Episode 176: Joe Connor – Film Director, Screenwriter, Photographer & Musician…

On this episode of my Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we cross to Cape Town where we find multi-award-winning Film Director, Musician, Screenwriter and Photographer – Joe Connor on his latest top secret shoot…

Our discussion kicks off with the creation of his brilliant Sky Arts Wild Wood Documentary – a 2023 film that features the story behind the 1993 Paul Weller masterpiece as it celebrates it’s 30th anniversary.

Joe also happened to create the unforgettable kaleidoscope-led music video for Brand New Toy in 2014 – featuring Paul Weller, Ben Gordelier and an actual build of a massive optical toy!

2018 saw Joe’s first EVER feature-length project hit cinema screens as he followed Paul Weller on his road to a landmark performance at The Royal Festival Hall. May Love Travel with You is a celebration of Paul’s True Meanings album and the concerts that led to the Other Aspects double album release.
The film documents a stunning performance of the full album, along with plenty of deepcuts and PW classics, inter-cut with interviews with the man himself, and array of amazing collaborators!

In 2008, Joe graduated from London’s illustrious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with First Class Honours in Performance Art, specialising in Directing, Mime and experimental theatre.
While at the Central School, he founded the anarchic theatre collective Parrot {In The} Tank, whose cinematic aesthetic and light-hearted visual humour saw them create shows for the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Roundhouse, The Prague Scenofest and The Arts Theatre in Leicester Square in London’s West End.

As a filmmaker, Joe has created music videos for some of the biggest artists in music from The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Sam Smith, Harry Styles and Kylie Minogue to Japanese legend Hikaru Utada, Rag’n’Bone Man, Elbow and Placebo.

Joe’s multitude of talents and trades, combined with his innate storytelling inclination, allow him to craft narratives that entertain, enlighten, and forge connections. His stories reflect a deep understanding of human nature and offer a lens through which we can explore and appreciate our shared experiences.

His work has been recognised with nominations at Cannes Lions, D&AD, British Arrows, 1.4 Awards, Creative Circles, with 5 x UK Music Video Award nominations, Vimeo Staff Picks and a Best Director award at the Indie Music Video Festival.

His first album, released under the pseudonym Vincent Sonder, also happened to be recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio…

Find out more about Joe’s amazing work at josephvconnor.com

Click your preferred podcast platform to listen…

2014 – Paul Weller – Brand New Toy

Writing for PromoNews in 2014, Joe said “Paul Weller in a big Kaleidoscope – Sounds about right.  Upon hearing the track I started to think about toys and playful things and my favourite toy when I was a kid was the humble Kaleidoscope.  For the briefest of horrible moments I thought about doing this all digitally but then I thought Paul Weller isn’t really a digital kind of guy – it doesn’t sit well – when Paul does something, it’s real and honest. So we set about building a big kaleidoscope – 30ft in length, built by Chief’s own production designer Marc Ingham.”
Read the full article here…

2023 – Paul Weller – Wild Wood Documentary – Sky Arts

Keep an eye on Sky Arts for repeat showings of this fabulous documentary.

The film, created with White Light Films, and an exec producer credit for Nicky Weller, examines Paul Weller’s human journey through changing times in the early 1990’s, the new direction in sound that he found and the resulting tour de force that is Wild Wood.

The film explores the track Wild Wood – a metaphor to life in the cities (and his move from city life to a more rural-England as he enters middle-age); Sunflower, a love song wrapped up inside a solid-rock composition and Moon on Your Pyjamas as a love-letter from a father to a son – Paul’s song to his then-young son.

Through new interviews, Paul Weller and the band talk in-general about the period of 1992/3 and what was happening inside the studio, as well as events outside-the-studio-window that influenced the writing and composing of the tracks for Wild Wood.

The film also interviews other contributors to provide social and historical context to the backdrop of the times in early 1990’s as well as other performers and contributors to the Wild Wood record.

Paul Weller – May Love Travel With You – Documentary

Joe was commissioned to create a feature length documentary around Paul Weller’s “Other Aspects” shows at the Royal Festival Hall. The two concerts were totally was unique for Paul, unable to hide behind his bombastic sound, exposed in the quiet of this beautiful room he crafted a unique atmosphere with unforgettable music.
Featuring exclusive interviews, performance footage from the sold-out concerts and the likes of Lucy Rose, Hannah Peel and the Paul Weller band… this is one not to be missed…
The wonderful documentary was nominated for ‘Best Live Video’ at the UK Music Video Awards.

The Moons featuring Paul Weller – Something Soon

Having launched his video directing career in early 2012 with a painstaking cut-out animation video for The Moons – Double Vision Love (see further down the page), Joe reunited with The Moons, to direct the music video for Something Soon – featuring Paul Weller. It’s a classic black and white performance of the band and their special guest, enhanced with simple yet effective ink-in-water VFX…

Vincent Sonder – Vincent Sonder

Vincent Sonder is the musical pseudonym of acclaimed filmmaker Joe Connor.
“This album started in Paul Wellers Black Barn studio after Paul encouraged me to create an album with the material I was writing. The album was finished in Soup Studios in London in 2017 and released.”
Feature in Ear To The Ground Music’s top 3 singer-songwriters of 2021
Find out more at vincentsonder.com – You can also buy the album on Bandcamp here…

SUPERMODEL

As discussed on the podcast, Joe’s latest music project sees him teaming up with fellow film-maker and musician, Emile Rafael for SUPERMODEL… Dark beats, distant hotels, decadence and decay…. Find out more on Bandcamp here…

Breathe – A Joe Connor Short-Film

Astronaut – A Joe Connor Short-Film

Winner of Best Director & Best Original Concept at the Monza Film Festival.
Nominated at Edmonton Film Festival, MANIFF, Venice Shorts and premiered on Directors Notes

The Rolling Stones – Living in a Ghost Town

Shot globally in the first few days of the word wide, Covid-19 Lockdown : March 2020.
Shortlisted at the 1.4 Awards 2020

Coldplay – Everglow

Nominated for Best Video at the UK Music Video Awards

Ellie Goulding – Like a Saviour

The Moons – Heart & Soul

One of Joe’s early music videos for The Moons… shot at London’s iconic Screen On The Green cinema in Islington, Joe photographed this himself, shooting the band on stage and in the stalls, and generally making the most of the cool setting, adding on-screen vintage burlesque dancer footage, and neon FX to the mix.

The Moons – Double Vision Love

Taken from the album Fables Of History – this video for Double Vision Love was created with over 8,250 individual hand-cutout, hand-numbered figures of the band all timed in sequence to the track – which took the collective effort of a lot of people over seven days to complete. 

And it was eco-friendly. “The video was created with recycled paper, printed with recycled ink at an eco printers and then subsequently recycled after we’d finished,” says Joe.

Sam Smith – Pray

Nominated for Best Video at the UKMVA