The Academic Visits Europe’s Largest Singles Festival for New Promo

Indie rock band The Academic has once again joined forces with Great Guns director duo TEARJERKER to deliver its latest loved-up video, ‘My Very Best’. The promo is the third in a trilogy directed by TEARJERKER for The Academic’s newest album, ‘Sitting Pretty’, and the seventh collaboration between the two parties.

The heartwarming promo is set during the annual Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland, and features star of the celebration, farmer Willie Daly - the third in a line of three traditional matchmakers. Mixing a modern and vintage aesthetic, shots of The Academic performing in a lively dance hall are interspersed with grainy clips of genuine residents young and old, as they share their love stories with a smile.

Great Guns directors TEARJERKER took inspiration for the video from a road trip along the Wild Atlantic, a famous route down the west coast of Ireland, during which they spotted a sign for ‘Europe’s Largest Singles Festival’. Whilst it was cancelled that year, they knew they’d be back to capture it one day, set on documenting the hope and bravery of people attending in nervous anticipation of finding a match.

Despite the song’s lyrics touching on the fear of inadequacy in relationships, the video counteracts that sensation by showing that love is not supposed to be perfect or grandiose. Going against the grain of traditional music videos that take a glossy, airbrushed approach to the shoot and people cast, TEARJERKER offer something more real, capturing genuine people sharing honest depictions of love that's rough around the edges and in the small moments.

To find the residents spotlighted in the promo, matchmaker Willie Daly introduced TEARJERKER to the festival’s regulars - including one couple who met there over 50 years ago. TEARJERKER then got to work chatting to the other visitors, making sure to speak to all ages. The final film illustrates how love is a unifying factor across demographics - all want the same thing.

Underlining the timelessness of people’s views of love, the video melds a modern and vintage aesthetic. To achieve this effect, TEARJERKER used two cameras on the shoot: an old Sony DV and an ARRI ALEXA Mini. Inspired by the historic atmosphere of rural Ireland and Willy Daly’s 150-year long family line of matchmakers, the duo wanted to capture that feeling of going back in time using the home-video look of the Sony. As an additional perk, the smaller camera led to more honest interviews, as residents were better able to forget it was there and offer heartfelt answers. 

The ARRI, meanwhile, allowed TEARJERKER to capture the vastness and beauty of the region, from the Cliffs of Moher to the disco ball-lit dance halls, in a quietly cinematic way.

TEARJERKER comments: “We've loved working with The Academic for such a long time, and our relationship with the guys has transformed the way we want to make music videos. We’re not videographers, we’re artists in our own right, and it’s a collaboration between the music and the films. There's such trust and respect between everyone working on the projects.  The themes are often the same — youth, heartbreak, hope, big dreams in a small town — but we’ve tried to mix genres and form. We want each one to feel different.”