Dan has Potential may have just made the best Metronomy video yet...

Sometimes our favourite music videos are those high-budget, explosion-riddled dramas (think Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around or that one where The Beastie Boys are cops) but then, sometimes a video comes along that’s just the most perfect, simple idea executed with sheer finesse. This is one of those. Get ready to be plunged into a mixed bag of quintessentially British living rooms to witness the pets of the general public. What this video does, apart from fit perfectly to the song (Hypnose, from Metronomy’s new album) is highlight just how weird pets are, and how odd we are for having them in our homes. Don’t turn off before the end, there is a great shot of a tortoise you’d be mad to miss.

Director Daniel Brereton (or Dan Has Potential) was kind enough to answer some questions for us on the making of this video, and the pets they came across along the way.

Briefly describe the music video for us

I was trying to come up with something that was maybe the opposite of the music, because sometimes this approach works. I then came to the idea of filming pets. I thought that the images and the music could be interesting together, maybe make the pets feel a bit stranger than they are. In some ways I think pets are strange, they just have this “cute” tag.

How does it feel to be working with Metronomy again?

It feels great! It has been a while since working with Joe and the gang. When I pitched the idea to him and his manager Stephen Bass, I didn’t think they would go for it, but they did. I like how free Joe is with the visual side of Metronomy, and his music attracts really great collaborators. I am always excited to see what he comes up with next.

What was it about pets in homes that attracted you?

I am nosey like most people, and filming in people’s houses attracted me as much as their pets. It was really great going around London and going into people’s places you would never go to. I think the houses in the video have as much character as the pets, and thats why they have their own section.

Did you have any troubles getting the animals to behave?

YES! They never did what we wanted them to, but then they would often do something else so much better. Learning a technique of getting pets to stare into camera was fun. Arthur the cameraman had become Doctor Doolittle/David Attenborough by the end.

Which is your favourite pet?

Maybe Bernard the albino hedgehog, just for originality.

What else are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a video for a fun band called Swim Deep which includes all my favourite kinds of ideas. And a top-secret project which I probably can’t even mention the name of the band (that’s annoying), which is very exciting. I’m doing a t-shirt for a great company called African Apparel. And finishing a video for Night Works which sees Gabriel Stebbing from the band on a trip to Paris.