Joe Tunmer

Since graduating from Bournemouth Joe has received critical acclaim directing music videos and short films.

Jo has directed promos for the likes of The Pipettes (Memphis Industries), Gomez (Independiente), The Breaks (Rough Trade) and Help She Can’t Swim (Fantastic Plastic). He also won the BBC New Music Shorts competition resulting in the BBC and Warp Films commissioning a promo / music drama featuring the music of Zero DB (Ninja Tune).

Joe Tunmer

Zero dB ‘Bongos, Bleeps & Baselines’
The sock nightclub was built out of polysterene, and suspended 5 feet from the floor so that the puppeteers could get in and out of it. It was built in one of the offices in the old BBC Films building.
The puppeteer playing the DJ is Joe's mate Lee, who also got a faceful of fake blood in the Brakes video.
Other bad band puns that didn't make the posters on the wall of the nightclub include:
soc party, sockteau twins, jurassock 5, lcd socksystem, socket from the crypt
sock walker

Elisa ‘Stay’
Universal
This was shot in the penthouse suite of the building that was the centre of the BBC documentary 'The Tower'.

There are no composited shots in this video. Elisa is one of three identical triplets.

Joe’s first film as a writer director (Hospital Food) was commissioned by Meridian Broadcasting and went on to compete at the Cannes, Aspen and San Francisco film festivals, It won the Gold Remi at the Houston film festival and was brought for worldwide distribution. Since then he as gone on to win Best British Short at the Brief Encounters festival (Autocue) and the Special Jury Award at World Fest (First To See the Sun).

Joe has also been on the Film Council Guiding Lights mentorship scheme with Stephen Frears as his personal mentor. His first feature Composition – a unique story about the discovery of the most beautiful piece of music ever played – is in development after receiving support from the Film Council, Screen South and The Script Factory.

Help She Can’t Swim ‘Midnight Garden’
Fantastic Plastic
This was filmed on a freezing December day in an abandoned ship-building warehouse in Newhaven.
The band huddled around a tiny heater between takes, barely able to move their fingers.
In some shots, there's a bunch of vinyl records on the floor. These are the parts of Joe's collection that he really should have got rid of a long time ago, and he was worried the band would see what records they were, and fire him.

Barringtone ‘Snake In The Grass’

Joe shot hundreds of photos of the band, printed them out, glued them on card, cut them out, and then shot them over the course of three days in his kitchen, with the untiring and saintly assistance of his girlfriend Deena and brother Ollie.

He still has a bin bag full of bits of card, photocopies and wire on top of his wardrobe if anyone wants them.

Barry (the singer in Barringtone) used to be in Clor. Boomer, the drummer, is also in Plugs.

Frightened Rabbit ‘Head Rolls Off’

Shot on 5 cameras in a classroom in Patcham, this is Mrs Gillicuddy's class. They pulled this off in only three runthroughs. Then they got bored and wanted to do more painting.

If ever Joe gets to do a Director's Label DVD, one of the unreleased extras is some great footage of all the kids crowding round Grant the Drummer, bashing on his hi-hat like some Boredoms-esque tribal circle chant.