mix of Boys Will Be Boys.&nbsp; The following two tracks take us into the illustrated world of&nbsp;Mason London&nbsp;for Love Again and Idaho’s&nbsp;Miza Roux, in Break My Heart with Jamiroquai and HorseMeatDisco taking care of the sound.&nbsp;From here, we take a break out of animation and into the real world for the track ‘Levitating’ ft Missy Elliot, remixed by The Blessed Madonna. Directed by Blink’s Will Hooper, this brilliantly crafted live-action piece features Dua Lipa with other half Anwar Hadid, in a world where young lovers harness the power of a cosmic event.With that craziness over we transition back into animation with Vancouver based&nbsp;Saida Saetgar&nbsp;surreal trip into Love Is Religion and Bristol’s&nbsp;Studio Dosage&nbsp;offering up some 3D magic for Don’t Start Now. Mark Ronson’s remix of Physical featuring Gwen Stefani is brought to life with the exceptional artwork of&nbsp;Ignasi Monreal, who teamed up with the visualiser master&nbsp;Connor Campbell.&nbsp;Julian Glander, takes on the&nbsp; trumpeteering 1960s legend that is Herb Alpert in an amazing link up of the old and the new for Kiss and Make Up. From there, we go into the illustrative world of LA’s YouTube star&nbsp;Victoria Vincent, with the remix of That Kind Of Woman by none other than Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, in another cross generational team up! Finally, we finish up with Seoul illustrator,&nbsp;Seo Young Kwon&nbsp;teaming up with House legend Moodyman for his version of Break My Heart.

Gareth Owen

Corin Taylor

Josef Byrne

Rosanna Morley

Seb Jowers

Jamie Harris

Katie Dolan

Dua Lipa & The Blessed Madonna 'Club Future Nostalgia (Official Visualiser)' by James Papper, Will Hooper, various

Young lovers harness the power of a cosmic event in Will Hooper’s video for Dua Lipa’s single Levitating, remixed by the Blessed Madonna and featuring none other than Madonna and Missy Elliott.Following&nbsp;a successful run of videos for Declan McKenna, Hooper now lends his surreal perspective to a hybrid of conceptual performance and sci-fi inspired narrative.&nbsp;DoP&nbsp;Rina Yang executes a contemporary and inspired vision, treading a fine&nbsp;line between fashion editorial and home video, every frame a worthy photograph in itself.&nbsp;Although Madge is absent, Lipa and Elliot bring a torrent of energy to the table,&nbsp;which creates a sense of unabashed fun and celebration. Brilliant and beautiful work.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Paul Weston

Julian Richards

Gabriel O'Donohoe

Rina Yang

Kate Mollins

Elliot Beech

Zach Apo-tsang

Lorenzo Posocco

Black Kite

Tamara Mennell

Dan Saunders

Spike Morris

Dua Lipa ft Madonna & Missy Elliot 'Levitating (Remix)' by Will Hooper

Dua-Lipa-'Levitating-Remix-Ft-Madonna-And-Missy-Elliot'-by-Will-Hooper

Will Hooper rounds off his series of collaborations with Declan McKenna, in the video for Daniel, You're Still A Child.&nbsp;Working with 3D artist Alfie Dwyer, Hooper has created a fantastical&nbsp;landscape which pays homage to iconic moments from each video, including Declan's well documented love of baked beans.&nbsp;Capturing the director and artist's sense of weird, self-referential humour, the visual moves from snake-infested cityscapes to freaky forests and rainbow roads -with a stop by the glitchy set from <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/01/31/declan-mckenna-beautiful-faces-will-hooper/63032">Beautiful Faces</a> on the way - whilst the camera perpetually pulls back in an endless loop of CGI environments.&nbsp;McKenna's performance is as engaging as ever, and his interaction with the imaginary scenes helps realise the offbeat concept.&nbsp;In short, a perfect video to consume in the countdown to McKenna's new album,&nbsp;Zeros, and another big success for the pair's creative collaboration.&nbsp;

