While last year’s Rushes Soho Shorts Music Video selection threw up a nice mix of impressive promos, this year I’ve had a hell of a time selecting only three favourites from the many quality offerings. In the end a prostitute, a serial killer and a storm at sea earned their places amongst my picks.
Spiritualized: Hey Jane – AG Rojas
Promo directors rarely get to craft stories as well as AG Rojas’ NSFW 10 minute film for Spiritualized’s Hey Jane, and that’s probably a good thing as I don’t think I could handle the intensity of the journey he puts his transvestite protagonist through every time I wanted to watch a promo. Emotionally epic, whilst being laser focussed on a life you’ve probably never considered before, Hey Jane will undoubtedly be cited in years to come as one of the standout promos from music video history.
The Shoes: Time to Dance – Daniel Wolfe
Ever since El Vez posted Daniel Wolfe’s Time to Dance promo I’ve had an irrational fear of people wearing fencing gear. Scratch that, there’s nothing at all irrational about my fear after seeing how convincing Jake Gyllenhaal is as a psychotic murderer stalking Dalston hipsters. Remind me to turn down the next party/club night invite I get.
The Dø: Gonna Be Sick – Nez
Least you think it takes a killing or two to making it into my picks, let’s finish off with the all together calmer (well until the storm hits) but highly inventive Nez directed promo for The Dø’s Gonna Be Sick. The black and white cinematography and title cards play perfectly with Olivia Merilahti’s sea swept performance, and the hurricane section has to be the best use of silk sheets in history.
