the Craft

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

15^th Apr FUTURE FOCUS

HowGreenpeaceturnedaflightsimulatorintoanenvironmentalscanner

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

HowAvios'newcampaignglidedontoscreens

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.

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.

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.

5^th Mar SHORT FILM & DOCUMENTARY FOCUS

Joe Wilson's Old Kent Road adventure

Captured over many days wandering along London's Old Kent Road, Joe Wilson's short is a unique record of some of the interesting people he encountered on his journey. Here, the director explains why he wanted to document the area, why it took a long time to release the film, and what he hopes people might learn from it.

23^rd Feb

How Richard Bullock made waves with his ambitious amphibious spot

This remarkable film promoting Super Rugby Pacific 2024 was the brainchild of Revolver writer/director Richard Bullock. Here he dives into the making of his underwater epic There's Something In The Water and reveals the challenges of dealing with weighted players and water-filled rugby balls.

14^th Feb SUPER BOWL 2024

How WW7 basked in the Legend of the Lizard

As part of GEICO's Super Bowl activity, The Martin Agency tasked WW7's David Shafei with creating a mockumentary that answered one of the great brand mascot enigmas: where did the GEICO Gecko come from? Here, Shafei shares with shots the delicate steps it takes to unmask an icon.

14^th Feb SUPER BOWL 2024

How Adam Morse brought his Super Bowl vision to life

Employing authentic storytelling and innovative in-camera techniques, the director's debut Big Game spot offers a first-person perspective of Javier, a visually-impaired protagonist, as he captures moving moments through the lens of his Google phone, seamlessly showcasing its guided frame feature. shots caught up with the director to find out more.

13^th Feb

How African mythology inspired a Queer metamorphasis

An entrancing visual journey intertwined with Black Queerness and African spirituality, Justice Jamal Jones' Notes on a Siren offers a thought-pro