Case Study
Had It All: How One Personal Music Video Opened the Door to More
A deeply personal music video for my own band became proof of range, and led to trusted work on other artists' releases.
- Client
- Kavana
- Industry
- Music & Entertainment
- Year
- 2024
The brief
Challenge
Kavana, my own band, needed a music video for our song "Had It All": a deeply personal project with no outside client, no brief to satisfy, and no guarantee anyone beyond our own audience would ever see it.
The plan
Strategy
Rather than build the video around the band performing, I built it around the song itself, a reminder to cherish the time we have with the people we love. I cast actor and stuntman Eli Zen to carry that emotional weight on screen, and brought in cinematographer Luis Salas to shoot my own on-camera moments, freeing me to direct the performance instead of splitting my attention between both roles.
The shoot
Execution
I directed the narrative built around Eli Zen's performance, while Luis Salas operated camera for the shots featuring me. Post-production, edit, color, sound, stayed entirely in-house, keeping the emotional tone consistent from first cut to final mix.
The outcome
Results
"Had It All" became one of the most personal releases I have put out, and proof of range beyond my own band. That same craft, camera, edit, color, has since been trusted on other artists' releases, including Simcha Leiner's "Kol Hakavod," featured by Mostly Music, where I am credited as Director of Photography, Editor, Colorist, and Drone Pilot. The video is also live on Vimeo carrying the same credits.
Watch the film
Kavana - Had It All - Official Music Video
What I took from it
Takeaway
The most personal project I have ever directed turned out to be one of the clearest proofs of my range, a reminder that the work you make for yourself is often the work that opens the next door.
Looking for a music video with the same level of craft? Explore my Music Video production services, or reach out to talk about your project.
The film
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