The Music Video Focus

This month’s focus tunes into music videos – from profiles of hot new promo supremos, to an in-depth analysis of groundbreaking promos and talents in the medium.

Talent

Expanding concepts: The flexible world of rubberband.

Stretch it any way you like, you’ll find magic percolating in the work of New York-based SMUGGLER directorial duo rubberband., AKA Jason Sondock and Simon Davis. Here they share with Tim Cumming the processes behind their cinematic storytelling on spots for Reebok, Nowness and Calvin Klein and more, and their artfully choreographed, conceptual music videos for artists including LCD Soundsystem, Goldlink and Steve Lacey.

Talent

The Way I See It: Edgar Wright

Spaced, Shaun Of The Dead, Scott Pilgrim, Last Night In Soho; regardless of your Edgar Wright entry-point, the frenetic filmmaker’s wit and passion makes fans of all who view his work. With a recent eyebrow-raising McDonald’s spot (shot through Moxie Pictures) an indication of more commercial work on the horizon, we caught up with Wright to chat about working with legends at an early age, the creative testbed offered by music videos, and how making yourself your own ‘dream viewer’ is the way to please those crowds.

Inspiration

Playlist: Alice Kunisué

We chat with the Mirror Mirror and HALAL director Alice Kunisué about her strange feet, future optimism and some superb dancing music videos.

Talent

Nick and Chloé's adventures at the edges of consciousness

Like all good surrealists, CASEY directorial duo Nick West and Chloé Claverie mine the rich filmic opportunities afforded by strange landscapes, memories of infant dreams and mysterious hypnagogic happenings. Here they talk to Carol Cooper about the creation of their mesmerising music videos.

Talent

Gregory Ohrel: Provocateur with purpose

Kicking off January's Music Video Focus, Selena Schleh speaks to Gregory Ohrel, whose brutal, incendiary and stimulative promo for Puerto Rican rapper Residente’s protest track, This Is Not America, provoked deeper thought on the nature of nationalism.

Inspiration

Playlist: Elijah B Torn

We hear from Elijah B Torn, the Head of Creative Production at Found Objects, about animated music videos, board game soundtracks, and some Teenage Engineering...

Inspiration

Playlist: Jay Green

Director Jay Green at Compulsory talks about cow farms in rural Lincolnshire, spending hours watching music channels and his VR headset...

Inspiration

The MVs that made us: Hip-hop at 50

Closing off January's Music Video Focus, Pulse Films' Head of Music Videos Rik Green and EP Nnena Nwakodo, plus a handful of the company's top directors talk us through the hip-hop heavyweights that shaped their vision.

The Purpose-Led & Politics Focus

This month we lobby the opinions of industry experts on advertising’s intersection with political and ethical debate. Are young creatives pushing a more purpose-led culture? Should campaigns be campaigning on the issues of the day? When does promotion become propaganda?

The YDA 2023 Focus

Taking a deep dive with 2023's Gold winners, we unearth the stories that birthed their films, dissect their production strategies, and celebrate the significance of earning a Young Directors Award.

The New Talent Focus

Who are the most notable newbies in ad land? Which directors, producers and creatives are making waves, where do they come from, what do they have to say and how can the industry attract and nurture them?

The Comedy Focus

This year’s funniest focus features interviews, profiles and opinion pieces from advertising’s leading purveyors of hilarity. Have the world’s recent woes led to a loss of LOLs in marketing or is comedy even more crucial than before?

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