Rosie Brear

Zoe Tough

Alistair Little

Anil Duru

Salvador Gomez-Lopez

Frank Fieber

Jackie Tyson

Alfie Dwyer

Michael Lewin

Indie Rock

Rock

Declan McKenna 'Daniel, You're Still A Child' by Will Hooper

Declan-Mckenna-'Daniel,-You're-Still-A-Child'-by-Will-Hooper

Will Hooper was having a storming start to 2020, with his videos for Bree Runway, Declan McKenna and Sad Night Dynamite. And then, all this..These days, when he's not appearing on Promonews's&nbsp;popular music video community doc/soap <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAM5dPTAWbA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Music Videos In Lockdown</a>, he has been reaquainting himself with the joys of Warhammer&nbsp;- and&nbsp;sneaking off to Abney Park cemetery, jewel of Stoke Newington,&nbsp;to&nbsp;hang out with his imaginary friends (above).&nbsp;What were you working on before the lockdown?&nbsp; About a week before the lockdown was announced, we fortunately managed to poke in a shoot for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/16/declan-mckenna-key-life-earth-will-hooper/64352" target="_blank">Declan Mckenna [for The Key To Life On Earth]</a>.[vidtoken data:0]I also had a Skittles commercial. However that sadly tasted it’s final rainbow :’(What are you working on now?&nbsp; Painting a <a href="https://www.board-game.co.uk/product/start-collecting-daemons-of-nurgle/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4ebRiJvA6QIVDeztCh19GguaEAQYASABEgIP1fD_BwE" target="_blank">Daemons of Nurgle army</a>.<blockquote>I’ve re-learned a load of processes that I used to do before I got properly wrapped up in the grind</blockquote>What's the favourite part of your daily routine?&nbsp; Sitting out on the front step in the morning with a cup of coffee and sharing a quiet but potent moment of understanding with passers-by in the form of a nod and wry smile.&nbsp;Also I'm well into crisps atm. Been eating so many crisps.What have you learned about yourself during quarantine?&nbsp; Not about myself specifically. But I guess the slower pace of how I’m currently developing ideas has meant that I’ve re-learned a load of processes that I used to do before I got properly wrapped up in the grind - like looking at reference books and scanning stuff, taking walks, listening to music, etc., and letting ideas come to me.Best meal you have eaten/are regularly cooking&nbsp; I keep sneaking into the Abney Park cemetery and pinching wild garlic. Been making all sorts with it.Best thing you’ve watched, or heard, while on lockdown, and why?&nbsp; Finished Devs a couple of nights ago. I was super impressed by it - Alex Garland is a clever clogs.[vidtoken data:1]Also been jamming the airwaves most days with <a href="https://poolside.fm/" target="_blank">Poolside FM</a> (YOU’RE WELCOME!)How's your Work/Life balance at the moment?&nbsp; No work all play baaabbbyyyy• Will Hooper is a director at Blink. Watch Will's work <a href="https://blinkprods.com/talent/will-hooper/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Quarantine Q&A: Will Hooper, Blink

