Ricky Gibb directs an ambitious project for James Smith, with a quartet of music videos woven together in a single narrative, to create an 11 minute short - now released as Common People, Full Film. Impressive in scale, and featuring a a dazzling display of performance, choreography and vibrant set pieces, Common People still feels intimate and relatable, and the narrative elements infused in the concept act as a great guide on the journey. "When James Smith and the team at RINSE approached me to pitch this project, it felt like a creative challenge unlike anything that had been brought to me before," says Gibb. "We discussed something cinematic, surreal, and humorous. Four promos, all woven together as one single long narrative film... Right up my street. I was in."Ahead of writing, I spent serious time listening to James’ (then unreleased) debut album, COMMON PEOPLE. Drawing from James’ lyrics, I put pen to paper on a narrative that harnessed the young songwriter’s notions of longing, melancholy, and awkward, fumbling love, albeit framed through a surreal and humorous lens. There was some back and forth. Some tracks got swapped out. There was a touch of jiggery and a peppering of pokery. A few sleepless nights. Maybe 57 budget rewrites. Maybe a year or so later, we had it."As a writer/director, driving a project like this from inception to delivery was exactly the challenge I needed at that point in my career. It forced me to grow and adapt faster than ever before. Navigating longer storytelling, a growing cast of key characters, and the intricacies that came with both really tested the limits of what was possible within the budget and time I had to play with."As always, the talent and grit of the individuals involved were the sole reasons a project like this ever got across the line at all. The production team at KODE worked around the clock to fight fires and keep us on track. Good friend and frequent collaborator Joshua Smith directed the movement of a cast of incredible talent, and I finally had the opportunity to collaborate with DoP Kai Blaimey, another friend in the industry whose work I’ve admired for a long time."Working on projects like this makes my soul sing, and I’m really keen for more. I really relish off these long-term collaboration with artists and long-form creative concepts."

Alina Pasok and Tommy Cash direct a jawdropping and hilarious video for the Estonian dance superstar's Untz Untz, putting an outrageously saucy spin on an Olympic-style multi-sport event. Cash is no stranger to offbeat ideas in his videos. There's the brilliant Sdubid and remarkable Racked, for example - and also his recent collab with Salvatore Ganacci. But it's safe to say this is the most out there of them all - and definitely the most risqué. The video imagines an Olympic Games for sex, where contestants compete in a variety of X-rated sex acts riffing on real sports, such as athletics and wrestling. And they are not messing about - the 'athletes' are proper porn film performers, and their imaginative exertions here are real. Cash thought up the concept four years ago and last January he called his collaborator, the Los Angeles-based director Alina Pasok, so they could direct the video together and execute his dream vision. They have done a remarkable job, succeeding in putting an sexually explicit spin on an impressive range of sports - including fencing and archery - with the help of Kinopravda and production company Kinomoto in Budapest. While the censored one is certainly not for kids - or even, frankly, many grown-ups - there is an uncensored version out there somewhere...Described by Paper magazine as 'the modern day Weird Al Yankovic', Cash explains: “I combined what might be humankind’s two greatest passions through the ages - sex and sport. It’s finally time to bring about the new athletic standard - going pantless.”Alina Pasok adds: “When Tommy called me with an idea of Sex Olympics, at first, it seemed impossible. After this video, I realised that the impossible is possible in Budapest. Just do it."It was an incredible and very fun experience. It's just sad that the song is so short, so we didn't film all the sports disciplines we wanted to show in our video.” The mind boggles.

The stand-off between an old cowboy and a young man plays out in intriguing fashion in Martin Cannon's monochromatic promo for folk-rock outfit People! The video for Bricks is set in a darkened working men's club, where the ageing cowboy dude sips his beer, while the younger man parades his talent for dancing under the mirrorball on the dancefloor - until the tension between the two is broken in an unexpected fashion. Anchored by the strong visual presence of the two actors (David Prince and Bedwyr Bowen) and a sense of cinematic tension, the video has an energy bubbling under the surface, which spills over in the climax.With strong cinematography from Bryan Gavigan, Martin Cannon has created an unusual, atmospheric noir-ish episode which works well with the rootsy feel of the track. And then delivers a bonus cowboy twist.