The brief from Sony Music Entertainment was solely to create something “darkly beautiful.”
The concept for this music video was to communicate a ‘visual poem’ to compliment Cash’s elegaic words, a piece both emotionally raw and timeless.
The narrative was developed and inspired by the song’s lyrics and Johnny Cash’s legend, taking subtle cues from his legacy and placing them against a nostalgic backdrop and the faded glory of Americana.
The technique was developed to be a hybrid of traditional drawing media and black and white film. Heavily inspired by the works of Ansel Adams, Andrew Wythe and William Kentridge it is as rich in allegory as it is bold in tone and texture.
Many thanks to Sony Music for the creative support and to the The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra who recorded the instrumentals at Abbey Road Studio.