the Craft

Q&As and behind-the-scenes info on the latest and greatest
commercials, shorts and music videos.

14^th Mar

HowRamanDjafaricreatedAshnikko'sfaux-claymationfantasyworld

In an epic, anarchic music video for her new track, Worms, the American singer, rapper and songwriter rides a demon monster truck into battle, accompanied by a motley crew of animated beasts. shots caught up with the BLINKINK director to find out how he brought this weird and wonderful world to life.

8^th Mar

HowDavidDearlovepackedapunchwithhisprose

David Dearlove's latest short saw a couple of argumentative lads swap wallops for words in sweary scrimmage Fighting Talk. We caught up with the Blink director to find out how he landed his hit.

2^nd Mar

How Emergency imagined the last man on Earth

In Ogilvy's haunting short film for the humanitarian charity, we see the devastating consequences of nuclear war. shots spoke with the director Igor Borghi, to discuss the challenges of creating such a powerful film with a modest production budget and the logistics of shooting in an abandoned town.

1^st Mar FEAR FOCUS

How Hugh Mulhern forged the future of body-horror

Kicking off March's Fear Focus, we speak to Riff Raff's Hugh Mulhern about how he put together the frenetic, freaky and downright fierce visuals for Hak Baker's Telephones 4 Eyes.

23^rd Feb AD OF THE WEEK

How Don't Panic and Stink brought the DEC's message to the streets of Ukraine

A year since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched a powerful spot invoking hope amidst the devastation. We caught up with Don't Panic's Rick Dodds, writer and co-director of the film, to find out how they found a song in a warzone.

23^rd Feb

The ABR Trust puts its faith in Feral Youth

Russell Brand and the late Harry Dean Stanton lend their voices to this new campaign for the ABR Trust, while director Anyrin discusses the film's inception and ultimate goal.

20^th Feb

How flooding pitches led to BFI recognition

Detailing how football affects, and is affected by, climate change, Tom Zaranko-Carver's enlightening and craftily constructed short, Play On, was nominated as a finalist for Best Documentary in the BFI Future Film Awards. We caught up with the director (whose day job is as a Copywriter at 180 Amsterdam) to find out how he found a film in flooding, and what industry recognition means to him.

10^th Feb STRAIGHT 8

How to swipe right on your first straight 8

With entries open for straight 8's 2023 Cannes Lions shootout, we speak to the team at Girl&Bear/VCCP to find out how their inventive inaugural Super 8 film earned them a Bronze in last year's competition.

Spotlight

Some recent interviews in our "How To" series.

30^th Jul SPORT FOCUS

HowHenryHobsoncraftedanOlympicdouble-decathlon

shots speaks to director Henry Hobson about how he managed to put the viewer into 20+ sports through dazzling first-person photography for Discovery+.

8^th Jul SPORT FOCUS

HowFactoryFifteenfilledTokyowitheastereggs

The Nexus collective, made up of Kibwe Tavares, Jonathan Gales and Paul Nichols, tell us how pre- and post-Covid planning, animation, VFX and shoots 1000 miles apart combined to create a disorientating journey through an Olympics-themed Tokyo.

14^th Jun

HowSwyftmadeasofaadthatisn'tasofaad

We hear from the makers of a new campaign for sofa brand Swyft that aims to defy the conventions of more traditional sofa commercials .

10^th Jun

HowCraigDavidmovedthedialforKuruptFM

Things aren't all they seem in this Ollie Wolf directed hybrid promo for Kurupt FM that mixes classic promo tropes with some behind the scenes tomfoolery.

25^th May

Howtocutamusicvideowithacrewof500

For VANS' branded promo of JPEGMAFIA's track Prone, Final Cut editor Ryan Beck had the daunting task of sculpting a 2-minute megamix from fan-shot footage.

24^th Jan

How to cast an eyebrow-raising commercial

Edgar Wright and Leo Burnett's latest McDonalds spot is the talk of the ad-break at the moment, but how did they fill the screen with so many forehead flickers? We caught up with casting directors Emily Tilelli and Zita Zutic Konak and casting associate Bex Reynolds, from ET Casting, to find out how they assembled the ensemble.

19^th Jan

How ASICS played mind games in a new documentary

ASICS's new documentary, Mind Games - The Experiment, explores the impact of exercise on cognitive function. Charting the progress of four sedentary mind gamers, the film is a captivating and ground-breaking study that explores the power of exercise to sharpen the mind. Here, Neil Dawson, Co-Founder of the agency that created the campaign, discusses its genesis, how it grew and why branded content takes courage.

6^th Dec

How Samuel Bayer travelled through time

In an emotional and enchanting labour of love, the prolific director delves into his archives to create a powerful montage that examines the darkness, chaos, beauty, and fragility of life. shots caught up with Bayer to find out more.

16^th Nov

Nez shines a light on The Boy and the Moon

Ruffian director Nez has just released a beautiful short film which puts an imagined version of legendary Canadian-born architect Frank Gehry centre stage, alongside the moon. Here, Nez, talks intuition, inspiration and lunar lighting.

9^th Nov

How the WWF and NOMINT's sang a stop-motion song of ice and fire

After tackling a frozen stop-motion model for the WWF last year, directors Yannis Konstantinidis and Christos Lefakis went to the other end of the temperature scale for 2022's film, A Flammable Planet. We spoke to Konstantinidis about taming the elements, one frame at a time.