You - Ess_West

Director’s Note

“It’s nothing but it’s something to someone else.”

When @ess_west approached me to do an MV for “You,” the first line stood out to me. In Ess’ words, the song was about the feeling of relief when you prioritise yourself, after burning out to please others. The MV follows as a woman (elegantly portrayed by @isabellaperalta) realises the extent of the lack of reciprocity, and decides to move on to honour herself.

Ess had a vision for how the MV felt, and that was apparent when I pitched him the concept. It’s always a treat when artists have an idea of how the visuals should feel, and allow the flexibility for you to develop something that honours it while offering constructive feedback - Ess, you’re a pro.

I wanted to use a pillow as a stand-in for a one-sided relationship, but wanted it to still feel like a character in the video rather than a child’s plaything. To that, our indomitable art director @megwinniewylie designed an amorphous blob with patches and a nice vintage tie, preserving just the right amount of human characteristics without fully committing to a body pillow shape.

Throughout the video, as the woman learns how unresponsive her partner is, she distances herself from how she interacts with the pillow - from full-on hugs to dragging it around the street. Even with the challenges of remote directing, the whole team, especially DP @ronanoloughlin and AD @majdalkhaznadar, made sure to maintain the continuity of the story, and for that I’m thankful.

The MV isn’t about the dissolution of a relationship; it’s a look into a person who’s coming to terms with the dissolution, and deciding to honour themselves first even when (spoilers!) the pillow miraculously becomes a person and metaphorically more reciprocating. I never was a fan of fairytale endings - why should the woman go back to her partner just because they’ve changed? When it’s too late, it’s too late.

Unless it’s a pillow in which case, drag it around London. In which…pillow case? Nice.