Ella Henderson releases new music video produced in lockdown

Cantelo created the accompanying promo remotely, with the use of iPhones and drones, at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown. Sending a drone pilot to Ella’s house not only allowed him to capture imposing aerial shots, but also meant that the shoot complied with the UK government’s guidance on safe social distancing. By patching into the live drone feed he was able to provide real time feedback to both the drone pilot and Ella herself.

“Describing working in lockdown he states, “It’s a very surreal process, as there’s no commutes or physical meetings. It’s really easy to feel as though you’re not doing enough. So we contrasted that by working 24/7. For the initial stages of this project, Producer Lucy Hawes, and Graphic Designer Jo Guthrie were operating from New Zealand, so I’d be spending all day with Lola Webster (storyboard artist, treatment designer and researcher), researching and editing the animatic, to then ‘pass the baton’ over to Lucy and Jo in the evening to review and continue their end. Lucy would also make sure I didn’t blow all the budget on turning Ella into her own version of the iconic Windows paperclip assistant. One can only dream!

“In all seriousness though, creating something in the midst of a global pandemic, with a team of people working on it from the other side of the world, really relies more so than ever on collaboration and ensuring that a shared belief in the concept is established prior to anything being done.

“Also, having an open dialogue with Ella from the very beginning meant I was quickly able to bounce mock-ups and ideas over to her, to get her input from a very early stage. It’s just really all about transparency and clarity from the get-go, as we’re all trying to make something great in a very controlled and fast moving environment.”