Project timeline: 2026 · video publication year. Published as a retrospective on 23 October 2026.
On Good Life, I am credited for the concept as well as the direction. That means the visual starting point and the responsibility for carrying it towards the screen sit together in my contribution. Arian Romal is the artist, with Shawn Soleima credited as assistant director. I want the story of the video to acknowledge all of those parts.
I like being involved at the point where an idea has to become specific. It is easy to say that a music video should feel strong or memorable. The harder work is deciding what makes it belong to this song and this artist, so a production can move towards something clearer than a general ambition.
The people within the picture
When I think about a concept, I want to find the element that makes it specific to the song. An attractive setting or a recognisable style is not always enough. The useful question is what relationship the idea creates between the artist, the music and the viewer. That relationship gives later decisions something to return to.
It also helps identify what does not belong. A concept becomes less clear when every new possibility is added simply because it could look good. I want a strong idea to be able to survive selection. The things that remain should explain one another, rather than ask the audience to keep starting again with every image.
Once the work becomes direction, the questions are more precise. What should the performer communicate here? How much information does the audience need from the location? Which kind of image can carry a change in the song without interrupting its identity? These are the decisions that turn a general ambition into a piece of visual work.
Working across concept and direction also means being willing to reconsider an early idea. The first version is not valuable only because it came first. If the performance reveals a clearer approach, I want to be able to recognise it. Protecting a concept should mean protecting its purpose, not refusing every useful change.
Arian's role as artist gives the video its connection to the music. My job is not to replace that connection with a separate demonstration of directing. I want the visual work to make the artist and the song feel more particular, while still having a creative identity of its own.
Good Life is a useful project for showing how I want to work across those stages. I want the concept to give the production direction and the performance to keep it alive. For me, a successful idea is one that can survive becoming practical, without losing the feeling that made it worth developing.
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