The hentai and 4chan screens in the background on this guy's computer really makes this quite entertaining to watch. An unexpected music video & short film.
It may also be one of the few times that someone has managed to direct screen scenes in an entertaining way. It's difficult to make chats or computer commands visually exciting.
Directors Saman Kesh and Justin Daashuur Hopkins teamed up during lockdown to create a provocative yet playful tale on cancel culture, wherein a human protagonist gets doxed by a savage chatbot. Set to the track “Algorithm” by Makeup and Vanity Set (MAVS), this absurd yet poignant narrative showcases the sinister side of internet phenomena: AI’s influence, anonymous racists and misogynistic trolling, and most importantly, the world’s obsession with cancel culture.
Kesh and Hopkins call this type of filmmaking pokey provokey, the directors said in a joint statement: “Suffering from quarantine fatigue and enraged at the state of the world, especially as POC creatives, we wanted to vent, but in a way that felt productive, useful, entertaining. So we channeled our boredom and anger towards creating something provoking but hopefully enlightening.”
The musical artist MAVS, who is known for his dark-synth albums featuring AI-generated vocals and video game soundtracks, says, “Saman and Justin made an unflinching, uncomfortable video that speaks to what so many people are feeling. Are we good people or bad people? Who decides? What happened to empathy? These questions get asked in a blunt way, which at this point feels like the only way to ask them.”
Kesh is a Iranian-American filmmaker who is known for his high-energy narrative music videos, commercials and short films. Kesh is repped by Golden LA for commercials, and CAA and Grandview for TV and Film. Los Angeles-based artist Justin Daashuur Hopkins is a sought-after maker of film and mixed media video recognized for his multidisciplinary approach and innovative vision.
“One of us is from the enemy country of Iran and another a mixed-race Japanese. While our specific experiences with racism have been different from one another, here we wanted to focus on the closet trolls of the dark web. They hide, hurt, and provoke for pleasure. We invite you to smile and examine your reactions as you watch.”
“Algorithm” // credits
Written + Directed by
Saman Kesh
Justin Daashuur Hopkins
Visual FX + Graphics
Alan Mykitta
Producer
David Hemphill
Cast
Jeff → Chris Candy
Cinematography
Jason Tippet
Label
Data Airlines
Executive Producer
Transfuges
Special Thanks
Aja Daashuur
Jean Guo
Lillith Guo
Yoshino
Natasha Waisfeld
About Makeup and Vanity Set
#Makeup & Vanity Set (MAVS) emanates from Cleveland, Ohio and started making electronic music in the mid 90s. Like many other big names in his genre, MAVS is a result of the mod tracking scene that was booming during the early days of the internet. Since he put on a ski mask in 2004, MAVS has proven himself as a quality brand in every aspect of the electronic music scene that he has touched. He has become a respected name within the early U.S. electro house scene, the chiptune scene, and most recently the synthwave scene.
The experience that MAVS has earned through more than a decade of said genres is shown in a very refined way, and sometimes over the span of just one track it becomes significantly difficult to be sure if to classify it as Synthwave, Chiptune, Electro house or new wave. Instead, MAVS music is better described as a reverence and celebration of electronic music from the 70s and 80s as it would have sounded if today was the future imagined by the past, composed by someone who has the touch, eye and ear for details as only people that started composing with trackers have.
Saman Kesh is a Persian-American filmmaker that murders robots, abuses musicians, tricks celebrities into becoming involved with his absurd goals, and creates worlds that he wishes he could live in. He is known for his narrative and emotional music video work for notable artists such as Hot Chip, Basement Jaxx, Calvin Harris, Kygo, Placebo, !!! Chk Chk Chk, Vitalic, Apparat, Ed Sheeran, and Porter Robinson.
Saman is represented by Golden LA for commercial and branded work.
Justin Daashuur Hopkins is a multidisciplinary storyteller— meaning a director, musician and fine artist.
Born into an artistic household, to renowned Illustrator Chris Hopkins and internationally collected sculptor Jan Hopkins. At the age of fifteen, he began his professional career as an illustrator and graphic designer for multiple clients, including Costco, RedBull and ESPN. Justin co-founded NOH/WAVE, an art collective, and turned his focus towards the medium of storytelling through moving pictures.
His unique aesthetic, attention to detail, and multi-faceted skill set has made him a sought-after director of film and mixed media video for clients including Universal, RCA, Warner Brothers, Atlantic, Def Jam, and Domino Records.
