Playlist: Vincent Haycock

Covering the world of music promos and the people behind them, team shots has decided to launch a new feature, Playlist.

First on the mic, we have Vincent Haycock - the man behind iconic music videos for popular artists like Florence + the Machine, U2 and Paul McCartney among many others. Here, he shares his views on the industry and what inspires him.

What’s the best promo you’ve seen recently and why?

Lately and thankfully, there has been a trend to make videos that mean something. I think it’s because of the time we live in, a divided country, pissed off youth, racism being brought back to the political foreground, etc. Maybe it’s a zeitgeist but a lot of film makers and artists are more aware that they have an opportunity to make people think.

Leon Bridges' River by Miles Jay is a really beautiful and subtle story about family and police brutality. Jack Ü To Ü by AG Rojas is an amazing portrait of Detroit's youth, that instead of showing the negative features the positive.

And on a personal level, Bowie’s Lazarus video really shocked me for obvious reasons. He’s poetically showing his own death in the video. I watched it hours before hearing about his death and the last scene where he climbs into the cupboard is just so powerful.

What’s the first promo you remember being impressed by?

My aunt and uncle, P. Scott & Laurie Makela, were the designers on the Michael and Janet Jackson video Scream, by Mark Romanek. It blew my mind; the scale, the sets, the visual effects.

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

Rabbit In Your Headlights by Jonathan Glazer; still one of the best videos, ahead of its time.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspirational?

A lot of my inspiration comes from writers. As a director, we have so many boundaries that we have to work with - budgets, clients and time. When I read something that was written without restraints, it always has such a great effect on me. I'm currently reading a play called The Mercy Seat by Neil Lebute.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Michael Gira’s band The Angels of Light… my friend Aaron just sent it to me, and I've been playing it on repeat.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

Panaflex Millennium 35mm motion picture camera.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

Any artist that makes good music, has integrity and soul and shows up on time.

How do you feel the promo industry has changed since you started in it?

I think people care more about creative now than ever. Good content is king.

Music videos have had a resurgence of late; where do you see the industry being in five years’ time?

I have no idea, the internet changes everything so fast. It wasn’t that long ago that we couldn’t stream movies on our phones. But I hope they move towards meaningful extensions of artists and filmmakers.

Less videos targeted at making money and more art is always the dream I suppose. I think the industry is beginning to realise that no one truly cares about a video unless it has a story, even if the story is two girls getting Botox, it’s still more interesting than people just dancing around with Botox.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

I usually can’t sleep and play online chess all night.