Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime

When James Warren recorded a new stripped back version of “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” to celebrate its 40th anniversary, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to direct a video for the song. Given what a famous song it is to me and so many others, I was initially bursting with ideas of practical effects as a nod to Gondry. However the budget simply did not allow for such scope, so I needed to rein it in and rethink.

In instances such as these it is always better to do simple well than to try to pull off something extravagant only for it to come off as ‘hackey’. Minimalism and the ability to make a lot out of a little were methods that were drilled into us throughout university and an approach that could be perfectly applied to this project. With the plush location of the Tivoli Cinema in Bath secured, the concept was to be a homage to Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine”, a film I love, even paying a visit to the set at 3 Mills Studio in East London during filming. To achieve the effect I projected 4K NASA imagery of the sun onto a cinema screen with James performing to it, essentially serenading the sun itself. Using gold light filters with a stark contrast I was able to present James as an elder statesman of the music industry without placing too much focus on him directly, but rather keeping the spotlight focused on the theme of the song. With sun-flares and light-leaks added in post to give it the kiss of life, everything fell into place.

This was one of those projects that all slots into place all of its own volition. As with Italian cooking – if you have the right ingredients and handle them with respect then magic does itself.