A stylish narrative for Mercedes-Benz by director and cinematographer David Zuschlag from Cologne, Germany. “Revive” follows two wayward souls similarly drifting through life, and speeding past endless opportunities, only to find peace and quiet in each other.

Directed by David Zuschlag
DP: Cedric Schanze
Executive Producer: André Josselin, David Zuschlag
Producer: Tim Schaer
Editor: David Zuschlag
Colorist: Swen Linde (We Fade To Grey)
VFX: Thomas Kaplanek, Thorben Winkler (grown)
Composition & Sound Design: Moritz Staub (Staub-Audio)
Client: Mercedes-Benz, LG Electronics
Agency: OSK

Talents: Sarah Krause, Slavko Popadic
Voiceover text: Florian Schreiber
Voiceover talent: Manon Kahle

This video was submitted by David Zuschlag and selected by our team. Click here if you have branded content of your own you’d like us to check out!

A trippy video for Bazzi’s track “Mine” by director Benjamin Kutsko.

A fun little animation by Stockholm-based animator Simon Appel, aka one half of directing duo Part One (previously featured here). Featuring sound by KLINT, the short clip was created using an iPad and composited in Adobe After Effects. Drawn to testing unconventional methods, Appel shared with us:

“You can get some really unexpected results when you’re limited and forced to find creative solutions. With ‘Waveform’ I wanted to explore how we can use apps in film making and to what extent a tablet can replace a desktop computer.“

Check out the results above as well as some gifs from the project below!

Simon Appel on Instagram

KLINT on Instagram

Part One on Behance

Video for Halsey’s track “Sorry.” Co-directed by Sing J Lee and Halsey, both the song and the video were recorded in one take. Cinematography by Kristof Brandl (previously featured here).

Young lovers attempt to escape from ominous puritanical forces in this video by Toronto-based director Gavin Michael Booth for SYML (previously featured here).

Really appreciate Portland-based director Leah R. Brown’s commitment to creating such a perfectly weird and slightly retro vision for No Kind of Rider’s track “Distinct.” The video follows a young woman, trapped in an abstract, gallery-like space observed by an audience of one. While inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal, Brown is ultimately interested in uniqueness, particularly how we differentiate ourselves in the face of social pressures to fit in. As she explains:

“Conceptually, I wanted to tell some sort of visual story of what it means to be distinct and set apart in a world where the pressure weighs on the human race, specifically in Western Culture, to follow the same path that everyone else is on or enter and exit in the same way. We are constantly being watched by what appears to be an audience, but that audience is most often oppressive… having expectations that we can never live up to.”

Watch “Distinct” above and check out some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot below!

Directed by Leah R. Brown
Assistant Director: Karina Ripper
Director of Photography: Will Walle
Gaffer: Bryndyn Mcnew
1st AC: Travis Stanton
Camera PA: Mimi Bergman
Production Designer: Jade Harris
BTS photos: Ben Weyerhaeuser
BTS Video: Melanie Brown
Wardrobe: Sarah Baker
Makeup and Hair: Meghan Hoffman
Craft Service: Melissa Shea
Brittany Donahue: Production Assistant
Dancer: Tara A. Nicholas
Audience: Dani Ransom
Editor: Leah R. Brown
Animators: Vance Reeser, Eli Savage

Leah R. Brown’s Website

No Kind of Rider’s Website

Nice little piece by Buenos Aires-based artist Diego Diapolo. Not exactly sure what this is but kinda love it!

Haunting visuals by British filmmaker Jack Weatherley for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s reworking of Toydrum’s track “I’ve Got a Future,” which features vocals of late singer-songwriter Gavin Clark.

Some breathtaking shots in this short dance film by Tenerife-born, Valencia-based photographer and filmmaker Derek Pedrós. Set to Kai Schumacher’s track “A New Error” and featuring dancer Chey Jurado, “Islander” attempts to convey the particular sensibility and eternal sense of belonging that marks those who have grown up surrounded by water. According to Pedrós, it doesn’t matter where in the world one ends up, being an Islander is all about “feeling complete in a place where others feel isolated. Free, where others feel limited.”

A lovely animated short by Taipei-born, Brooklyn-based artist and motion designer Su Hui Kai. Following from his first film, “Looking For,” which focused on the evolution of life on earth, Kai now turns his attention to the underlying problems of modern society. Noting aspects of our emotional lives that often go unnoticed, Kai explores the feelings of anxiety and alienation that plague us subtly and daily:

“I believe that over-emphasizing the importance of the individual may not be suitable for all. In our society everyone wants others’ attention, but everyone talks and nobody listens. When the Internet and smartphones came out, it became worse. When we chase our desire, which is rapidly magnified, we will all live in a state of anxiousness and feel vacant. The more we want, the more emptiness we receive.”

Find out how Kai envisions reestablishing our lost connections above. You can also check out some early character sketches and mood board from the making of the film below!

Directed by Su Hui Kai
Music: Troy Lin, Yi Chi Lin, and Owen Phillips

Su Hui Kai’s Website

Su Hui Kai on Instagram

An innocent kitchen mishap triggers a series of murderous fantasies in this video by Spanish filmmaker Jonathan Cremades for Salfvman’s track “Oro.”

Directed and Edited by Jonathan Cremades
DOP: Guillermo Polo
Camera Assitant & Gaffer: Carlos Surián
Art: Blanca Añón
Stylism & Makeup: Rocío Juarez

Starring:
Girl: Marta López
Men in the tub: Marcos Saz
Taxi Driver: Paco Caballer
Woman: Alba Estarlich
Boy in the disco: Julian Hackenberg

This video was submitted by Jonathan Cremades and selected by our team. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Kristof Brandl’s cinematic take on Charlotte Cardin’s track “The Kids.” Click here to check out previous posts of Brandl’s work, if you haven’t already! See full credits below.

Directed & Edited by Kristof Brandl
Written by Kristof Brandl & Shane Patrick
Cinematographer: Christophe Collette, CSC
Additional Cinematography: Kristof Brandl
Executive Producer: Alexandre Auray
Line Producer: Clara L’Heureux-Garcia
Puller Focus: Maxime Boutin
2nd Camera Assistant: Erin Weisgerber
Camera Loader: Robin Rigault
8mm & Super 16mm: Benoît Jones-Vallée & Laurent Schrænen
Photographer: Gaëlle Leroyer
Gaffer: Jacques Girard
Best Boy: Conrad Roy & Louis Cloutier
Key Grip: Stéphane Klopp
Best Boy: Marcel Bonneville, Camille Bergeron Bégin
Sound Man: Laurent Ouellette, Dominic Remiro
Grading: Simon Boisx
Art Director: Frédérique Ste-Marie & Maxime Normand
Art Assistant: Sophie B.Jacques, Geneviève Boiteau, Véronique Perreault, Yann Filly-Paré
Costume: Amanda Van Der Siebes
Makeup and Hair: Catherine Labelle
Flame Artist & VFX Supervisor: Flore Mounier @MikrosMPC
Special Effects: Remy Couture
Special Effects Supervisor: Blood Brothers
Stunt Coordinator: Jean-François Lachapelle
Riggers: Stéphane Julien and Sébastien Peres
1st Assistant Director: Clara L’Heureux-Garcia
2nd Assistant Director: Mathieu Turcotte
Production Coordinator: Gabrielle Dussault
Unit Manager: Joseph Liane
Key Production Assistant: Jeremy Hughes
Production Assistant: Patrice Arseneault, Iskouhie Yacoub, Georges Mazraani
Movie Lab: MELS
Sound Design: Jean-David Perron & Theo “Lewis” Porcet @CULT NATION