the Craft

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

15^th May STRAIGHT 8

Howtomaintainawinningstraight8streak

Last year's Focus Shootout saw Iris Worldwide pick up Gold with its hilarious film, The Cost Of Living; their twelfth entry in the competition's history. We spoke to the agency's Global ECD, Grant Hunter, about how the team consistently think up new ideas for the unique format, and ask for tips for any brave companies looking to enter this year's Cannes Lions iteration.

12^th May Tech Focus

HowPaulTrillo’sshortfilmfoundtheartistwithinAI

The director/robot collaboration – made with Runway’s Gen-2 generative video – has resulted in a moving ‘human’ story that probes the nature of identity and memory. Here Trillo tells shots how he mined the subjective reality and genuine beauty that AI can create.

27^th Apr TECH FOCUS

Is this the first ad generated entirely in AI?

Using GPT4, Midjourney, Runway Gen2, Eleven Labs, and SOUNDRAW, AI enthusiast PizzaLater managed to create a horrifying fake commercial for a pizza restaurant generated only from a few prompts. Surreal experiment or terrifying look at what's to come? Jamie Madge sat down with the creator to find out.

24^th Apr

How Uncommon took Formula E to new heights

For its third collaboration with Formula E, Uncommon London pushed the limits as well as seemingly pushing a Formula E race car out of an aeroplane. Here, we find out how, and why.

14^th Mar

How Raman Djafari created Ashnikko's faux-claymation fantasy world

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

How David Dearlove packed a punch with his prose

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.

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.

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.

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.