This Cheery 'First Sunset' Music Video Will Clear Up Your Cloudy Day

Creatives, Ali Dickinson and Jack Walker of FCB Inferno, have partnered with new music agency Workshop to create a music video for artist and producer Alex Arcoleo. In a unique role-reversal, Workshop commissioned the pair to devise and direct the film for Arcoleo’s latest track ‘First Sunset’ as a client.

The narrative for ‘First Sunset’ is adapted from the short story ‘The Sunny Cloud’ by Naomi Stafford which tells the story of a happy cloud who attempts to join in the summer fun but is soon dismayed to realise he’s not wanted.

Adapting the story for screen, the creative directing duo created a hyper-real summer setting, contrasting cinematic with a number of quirky characters and a charmingly handcrafted Cloud puppet.

“Visually we wanted to create a world which was close to, but not quite England. Something in between Martin Parr and David Wilson,” explains Jack. “The way that they capture the British summer was a huge inspiration for us. We knew that we wanted a really graphical look when we set out, something that was really simple and let the characters stand out. Murren Tullet (our DOP) did a superb job with the use of some stunning anamorphic lenses.”

To achieve a look that would stick in the memory of the viewer, Dickson and Walker decided to upend the norm and avoid CGI in favour of a handcrafted approach. “It was important to us that the puppet felt real, shot in-camera,” says Walker. “There’s a handcrafted element you get when you do things that way that just aren’t achievable in CGI without colossal budgets.”

Dickson and Walker feel this kind of simple endearing humour is missing from modern music promos. Ali Dickson explains: “We love all the old music videos from when we were kids on MTV, and felt that kind of humour is missing today. So we set out to create something that was memorable, charming and hopefully funny.”

Following growing success over the past year, Workshop launches today as a music agency, independent of mother company, Audio Network. Workshop began as a portal that allowed advertisers to find out more about the origins and influences behind the music in Audio Network’s catalogue, but has since grown to become a full service music agency providing brand partnerships, bespoke composition and music strategy.

The project to commission the music video comes under Workshop’s Music In Colour initiative. Looking for a team that would love Alex’s music as much as they, Workshop Music Consultant Jess Nicks, gave Jack and Ali a completely open brief to mirror the creative beliefs behind the music at Workshop.

“The track ‘First Sunset’ was a standout favourite of everyone involved in the project,” Says Jess. “It was important to us that Jack and Ali loved Alex’s work as much as we do. Alex’s album ‘Shadowtalk’ was one of our (Audio Network’s) first commercial releases, so it’s pretty special to us.

For Jess, trusting the creative flair of two first time promo directors paid off massively. “The most exciting part of this brief for us was commissioning two extremely creative people and letting their imagination run wild. I think the track has a lot of colour and vibrancy to it, so I was always thinking of a film along those lines, but their idea has completely blown me away and the level of detail they’ve gone into with the production of the shoot is incredible.”

The promo for ‘First Sunset’ premiered on Nowness and is now available worldwide via the Workshop portal and other social channels.