ZAND - TOES! (Official Video)

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CREDITS
Cast (In Order of Appearance)
ZAND as The Boar
ZAND as The Waitress
ZAND as The Puppeteer
ZAND as Sue The Puppet

Director: ZAND
Assistant Director: Zak Pinchin
Filmed by: Zak Pinchin Media
Editors: ZAND, Zak Pinchin
Costume Stylist: Lauren Gelsei
Assistant: Lauren Gelsei
Puppeteering: ZAND
Creative Direction: ZAND
Set Design: Zak Pinchin, Lauren Gelsei
Newspaper Design: ZAND
Opening Scene Score: ZAND
Tracksuit: Named Collective
Sue The Puppet designed & made by Feltshire Forest
Special thanks to Yasmine Summan & Lewis Greaves

Song: ZAND - "TOES!"
Written, produced and composed by ZAND
Additional production and mix by Dan Weller

Arguably my best music video yet, TOES! is my most creatively ambitious visual work despite boasting a film crew of just three people with a pretty small budget. Paying homage to iconic cinematic landmarks from the likes of The Substance to The Muppets, this 5 minute masterpiece tells a noir story straight from the tentacles of my brain: a gripping tale of murder, mystery, puppetry, cheap rubber masks, possession, wigs, dinner meetings with a stranger for “business” (terrifying), an ambiguous newspaper, bangers and mash, fish and chips, a bored waitress, and ultimately, the struggle to live with both the brightest and darkest parts of yourself. It was filmed in April inside a community centre in Birmingham and my own home over 3 long days with some of my favourite people. This one feels more like my first short film rather than just a music video - I really got to exercise my movie making bone. I’ve always wanted to employ puppets in my visual work and this was the perfect opportunity to do so, the idea’s been in my head for a long time now. Here goes my puppeteering debut, I guess...
This story is essentially a metaphor for continuously battling with yourself - the Boar character represents all the “ugly” parts of one’s psyche - so in my case horrible intrusive thoughts, imposter syndrome, chronic mental illness, the downsides of neurodivergence, even struggles I’ve had with substances like alcohol before I went sober. In the end, The Boar is tricked by The Puppeteer and Sue, turning him into a harmless little pig puppet - not killing him (like The Boar killed The Sewerstar who ended up reincarnating as Sue The Puppet lol) but making him smaller, storing him away, easier to deal with, learning how to control him. At the end of the day, every one of these characters you see are cut from the same cloth, because they are the same person and they forget that constantly - hence The Puppeteer’s surprise to see The Boar reveal they’re the same person behind the mask. It’s about not allowing those "unsavoury" parts of you to completely take over. They may feel strong at times and as if they can overpower you completely, but remember you're the master pulling the strings - not them. Hope that all makes sense. There's way more going on that I could explain for ages but I'll let you guys put all that together and interpret for yourself. Thanks for reading!