upcoming Focuses

The trends and topics we'll be covering over the next year.
If you have a profile or opinion to pitch, click on the Focus to send it over.

April 2024

The Future Focus

What will tomorrow bring? Is creativity, or humanity, at risk from Artificial Intelligence? How will increasing eco-awareness impact consumerism? In a topsy-turvy world seeing fast-moving culture shifts, shots devotes two months to garnering insights from the soothsayers of ad-land on the shape of things to come.

June 2024

The Cannes Focus

Once again shots heads to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to take a rosé-tinted view of the world’s greatest celebration of advertising. There will be chats with Jury heads, predictions of Lion-worthy work from around the globe and general Croisette chit-chat.

July 2024

The Music and Sound Focus

With sometimes just seconds to tell a story and set tone, the aurals – as well as the visuals – need to be spot on in ads. This month we sound out the musical maestros and foley funsters worth listening out for.

August 2024

The YDA Focus

The rising stars who won Golds in this year’s Young Director Award share with shots the origins and ideas and behind their films, the production highs and lows and what they’re planning next.

September 2024

The Inspiration Focus

What are the cultural artefacts, random objects, rituals and synaptic sparks that generate fresh ideas? We talk to some of ad land’s most innovative thinkers about creative inspiration. What it is, where they find it and do the AI bots have it too...

October 2024

The Photography & Cinematography Focus

In a cacophonous digital culture that bombards us with a stream of personal image sharing and branded visuals, it can be hard for photography to stand out. This month shots pulls focus on the DPs and photographers whose work sets the optic nerves a-tingle and considers the input of non-human image generators.

November 2024

The Christmas Focus

Last year John Lewis pulled off a horticultural miracle by creating a cute carnivorous plant, Aldi’s chatty carrot went Willy Wonka and Tesco made tree-people. What Christmas creatures will wander onto our screens this year? We review the top festive spots and chat to the ad land Santas who delivered them.

December 2024

The Review/Preview Focus

As the year turns we look back – via thought pieces, profiles and interviews – at the cultural trends and marketing developments of 2023 and consider what the coming year will bring to advertising.

Have a general enquiry or want to submit work for multiple focuses?
Send us an email.

Want to pitch a director for one of our Director Showcases?
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