David Sedaris offers some brilliant advice to aspiring writers in this delightful piece by New York-based animator Caitlin Cadieux of The Atlantic.

Dominic Flannigan and Peter Marsden of record label LuckyMe have teamed up with Apple Music for a series of experimental shorts featuring some of the label’s artists. The first of what will be five films, “O.N.O” pays homage to the 90s hip hop videos that have inspired the current work of Montréal-based producer/DJ Lunice. However, rather than replicate the visuals exactly, the references offered here remain purposefully abstract, re-imagined in a minimalist, theatrical way as memories — hazy and partial.

Directed by Peter Marsden (LuckyMe)
Producer: Drew O’Neill
Executive Producer: Rik Green
Production Company: Pulse Films
Service Producer: Asmir Pervanic
Service Production Company: Pilaar
Line Producer: Stephanne Choquette
Production Assistant: Angus McMaster
Director of Photography: Christophe Dalpé
Focus Puller: Veronique Dagenais
Steadicam Op: Fred Chamber
Gaffer: Guillaune Pelletier
Production Designer: Mariane Vaillancourt
Styling: Kelly-Ann Panagokas
Make up Artist: Amal Afoussi
Assistant Choreography: Jordan Mae Antoinette & Jason Voltaire
Casting: Helene Rousse at Total Casting
Editor: Peter Marsden
Colourist: Tom Balkwill at Dirty Looks

Starring Lunice Fermin Pierre II
Room 1:
Dineiky Dazulma
Room 2:
Bodi Kapita
Jerry Ishmael
Marcus Brathwaite-Henry
Jean Mary Dorsainvil
Owen Gooden
Jowin Mazile
Room 3:
Jaynesis Saga
Malick Konde
Daniel Ossa
Brandon Horsford
Room 4: Vaina Cecile Crevecoeur
Room 5: Andrew Denis-Lynch
Room 6:
Laury Gabitini
Marilyne Camille
Winnie Maz
Shakeem McGibbon

Special thanks:
Pilaar
MTL Studios
Cinepool
Apple Music

An adorable and uplifting spot for PBS Kids from director Bruce Alcock of Vancouver-based Global Mechanic and London-based animator Joe Bichard (previously featured here).

Client: PBS Kids
Produced by Global Mechanic Media
Executive Producer: Tina Ouellette
Producer: Rachel Welsh

Director: Bruce Alcock
Designer: Joe Bichard
Animation Director: Joe Bichard
Senior Animators:
Daniel Sousa
Ross Plaskow
Ian Godfrey
Ryan Kane
Cesare Battista
Kevin Langdale
Max Ammo
Sebastian Boissett
Sitji Chou

A subtle sci-fi journey for Siriusmo’s track “Important Movie Scene,” told from the single perspective of a mysterious driver’s dash.

Director: Jakob Grunert
DoP: Raphael Beinder
Editor: Bobby Good
Colourist: Jan Schöningh
Aliens, Comets & nasty birds: Cellulloid VFX
Driver: Moritz Friedrich
Editing, Grading & Finishing @ CrosshillStudios Berlin

This video was submitted to us by Berlin-based colourist Jan Schöningh and is just one of the many creative submission we’ve received this week. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Slick visuals for Calvin Harris’s track with Kehlani and Lil Yachty by British director Emil Nava (previously featured here).

A lovely display of practical effects for Knightstown by UK-based filmmaker Helen Plumb. “Eyes Open Wide” features a mesmerizing series of hand-painted brushstrokes all shot in the dark with UV light.

Gorgeous cinematography in this short visual poem by Chicago-based filmmaker Richard Smith III.

Director, DP, Editor: Richard Smith III
Writer: Eleanor Rae Smith
Stylist: Jennifer Detrich-Smith
Producer: Birdseye Rule
Original Score + Mix: Chris Gatton
VO: Stanzi Schalter
Sound Design: Robin Gulcher
Title Design: Mackenzie Freemire
Assistant Editor: Taylor Shanton
Assistant Colorist: Dan Edwards
Additional Footage: Chuck Eaton

Starring:
Hannah Pfister
Madeline Pfister
Alvin Smith III
Roscoe Swartz
Jon Detrich

London-based animator Steve Warne’s incredible stop-motion short about a man haunted by his past as an 80s TV show mascot.

A spooky video for Kayak’s track “Attack Mode” by filmmaker Rory Bentley (previously featured here). Shot in the Scottish Highlands with cinematographer Adam Singodia and pagan masks by David Evan MacKay, Bentley offers up something a bit different as a way of reflecting what the hip hop duo (who are just about to drop their first EP) bring to the UK scene. As he further shared with us:

Rory Bentley’s Website

Rory Bentley on Instagram

Kayak on Facebook

Kayak on Instagram

A fun little history lesson about ‘the greatest band of all time’ from Toronto-based illustrator and animator Joren Cull and Pitchfork TV’s RJ Bentler.

Brooklyn/Seoul-based DJ Kathy Yaeji Lee (aka Yaeji) wanders through New York’s Chinatown in the video for “Drink I’m Sippin On” by Anthony Sylvester of NYC-based CUTSDATFLO.

Directed by Anthony Sylvester
Director of Photography: Drew Saracco
Production Manager: King Joox
Grip: Elias Connelly
Production Asst: Marika Wolffe
Edited by Anthony Sylvester and Forrest Reid
Color Grade by Floyd Neon

This is just one of the many fantastic submissions we’ve received in the past week. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Trippy collage animation by João Pombeiro for Nightmares On Wax’s track “Back To Nature.” Paralleling the eclectic assemblage of rhythms inspired by visits to the Yucatan jungle, ceremonial practices of Peyote and the wisdom of shaman Kuauthli Vasquez, Pombeiro’s accompanying visuals emerge from repurposed magazine clippings, postcards and vintage film.

Directed by João Pombeiro
Artwork: João Pombeiro & Carlos Quitério
Editing: Gonçalo Santos & João Pombeiro
Post-Production: João Pombeiro & Gonçalo Santos

Words of wisdom by Kuauhtli Vasquez
Hikuru chant from a member of the Wixarika tribe
Commissioned by Rik Green for Warp Records