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John Wick meets the 9-5 slog in Relta's rousing promo for Jessie Reyez. The video for New York Baby boasts a clash of nostalgic, office-core aesthetics and action film mayhem, building to a bloody, visceral climax. Tied together by a rather breezy, anachronistic performance setup (complete with vintage Macs on plinths), it's a captivating, heart-pounding visual with plenty of standout moments.
Rob Ulitski - 3 months ago
Sugababes are back with an instant classic, and a very slick promo from Dora Paphides.The video for Jungle finds the trio in a vast office space, where a menagerie of artistic vignettes unfold. Switching up between performance, choreography and abstract cutaways, it has all the markers of a classic Sugababes video, filtered through a mature, contemporary lens."I think I approached this video from a fan perspective," explains Paphides. "I’ve loved the Sugababes forever so this was an instinctive thing to do. I sort of thought, what would get me excited watching a new Sugababes video, and led with that instinct."The concept was an editorial/pop take on day and night. I wanted to create this sense of night time and things aren’t what they seem at night. This translated into these office scenes, where the band slowly break out and enter the rave. Blink, and you might miss something. I wanted to create this sense of being in the dark and misinterpreting something you’ve seen. Or being drunk and trying to remember what happened."I looked a lot at Kito Munoz’s work, previous Prada and Rick Owens campaigns... I wanted the classic pop video to have a fashion edge."
Rob Ulitski - 3 months ago
Having missed it when it was released back in May, this video for French singer Yseult was a wonderful discovery when it was entered into this year's UK Music Video Awards. It's one of the standout works of the year.Yseult's Bitch You Could Never is a brilliant capsule of office politics and machinations, as if recorded on security cameras. Yseult is the glamourous and terrifying boss of a motley group of worker drones, her fury aroused when she perceives a threat from the office floor; a young woman who states her own ambition through her own fashion choices.The video is the work of creative duo Shadrinsky - Yulya Shadrinsky and Marita Gurcciani - in the signature style that has made them highly sought-after in the world of fashion films for bringing apparently opposing elements together: high fashion, explosive action (including stuntwork), shot on functional locked-off cameras.In the video there is the added element of a terrific ensemble of performers playing the office workers, supporting the video's star - who is herself a revelation. Yseult is formidable - both the English and French meanings - from her first appearance storming down a corridor with her assistant to berate the staff, to the extraordinary final setpiece, as she dispenses with her rival. Her role deserves to be recognised for what it is: iconic.
David Knight - 7 months ago
Alexander Seltzer directs an ode to the menial, soul-crushing jobs that artists often have to work to make ends meet, in his promo for Alex Nicol. The bleak, anachronistic promo for Sit Around and Wait sees the artist caught in a monotonous routine, stuck in an office painted ten types of beige until he's finally released and allowed to do the one thing he loves more than anything else - perform. "With this music video, I wanted to heighten the emotion in Alex's song by blending the surreal and often bleak otherworldliness of Roy Anderson's films, the 90s Brit pop music videos I grew up obsessed with, and some old Ikea ads," says Seltzer. "Plus a bit of Office Space for good measure." This music video was created thanks to the generous support of the MVP Project, a joint initiative of RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize.
Rob Ulitski - 12 months ago
Max McLachlan helps introduce the world to the new Birdy, in this captivating promo for Raincatchers. The video depicts Birdy as a giant, helping her younger self (played by Eleanor Hockley) navigate a world of corporate monotony and oppressive rules, blending semi-autobiographic lyrics with dark fantasy aesthetics. "Birdy is not a kid anymore," says McLachlan. "The world has known her since she was barely a teenager. She wanted a music video that would shed the dainty image of her as a naive child, but address the years of youth lost having to play grown-up in the industry."What better way to show how much she’s grown than to make her a giant?"Birdy drops down a miniature scale model of the office environment to the young girl, empowering her to see herself from a new vantage point, and gather the courage to break free and blaze her own path - whilst seeing life in a more playful way, as the child she is. The desaturated, near-dystopian aesthetic perfectly suits the narrative concept, and it's packed full of absorbing, emotional iconography.
