Molly Burdett Directs the Slow Burn of Heartbreak for Joesef ft Loyle Carner's 'I Wonder Why'

Spindle have presented the new music video for Joesef directed by emerging talent Molly Burdett. 'I Wonder Why' is about the slow burn of heartache, and the cyclical nature of losing someone and trying to forget about it. Shot on sweet, 70’s soaked 16mm.

In her treatment Molly initially wrote that: “the song has a very dream-like quality to it, particularly the pace and the echoing guitar builds an atmosphere that feels enchantingly melancholic. I aim to create a visual world for the video that feels as moving and engaging as the music. The heart of this video will be Joesef’s emotive and powerful performance. Set within one messy bedroom space, we explore the lingering feeling of heartbreak and the brutal cycle of emotions associated”

The main element to the brief that Molly and the team asked Absolute to look at was the subtle transition from cold to hot as the film and song develops. Colourist Adam Clarke managed to address the majority of this in the grade by establishing three main styles, cold, warm and a transitional period in- between the two.

On top of this the Flame and Nuke team, Carl, Chris and Elliot, worked together to layer up various VFX elements such as ice, frost and very subtle breath suspended in the air to help reiterate the cold atmosphere. To aid in reinforcing the warmer sections, it was a case of adding some fire and spark elements and then distorting the radio sequence to show it heating up, melting and then finally burning.