July 2015

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Pharrell Williams "Freedom" (Paul Hunter, dir.)

It might be a wee bit ironic that this epic music video is getting a LOT of attention now that it's been emancipated from the Apple Music eco-system, but thankfully everybody gets to catch up now that "Freedom" has been let loose everywhere. Director Paul Hunter goes worldwide to showcase Pharrell's universal message and its relevant to every living creature

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Mumford & Sons "Ditmas" (Alex Southam, dir.)

Ditmas may be in refence to the Brooklyn neighborhood, but the view finds us in the lovely fields of the Kiev countryside with a horse-whispering warrior and a folk-turned-rock band performing in the round.

Alex Southam, director:: "The Cossack character (Evgeniy) in the video is a genuine cossack raised within a cossack community - part of his work now is to break and train horses so was the perfect subject for our film. Whilst the shoot was pretty brutal and unforgiving - particularly for our hero - we captured something really special, no more so than the moments in the final third of the video where our hero finally becomes one with the horse."

PS: Might there be a part two? Stay tuned...

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EZTV "Dust in the Sky" (Ian Perlman, dir.)

In the 2010’s it’s rare to find a straight-up performance video that holds anyone’s interest. Most bands go for a viral gimmick or whatnot in order to be popular (hey, Yo La Tengo). For “Dust in the Sky,” director/DP Ian Perlman sets Brooklyn band EZTV in various settings and keeps his camera moving as the band play a very quality track. A keeper.

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George Ezra "Barcelona" (Ben Reed, dir.)

A game of hide-and-seek with George Ezra filmed over two days at Cornwall, UK's lush Eden Project eco-attraction.   Riff Raff’s Ben Reed has created a beautifully simple and subtle video for George Ezra’s latest track “Barcelona”. 

Ben Reed, director: "We wanted to make something that was as soothing and sweet on the eyes as the song is to the ears. An effortless video that just drew you in. I'd been playing a lot of Where's Wally online and watching old David Attenborough episodes and thinking about the time that Coppola directed a movie from a jacuzzi. So we photographed him singing from hundreds of metres away on a giant zoom lens in the tropical environs of the Eden project. We were going to dress him as various plants and hide him, but it felt too outlandish, so we made him fly instead, because everyone should."

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