Earth is under attack and only a long-suffering pub barman - who happens to look different from everyone else - can save us, in James Ogram's terrific promo for South London indie-rock outfit Fat Dog. Ogram finds the sweet spot between satire and cartoon capers in the video for the band's rollicking anthem Earth Song, where a very tall, distinctive-looking alien (played by Peter Lidell) arrives for work in a London boozer, to face hostility and abuse by one of the punters. When the TV news channel reports on a UFO in the shape of giant dog hurtling towards Earth, other drinkers also pile in to blame him for the alien invasion. So he decides to act...Cue a cool change of visual style to mixed media animated montage, when the alien barman goes to confront the Big Dog in a titanic clash among London skyscapers. Vibrant colours and cut-out textures collide in a King Kong v Godzilla-style fight montage, with painstaking animated elements assembled by animation director Evan Lawday.Following his videos for Honeyglaze, including the UKMVA-nominated Don't, this is a big step up in scope and ambition by Ogram, and he rises to the challenge. The video is a pleasure from start to finish - to enjoy for fun and also absorb the underlying message. "When I first received the brief for this video from Fat Dog, there was one major question to answer: how do I make The Man Who Fell To Earth meet Godzilla on a music video budget?" says Ogram. "It was a little tough. But once I saw Peter (our alien) in make-up, I was confident we could make it work."We filmed Peter against greenscreen, getting him to do karate kicks, punches and all sorts of other bizarre things, so our animator, Evan Lawday, would have something to work with. Peter was a great sport and we managed to get a lot in about an hour."We then had to cram all this story into the remaining two minutes of the music video. We focused on hitting beats and not over-shooting. Spending our time on little looks between Peter and the supporting artists and somehow, I think it all worked out."

Niall Trask presents the idiosyncratic poet/singer-songwriter Jim E. Brown in a gritty South London setting, for his appealingly silly I Saw A Bird Today.With a murky aesthetic and deadpan performance, Trask's visual is a vehicle for Brown's downtrodden, miserablist persona and highly specific outlook on the world around him, as he recounts a random encounter with a bird in amusingly banal detail. With plenty of confused stares from Brown and a selection of avian cameos from the local pigeons, the director's enthusiasm for off-kilter comedy and unconventional characters shines through. Jim E. Brown is certainly one of those.“I Saw A Bird Today is a song I have wrote about seeing a bird," says Brown. "I never actually saw the bird in the song, but used poetic license to imagine what it would be like to see a bird. I am an alcoholic and spend most of my time sat at pub. I am not outdoors often enough to see birds."The director of the video, Niall Trask, found some pigeons in Brixton and had me stand near them. It was rather uncomfortable to be near so many birds as I abhor animal life. Luckily it did not take long to film and I was able to drink Strongbow during the production.”

Lawrence Klein heralds the return of experimental hip-hop trio clipping. with a breathless globe-spanning thriller.The video for Run It - from forthcoming new album in 2025 - pays homage to generations of spy movies as the band engage in a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse game of subterfuge, evading a pair of CIA-style spooks in a high-octane chase across the world.Shot across three continents and six countries - USA, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, India, and the Czech Republic - as the action progresses through DC, Berlin, Prague, New Delhi, Bangkok, and Seoul in a hyperactive style that makes a Jason Bourne movie look positively pedestrian. Great work from Lawrence Klein, whose background as an editor is evident in the terrific construction and clever editing of the narrative, as it hurtles towards a suspenseful climax...

Mexican-born indie artist Montclova wanders through Berlin, performing an improvised solo choreography in the Emilie Lesgourgues-directed textural, nostalgic promo for Echo Void.With a lo-fi cinematic feel, Lesgourgues brings a classic indie-film sensibility to the piece, an idea of 'beyond the ordinary' as the artist's ethereal presence reflecting the song's message of the monotony of modern life, and struggle of living in a big city.The grungy textures, the choice of locations and travelogue-style cutaways bring a raw and authentic vibe to the concept, and the result is an alluring portrait of both the artist and Berlin."We naturally chose to set this project in a capital, and Berlin, both modern and rich in history, proved to be the ideal choice, one that inspired and captivated us, just like Paris, where we both live," says Lesgourgues.
"With two rolls of Kodak 16mm film and my camera, we set out to capture the beauty, chaos, and nostalgia that this city holds, preserving its essence in a fleeting moment, with the feeling of being enveloped by it. "The chosen locations are symbols of nostalgia: the photoautomat, the subway, the bridge above the train station and its tunnel, a supermarket parking lot, an abandoned airport, and finally, a wild lake that offers a natural breath, contrasting with the saturated atmosphere of the city. These spaces, both modern and deserted, evoke a timeless feeling and the tension between urban life and the search for oneself."Filming in 16mm was a true narrative and technical challenge, serving as an important reflection of the spirit of the track. It also plays a crucial role in the aesthetic of the video, bringing a tangible and deeper dimension to the images. Working with film means anticipation and specific planning, carefully composing each frame and prioritizing what we wanted to capture."