Playlist: Owen O’Sullivan

Marshall Street Editors' senior assistant Owen O’Sullivan, steps up for this week's Playlist

Having been with the company for over three years, O'Sullivan has cut for a wide range of clients including H&M, adidas & Experian and promos for artists such as Etta Bond & Chris Loco, Amber Mark, Maximo Park, Formation, Klyne and Foals.

What’s the best music video you’ve seen recently and why?

I really liked the Young Thug Wyclef Jean video from earlier in the year. It made me laugh a lot. It’s mainly text, sprinkled with gratuitous images of hot women. Not sure what that says about me?

The video for Royal Blood Lights Out is cool too. It’s a simple performance video, enhanced by a really clever and well-crafted visual idea.

What’s the first music video you remember being impressed by?

I remember as a child in the mid 90’s being allowed to stay up late one night and watching the video for Parklife and thinking “What the fuck was that?” In a good way.

I think that video informed a lot of my childhood actually. It explains my slight cockney twang at least.

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

Not sure I have a favourite, but there are a lot of videos that have deep roots in my subconscious. Fatboy Slim Praise You, I remember watching with my parents, it was unusual for us to like the same thing.

Radiohead Street Spirit [dir. Jonathan Glazer] always gets me in the feels and Beastie Boys Sabotage is a lot of fun. More recently, I couldn’t stop watching Flying Lotus Until the Quiet Comes directed by Kahlil Joseph.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspiration?

I’ve always been a Glazer fanboy and having been a runner at Academy (a few years back now), it was great to get an up close look at his considerable body of work. As I’ve already mentioned I’m a fan of Kahlil Joseph’s, and always keep a look out for his work. But its about variety I think. Getting out to the cinema a few times a month, even to see a film that you think you might not like. I occasionally like a musical too.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Loads of stuff. I saw Toots and the Maytals recently and have been listening to them a lot.  Aside from that Future Island when I’m feeling good. The National when I'm feeling melancholy and everything in between.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

My iPhone definitely. Sometimes I look at it and think “We are living in the future”. Its like a tricorder, but better.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why?

There are loads, but the one that first come to mind is Boards of Canada. Their music has such a cinematic feel to it.

At the other end of the spectrum I’d love to cut a video for Foals. I think it would be a lot of fun and their videos are always great.

How do you feel the promo industry has changed since you started in it?

I think at its best, it remains an industry that isn’t afraid of new ideas and experimentation. The nature of the format means that people making music videos can have a new idea and implement it quickly and I love that.

It’s no secret that budgets are getting smaller, while the demand for music videos and content is higher than ever. So it’s becoming really important to craft a film that stands out. And that poses a really exciting challenge.

Music videos have had a resurgence of late; where do you see the industry being in five years’ time?

Music videos are so diverse and all-encompassing that it’s difficult to see where exactly they might go. VR and 360° video is a thing at the moment, but like 3D TVs before it, I feel that it might be a bit of a fad. Don’t quote me on that though.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

I’m big into American Football. I used to play a bit too. A lot of my friends find it hard to watch, but I like to think of it as a game of chess with big brawny moving pieces.

senior assistant