poets & heroes.
role
project date
client
Project type
the brief
i'd been producing music videos for darryl scotti for a couple of years, but this release required a step up. a tribute to the great american songwriters, poe, dylan, that lineage. he wanted something that matched the emotional weight of the song, something he could anchor the whole release around. the challenge was delivering that on an independent budget within a six-week deadline.
the results
2.3m views. viewer retention higher than any previous release. "I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alfie at Aberration for several years, primarily creating lyric videos across my music catalog. On our last two releases, we chose to take a more cinematic and collaborative approach. For Poets & Heroes, we moved into on-location filming. Alfie’s instinct for building a compelling visual narrative from the lyrics was perfectly aligned with the vision. The final cut was exceptional—earning approximately 1 million views within the first six weeks, along with a strong volume of positive audience feedback and a noticeable lift in viewer retention compared to previous releases." - Darryl Scotti
the approach
the anxiety of influence felt like the right anchor to circle around, the paralysis before inspiration rather than the triumphant moment itself. i proposed a hybrid format: live action for the struggle, then after effects animation for the dream sequence. i scouted brighton electric, did test shots before committing, and cracked on with pre-production once i was happy with the space. shooting everything in one studio ended up being the right call for the scope of the project.
the work
I had to work from greenlight to delivery in under six weeks. i wrote the treatment, built the nine-scene breakdown, shot list, storyboard and animatic, sourced and cast the actor, handled contracts, scouted the location and planned the shoot day. shared everything with Darryl via milanote as i went. I worked with a single day shoot at brighton electric, lighting designed to shift across the arc, animation layered in post. social cutdowns delivered alongside the master.
reflection
the project came out well and i'm proud of what i achieved. this was a larger scale productionthat I had worked on previously; full pipeline, hired kit, cast and crew. if i did it again i'd push for a second location from the start. we talked about a home environment early on and simplified it out, and i think there was more in that original idea.