Declan-Mckenna-'The-Key-To-Life-On-Earth'-by-Will-Hooper

Devs Season 1 Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes TV

In the third episode of Natalie Steiner's series about the UK music video production community during lockdown, she discovers how work has continued, the ubiquitity of Zoom, the resourcefulness of music video creatives - and the resulting phenomenon of lockdown videos...[vidtoken data:0]Natalie Steiner has documented the extraordinary moment created by the pandemic, by interviewing her workmates, contemporaries and friends from the music video community in London. She has spoken to&nbsp;everyone from&nbsp;directors, producers, camera crew, choreographers, commissioners, directors reps, stylists, hair and makeup artists, and more - via Zoom, of course.In Episode 3: Working During The Lockdown, she asked interviewees about how they have managed to keep working through isolation, and&nbsp;discovered that the industry quickly mobilized to find ways to continue to make music videos, via remote directing, artists self-shooting, crowd-sourcing, and placing a greater emphasis on animation.<blockquote>The way we’ve carried on throughout this crisis has highlighted what a bunch of genuinely creative people we are.</blockquote>The interviewees in Episode 3 are directors Zhang &amp; Knight,&nbsp;Oscar Hudson,&nbsp;Myles Whittingham,&nbsp;Ian Pons Jewell, Aidan Zamiri and Will Hooper; directors' agent Sam Davey at OB Management; producers Tom O’Driscoll, Kareem Adeshina, Morgan Clement, Rik Green and Laura Northover; choreographer Simon Donnellon; commissioners James Hackett and Dan Curwin; assistant director Clara Paris; colourist Jax Harney; cinematographer Diana Olifirova and camera assistant Jomar O'Meally.&nbsp;With interviews conducted by Natalie Steiner and Eleri Evans, Episode 3 was edited by Cut+Run editor Meg Thorne.&nbsp;Natalie Steiner says: "During these interviews I was actually surprised by the interviewees and their get up and go attitude.&nbsp;The way that we’ve collectively picked up and carried on throughout this crisis has really highlighted what a bunch of genuinely creative people we are, who are able to overcome challenges and just figure it out."This is the third episode of the five-part series&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown&nbsp;about the UK music video community during the crisis, exclusively presented by Promonews. Here are links to the previous episodes in the series:&nbsp;•&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown Episode 1: Last Jobs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/interviews/music-videos-lockdown-series-launches-promonews-episode-1-last-jobs/64690" target="_blank">here</a> •&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown Episode 2: Spending Time&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/interviews/music-videos-lockdown-series-continues-episode-2-spending-time-exclusive-promonews/64744" target="_blank">here</a>

Zhang + Knight

Oscar Hudson

Myles Whittingham

Ian Pons Jewell

Aidan Zamiri

OB Management

Tom O'Driscoll

Kareem Adeshina

Morgan Clement

Rik Green

Simon Donnellon

James Hackett

Dan Curwin

Clara Paris

Jax Harney

Diana Olifirova

Jomar O'Meally

Natalie Steiner

Meg Thorne

Cut+Run

'MUSIC VIDEOS IN LOCKDOWN' Episode 3: Working During The Lockdown - exclusive on Promonews 

Music Videos In Lockdown | EP 3: Working During the Lockdown

In the second of music video producer Natalie Steiner's film series about the UK music video production community during lockdown, she asks people from all corners of the industry about what they are doing, now that many of them have far more time on their hands...[vidtoken data:0]Steiner has documented the extraordinary moment created by the pandemic, by interviewing her workmates, contemporaries and friends from the music video community in London. She and Eleri Evans have conducted interviews with everyone from&nbsp;directors, producers, camera crew, choreographers, commissioners, directors reps, stylists, hair and makeup artists, and more - via Zoom, of course.&nbsp;In the second of the series, she finds out about how they are spending their time now they are not working on film shoots - and elicits a range of&nbsp;illuminating, inspirational and entertaining responses from her interviewees.Episode 2: Spending Time - exclusively presented by Promonews - features directors Ian Pons Jewell, Zhang + Knight, Will Hooper, Oscar Hudson, Myles Whittingham and Aidan Zamiri; producers and executive producers Luke Tierney, Imogen Harrison, Tom O'Driscoll, Laura Northover, Morgan Clement and&nbsp;Rik Green;&nbsp;stylist and makeup artists Terri Higgins,&nbsp;Jessica Summer; colourist Jax Harney; 1st AD Clara Paris; camera crew David Wright, Diana Olifirova and Jomar O'Meally; choreographer Simon Donnellon; and&nbsp;commissioners James Hackett and Dan Curwin.As she told Promonews on <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/interviews/music-videos-lockdown-series-launches-promonews-episode-1-last-jobs/64690" target="_blank">the launch of the series with Episode One: Last Jobs on May 6th</a>,&nbsp;Steiner wanted to tap into the communal spirit of the music video community at this difficult time.&nbsp;"My hope was to pull together a film which showcases the full range of people within our industry, and shows commonality and unity amongst us. I wanted to learn something about the industry, the people in it, and what we can do it make it better. Hopefully this series does that and it makes you feel a little closer to normality."This is the second&nbsp;episode of the five-part series&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown&nbsp;about the UK music video community during the crisis, exclusively presented by Promonews. Here is the link&nbsp;to the previous episode&nbsp;in the series:&nbsp;•&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown Episode 1: Last Jobs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/interviews/music-videos-lockdown-series-launches-promonews-episode-1-last-jobs/64690" target="_blank">here</a>Future episodes on Music Videos In Lockdown will focus on how work has continued during the crisis, and the impact of the seismic change in the work routines on the industry, both now and when things return to relative normality.&nbsp;