Rob Ulitski - 7th Mar 2023
Lauzza and Bawo link up once again, this time with help from Reek0, to remind us to check in on our friends as much as our inboxes. The video for Same Team encapsulates the monotonous 9-5 office environment, and sees Bawo, Reek0 and a handful of office characters drudging away at their desks, counting down the minutes till they can get a break. Incorporating 90's computer technology, anachronistic art direction and a flurry of dynamic visual effects (including some cool reverse desktop overlays), it's another hit for Lauzza and team, and a perfect complement to the track.
Rob Ulitski - 19th Dec 2022
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Ethan + Tom direct a terrific 25-minute live film for Jeshi.Encompassing several tracks from his new LP Universal Credit, the video sees the artist in an empty office block, performing alongside musicians Tagara, Eardbuds, Wonky Logic and Loner Muaka.The live performances are creatively and intricately staged, and the guest musicians are interwoven into the concept by appearing as office workers, replacing computers and keyboards with their instruments.
Rob Ulitski - 16th Nov 2022
Creative trio Three Shades direct an infectiously fun promo for Bastille. The video for Shut Off The Lights is a light-hearted look at how people might react if their connection to the virtual world was suddenly broken, in the middle of their working day.In an age of short attention spans and technological takeover, the video follows a rag-tag bunch of office workers, and details their escapades as they are left to their own devices (pun intended).Building upon the dystopian world of ‘Future Inc’ that Bastille had already created for their upcoming album, Three Shades set out to capture the joy, euphoria and childlike innocence of human interactions in their most basic forms. It's safe to say they have achieved that and much more in entertaining video.
Rob Ulitski - 1st Feb 2022
Otis Dominique directs a smooth one-shot promo for Skepta's recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Strolling around an office building, we see the artist interacting with various workers whilst performing, weaving in and out of various rooms and effortlessly executing tasks on his workday To Do list. It's an unexpected but really effective concept, that shows off Skepta's multifaceted performance skills and effortlessly fresh wardrobe, courtesy of stylist Nicola Wilson.
Rob Ulitski - 3rd Nov 2021
Girls Aloud alum Nadine Coyle is back, as the glamourous and very demanding Lady Boss in Sophia Ray's video for the insanely catchy Go To Work.Sophia has Nadine strutting through her office in her fierce red pantsuit, ruling with a rod of iron, demanding greater productivity from her lazy waster of a man - all with enough sass, camp and glam to keep every veteran Girls Aloud fan very happy indeed.
Promonews - 19th Sept 2017
With the office to themselves, two colleagues abandon their work. Instead, the pair dance away under fluorescent lights and amuse themselves with workplace antics.Featuring bold choreography with plenty of charm, this is Will Joseph Cook's second video directed by Rafe Jennings.
David Knight - 1st July 2016
Steamy goings-on in the office with a gravity-defying twist for Jason Derulo's If It Ain't Love, co-directed by Derulo and Joe Labisi, who also DoP'd the video.When their co-workers leave, Jason and his leading lady are magnetically drawn to each other…. and their world literally gets turned upside down.
Promo News - 16th May 2016
Little Boots's second collaboration with Nova Dando for a track from her new album Working Girl, the aptly titled Get Things Done, follows the retro pop vid aesthetic of their first for Better In The Morning (and also similar to the MVA-nominated Taste It, directed by the late Ish Sahotay). But this turns out to be its exact flipside, extolling the triumph of LB's work ethic, together with her businesswomen backing singers. With tongue firmly in cheek, Nova parades Little Boot's enterprising spirit, as CEO of On Repeat Records. And as befits the successful stylist turned director, there's plenty of power dressing going on. LB and her crew rhythmically and mechanically Get Things Done in the carpe diem of the working week: the girls stay hydrated, go through, sign and staple paperwork, and staying on top of all the electronic mail coming their way.
Cat Velez - 20th Oct 2015
