Playlist: Ollie Wolf

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

I think Cloé Bailly’s recent video for Jacques The Never Ending Song was epic. So many great visual ideas in it and full of wit and flavour. That’s a banger.

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

Michael Jackson’s Black or White video had a huge effect on me. The opening with Macaulay Culkin and the morphing faces blew my little 8-year-old mind. I'm just saddened that with the announcement of this new documentary about him I’ll never be able to respect him again. But as a kid, his work had a huge inspiration on me. 

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

Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal is a classic. The way it breaks down with them screaming feels so powerful and the dancing is just sublime. Goosebumps good.

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

I think anything Spike Jonze does is always inspiring. His attention to detail and his flare and wit is always something I strive for in my own work. 

"I think its harder for promo directors now to make a living from it as, like many creative people, we end up investing our fee for the good of the job." 

What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m writing this listening to Do It Again by Soichi Terada. That's gonna make me sound like a right hipster prick but have a listen it’s a tune. If you like that sort of thing, that is. 

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

Boringly, I’d have to say my Sennheiser headphones for keeping me focused when I’m trying to get a treatment done.

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

Massive Attack. Karmakoma was the first single I ever bought, and to create a film that sits along side their canon of incredible work would be a dream gig. 

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

I think the budgets have gone down but the level of quality has stayed the same. Which is tough. I think its harder for promo directors now to make a living from it as, like many creative people, we end up investing our fee for the good of the job. I think a union for promo directors to make sure we are supported would be a good step forward as, currently, that doesn’t exist as it does in commercials. 

Where do you see the music video industry being in five years’ time?

They all be created by AI directors and camera drones as we try and find a shady spot on Mars to build a holiday home.

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

I played a dolphin in a music video for the band Friendly Fires. The track was called Get On Board. It was my first and last acting role.