Luke Tierney

Imogen Harrison

Terri Higgins

Jess Summer

David Wright

'MUSIC VIDEOS IN LOCKDOWN' series continues with Episode 2: Spending Time - exclusive on Promonews 

Music Videos In Lockdown | EP 2: Spending the Day

A new film series by music video producer Natalie Steiner about her colleagues in the music video production community as they navigate the current situation in lockdown&nbsp;is premiered on Promonews.[vidtoken data:0]With the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown curtailing normal ways of working, the community of people who make music videos in London - directors, producers, camera crew, choreographers, stylists, hair and makeup artists, and more - have seen their working life suspended, or seriously altered by the unprecedented impact of the pandemic.Like many other people,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/profiles/natalie-steiner/51397" target="_blank">Natalie&nbsp;Steiner</a>, normally a hardworking producer of music videos (her credits include videos for Dave, Stormzy,&nbsp;Stereophonics,&nbsp;Raye, Ray BLK,&nbsp;Emeli Sande and&nbsp;The&nbsp;Horrors) has had much more time on her hands than usual. So she decided to document this extraordinary moment, by interviewing her workmates, contemporaries and friends from the music video community in London - on Zoom, of course.These interviews (by Steiner and Eleri Evans) have formed the basis of the four-part video series called&nbsp;Music Videos In Lockdown, with the first episode premiered on Promonews today.[imgtoken data:1]<blockquote>I wanted to showcase the range of people within our industry, and the&nbsp;commonality and unity amongst us.</blockquote>"The music video industry is a very busy one," she says.&nbsp;"We spend endless hours on set together pulling through early call times, bad weather, dodgy catering, and night shoots.&nbsp;As lockdown was enforced I was worried about a growing disconnect amongst people who were losing their ability to work and, even more, work together.&nbsp;"My hope was to pull together a film which showcases the full range of people within our industry, and shows commonality and unity amongst us. I wanted to learn something about the industry, the people in it, and what we can do it make it better. Hopefully this series does that and it makes you feel a little closer to normality."In&nbsp;the first episode,&nbsp;Last Jobs,&nbsp;the interviewees&nbsp;discuss&nbsp;the work they were doing just before lockdown - and how work stopped. It features&nbsp;directors Will Hooper, Aidan Zamiri, Myles Whittingham and Oscar Hudson, choreographer Simon Donnellon, DoP Diana Olifirova, camera assistant Jomar O'Meally, commissioners Dan Curwin and James Hackett,&nbsp;makeup artist Jessica Summer, producers and&nbsp;EPs&nbsp;Kareem Adeshina, Morgan Clement,&nbsp;Imogen&nbsp;Harrison, Laura Northover and&nbsp;Luke Tierney.Future episodes, to be released over the next two weeks, will discuss how life and work has changed during lockdown, and its impact on the industry - now, and potentially in the future - with contributions from the above and other interviewees, including&nbsp;Sam Davey,&nbsp;Rik&nbsp;Green,&nbsp;Terri Higgins, Tom O’Driscoll,&nbsp;Ore Okonedo,&nbsp;Taff Williamson,&nbsp;David Wright, and&nbsp;Zhang &amp; Knight.• Episode Two of Music Videos In Lockdown will be premiered on Promonews on Monday, May 11th.

'MUSIC VIDEOS IN LOCKDOWN' series launches on Promonews with Episode 1: Last Jobs

Music Videos In Lockdown | EP 1: Last Jobs

Will Hooper applies his trademark offbeat surrealism to Sad Night Dynamite's new visual for Spending Money.&nbsp;Having turned Declan&nbsp;McKenna into a glitchy Sims character in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/01/31/declan-mckenna-beautiful-faces-will-hooper/63032">Beautiful Faces</a>,&nbsp;Hooper turns his creative eye to hypermasculine womaniser and poker player Dan Bilzerian.&nbsp;Stuck on an endless loop format most often found in the weird, meme-heavy corners of YouTube, the video shows a computer-animated Bilzerian crying as he eats cake. For three hours.&nbsp;It's daft yet absolutely brilliant, falling somewhere between a simulation and a rudimentary pre-vis storyboard - and most importantly, it works really well with the track too.

