Jim Longden Delivers Bold Cross-Continental Vision in Bakar’s 'bleach'

When artist Bakar approached director Jim Longden with a vision for his latest music video, Jim not only directed but also shouldered the full production process, coordinating budgets, scheduling, equipment hire, film stock, and lab work with support from collaborators at Twin Brains in Japan and GLC Studio in London.

The ambitious shoot took place across both countries over several days, involving extensive low-fps green-screen sequences—Jim’s first time working with VEX and green-screen technology, a key element specified in Bakar’s brief. Despite the hectic demands of the project, the result is a video that reflects both the intensity of its creation and the distinctive creative vision at its core.

Director Jim Longden commented, "From standing by the camera and its operator in Tokyo for hours - dodging heatstroke and avoiding overanalysing existence - to a frantic guerrilla shoot racing through the city, where I kept repeating bizarre Japanese phrases I had learnt to then being back in London, staring into green in a calming studio, and after somehow switching into Hunter S. Thompson as a toddler, gallivanting through festivals, trying to capture the world's whimsical characters. I must say, it sure was an experience."