the Craft

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

22^nd May

HowJonny&WillgaveJordanssouls

The BLINKINK puppet masters bring their reanimation skills to Jordan Brand and Nike Greater China. We caught up with the pair to find out what was needed to breathe air into icons.

20^th May

HowGreenpeacefoughtforAustralia'sforests

The environmental organisation tugs on our heartstrings with a moving film highlighting the detrimental effects of deforestation on the country's beloved wildlife. Photoplay director Dropbear explains how he and his team skilfully combined CGI, 3D printing, and traditional stop-motion techniques to bring this touching story to life.

17^th May

How AIDES celebrated growing old gratefully

In a powerful and reflective short film created by Strike for the 40th anniversary of AIDES, an association supporting those living with HIV/AIDS, director Ariela Dorf highlights a moving concept that many HIV patients couldn't have imagined 40 years ago - aging. While many of us grapple to reverse its effects, these characters think there's nothing more beautiful...

17^th May FUTURE FOCUS

straight 8 at 25: Boundary bending films

As part of the Future Focus, shots tasked straight 8 founder Ed Sayers to find five visionary entries that not only pushed the constraints of the comp, but blew him away in the process. Here are his thoughts on how each piece broke boundaries, as well as infomation on how to get involved.

1^st May

Dermot Malone talks frankly about King Frankie

Sweetshop director Dermot Malone's debut feature film will be released later this year. Here, he discusses making King Frankie on his own terms, the debt he owes to advertising, and why commitment is the key to success.

15^th Apr FUTURE FOCUS

How Greenpeace turned a flight simulator into an environmental scanner

shots speaks to AlmapBBDO CCO Marco Giannelli about how the innovative, crowd-sourced sky-scanning project came to fly.

25^th Mar AD OF THE WEEK

How Avios' new campaign glided onto screens

Uncommon London's new campaign for IAG Loyalty's Avios points scheme is a beautiful, calm and tranquil film featuring a sea of e-foilers gliding across a placid body of water. Here, director Sam Walker explains that creating the film was not all plain sailing.

18^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

Will Webb's Personal Effects

Recently off its festival run, Will Webb's quietly emotive short is the story of a sister coming to terms with the death of her brother while searching for meaning in his last request. Inspired by the death of his own brother, Webb discusses the challenges he faced making the film, and the power of using - and not using - music.

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.

14^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

How Broken Antenna filmed a tale of two towns

More than just a music video, the promo for Hak Baker and Joe Armon-Jones’ track Wrong Side of Town is also a revealing mini-documentary about the duality of an East London neighbourhood bifurcated by gentrification. Knucklehead directing duo Broken Antenna (aka. Gustav Newby and Myles McAuliffe) share how they created their fascinating, mixed-media, genre-splicing film.

11^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

Comedic short asks a question you might not want to answer

A short film recently released after being on the festival circuit features a young couple and a seemingly innocuous question about pornography that opens a metaphorical can of worms.

7^th Mar BRITISH ARROWS 2024

How the British Arrows found perspective with ARRI

For this year's social films, the Arrows invited experts from agency, production and post to comment on a tumultuous year for the industry in front of some of the UK's finest vistas. The twist: the 'location' was actually the powerful LED production stage at ARRI Stage London's facilities. shots caught up with the team behind the shoot to find out how they made the virtual a reality.

7^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

How short film Aborted was brought to life

Rebecca Knighton and Lee Bamsey's newly released short film, about a world in which pregnancy can be fatal, is a chilling tale which the pair hope will help greenlight the feature script from which it is adapted.

6^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

How to make a McMockumentary

In a flipping hilarious fake documentary brought to life by NORD DDB, two amateur sleuths investigate the origins of the suspiciously Big-Mac-shaped hamburger menu icon. shots caught up with the creatives responsible for cooking up this laughable fast-food feat.