Rhory Danniells directs a stunning performance promo for the return of Stereophonics. The video for There's Always Gonna Be Something opens with a montage of on-set BTS footage, before diving into a red-tinged performance by the band led by the seemingly ageless Kelly Jones - filmed to replicate the look of Kodak Aerochrome infrared film - within a Georgian-style summerhouse. "When I was asked to pitch an idea for the Stereophonics with a Kodak Aerochrome infrared film look I was pretty excited - but also had no idea how to achieve it," admits Danniells. "Kodak Aerochrome was originally developed in the 1940s for military reconnaissance. The stock was discontinued in 2007 so the solution needed to be found digitally."We used Arri's modified Alexa that allows the full spectrum of light, from ultraviolet to infrared. This was used in combination with an IR Chrome filter to get us closer to the Aerochrome look."Being able to do this in-camera digitally and not in post was a gamechanger but also came with its problems. I really want to thank DoP Stephen Dunn, his crew and everyone at Arri rental for all the time and effort that went into this project."

Sophie Muller orchestrates another sensational vehicle for the brilliant renaissance of Kylie Minogue - here in full diva mode, but with arch sense of wit firmly intact.The song Lights, Camera, Action is the jumping off point for film-set scenario where Kylie plays both the on-screen pop/movie star we know and love, and also a super-demanding creative auteur who takes over her persona when the cameras stop rolling.But the latest in a run of smash hit collaborations between Muller, co-director Theo Adams and Minogue does not rely upon the device of Kylie's dual personality, or even really pursue it. It's the platform for Kylie's wonderful performance, and a blockbuster climax in the video-within-the-video, captured on numerous formats, where she stands imperiously unfazed and miraculously unscathed amidst total windblown chaos.Pure showbiz, brilliantly done. Marvellous.

Maxi Mclachlan latest promo for the excellent Porij, sees lead singer Egg perpetually rotating and transitioning into other versions of themselves and the other band members. As forms change and accessories switch up at a breathless pace, the aesthetic in the video for Unpredictable is trippy and uncanny in the best way. And it ends with the reveal of the greenscreen environment that's also enhanced by VFX. "The point was to try and create a video where Egg is constantly rotating, but their clothes transform until it becomes so extreme that they warp into other band members," says McLachlan - who also directed the video for the Manchester's band previous dance-pop banger My Only Love."When we first discussed the video we knew we wanted it to reflect the chaotic but very carefully produced track. The song is more digital in feel than some of the other songs on the album so we wanted it to exist in a more digital world as opposed to the more tactile feel of our video for My Only Love. [So] we also embraced using some AI features throughout the video as those programmes are by definition ‘unpredictable’. I wanted to create the feeling that Porij becomes so unpredictable that not even the machines can handle it and the whole simulation shatters."Mclachlan says the challenge was trying to generate energy in a video where the performers are rotating on a static spot, and how it was going to turn out was itself unpredictable."It was a real learning experience in post to discover what AI is and, more importantly, is not capable of… at least not yet. In the end it was pretty much stop motion animation made by exporting each frame and selecting areas for AI to create new clothes while animating warping features of faces each frame by hand. The backgrounds themselves are static images created in AI that I then animated in post. It pushed me and my wee laptop to our processing limits."