Sam Seager

Parlophone

Alternative

Sad Night Dynamite 'Spending Money' by Will Hooper

Sad-Night-Dynamite-'Spending-Money'-by-Will-Hooper

Declan McKenna's life is invaded by a döppelgänger - none other than Alex Lawther, from End Of The F***ing World&nbsp;and other good stuff - in Will Hooper's video for The Key To Life On Earth.&nbsp;Hooper has a lot of fun with the oft-noted physical&nbsp;similarity between the two men - and with the deteriorating relationship as initial harmony turns to disparity, and worse.Fact is, no-one really does&nbsp;'incel-style' creepiness quite as well as Mr Lawther, so it's not so surprising that his 'fanboy' character begins to take the upper hand. Will Declan get smothered by all that passive-aggression, and two become one...?&nbsp;

Ruben Woodin Dechamps

Marcus Albertsen

Klara Rychtarcikova

Esteban Gimpelewicz

Zoe Klinck

Suzie Walsh

Kirsty Oldfield

Alex Lawther

Sony Music

Indie

Singer-songwriter

Declan McKenna 'The Key To Life On Earth' by Will Hooper

Will Hooper introduces London-based producer duo Sad Night Dynamite's debut EP, SND 001, with this&nbsp;enigmatic short film comprised of a series of intriguing vignettes - mini-films in themselves yet linked together by the&nbsp;band's music&nbsp;and a faintly surreal tone.&nbsp;From a drone shot of a white limousine at the start,&nbsp;Hooper takes us on a journey into the woods, to the side of a grave, to a party of pastel-wearing youths, and a mass attempt to blow out birthday candles. It is a deadpan black comedy filmed in the Czech Republic - a place where this style of filmmaking was pioneered back in the 1960s.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The duo&nbsp;also make cameo appearances in each scene, and talking to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.complex.com/music/2020/03/premiere-sad-night-dynamite" target="_blank">Complex</a>, where the video was premiered last week, they said that Will Hooper's film&nbsp;"serves almost as a preface to us as a band. We had written these relatively sparse beats which show glimpses of our first singles, so wanted to reflect that in the films: the narrative is open-ended, but hints at a larger story to come."&nbsp;&nbsp;They add that shooting in&nbsp;the Czech Republic "was such a great opportunity... Very few of the cast spoke the same language as us, but I think they identified with the projects tone and darkness — we wanted the films to have a message whilst staying humorous. There's room left for interpretation, but we intend for this film to act as the beginning of a wider piece, as Sad Night Dynamite."

Pavlina Saward

Mojas Perovic

Igor Smitka

Murat Emkuzhev

Michal Kulhavy

Vaclav Sejna

Christina Campagna

Phil Kunes

Lucia Kovalova

Tall Dark & Handsome

Elizabeth Chase

Cinelab Film and Digital

Dance, Electronica

Sad Night Dynamite 'Sad Night Dynamite' by Will Hooper

Sad-Night-Dynamite--'Sad-Night-Dynamite-'-by-Will-Hooper

Will Hooper directs a thrilling&nbsp;performance video for Bree Runway's Ape Shit, with a proper nod to old-school Missy Elliott.&nbsp;Cycling furiously through a selection of set pieces, we see Bree confidently embody several characters, with sharp styling and tight art direction, switching the usual clichés on their heads to create something fresh and unique.Will Hooper and&nbsp;art director&nbsp;Laura Little channel&nbsp;a Nineties/Noughties vibe into the set design and props, whilst DP Stefan Yap&nbsp;matches the aesthetic by utilising multiple&nbsp;formats, including night-vision and lo-fi digital cameras. It's&nbsp;an unabashed, hypnotic journey, with editor&nbsp;Sam Allen setting a breathless pace from the beginning.At only two and a half minutes, Hooper packs a huge amount into the runtime - a&nbsp;dynamic and high-energy promo in his trademark style, that boosts the buzz and mystique around the dynamic Ms Runway.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Will Hooper

Director

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