Where My Love Has Gone
Music video for Myles Morgan's latest single
Directed by Ned Donohoe
Words by Katie Celia Huelin
Directed by Ned Donohoe, the music video for Myles Morgan’s latest single Where My Love Has Gone portrays an experience of unrequited love, capturing the complex feelings and fantasies that accompany it. Creating something that was elevated but not overly processed, Donohoe sought after interesting “shoot ready” locations to reflect the contrast between dreamlike fantasy and stark reality.
The video’s visual narrative frames the subtle, intimate moments of romance, pulling viewers deeper into the emotional core of Morgan’s lyrics - leaving them lost in thought and imagination.
The music video for Where My Love Has Gone is visually stunning, capturing the simplicity of love in everyday life, and how it consumes our thoughts and feelings. How did yourself and Rob Farley collaborate to achieve this realistic depiction of enduring love through your visuals and editing?
From the start we decided we wanted things to feel elevated, but not ‘bubble gum’ i.e VFX or anything overly production designed. This was also a practical decision given the limited budget. We therefore worked tirelessly to find locations that were shoot ready and arresting. As I’d recently moved to London at the time, this made the process quite difficult, however now I feel much more familiar with the city.
Regarding the cinematography, we also opted out of employing any funky angles or lenses. Although we wanted the vibe to feel slightly dreamlike, we wanted the locations, as well as shooting at 30fps for some moments to do the heavy lifting there. It was important we captured the tender moments of slow dancing, holding and swaying in clear view.
We also pushed for non-actors i.e the barber was actually a barber, as was the tailor. I was worried with minimal rehearsal they might be difficult to direct and become unnerved around a film crew, however they were complete naturals! Omar the barber smoking outside was actually an idea we came up with on the day as we noticed him having so many ciggie breaks. The older couple are also a couple in real life, hopefully that came across on camera!
Myles Morgan's music has a unique style that combines colloquial lyrics with atmospheric backdrops. What was the process like in terms of aligning the visual narrative with the story conveyed through his lyrics, and what cinematographic techniques did you use to visually interpret his lyrical quality?
Process was very collaborative with Myles. We wanted to explore old world ideas of courtship and romantic fantasy. Was important that the music video felt in the same ‘world’ as some of his previous music videos.
Myles shared lyrics and I came back to him with a treatment that he dug. Slow zooms were used to create a sense of intrigue in every scene, as well as give a sense of movement from scene to scene, especially given how many locations and different worlds we enter in the film.
The video seamlessly transitions between urban and rural settings. How did you choose the specific locations in London and the countryside and what was the intention behind these choices?
We wanted to give the scenes with the love interest and the older couple at the start a sense of surrealism, it was important to emphasise the fantasy world with locations that felt elevated and otherworldly compared to the more urban environments. Choosing High Point I (the apartment building in the opening scene) was important as I felt it’s modernist design felt unique and dreamlike, hopefully having audiences question the actuality of the situation.
We also wanted the saxophonist to do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of emotionality throughout the film. I figured having him in epic, almost space-like environments would help achieve that.
The portrayal of the older couple in love is poignant, especially when Myles observes them alone. What was your intention behind directing these scenes to capture the essence of enduring love whilst also displaying this internal feeling towards love through the visual narrative and lyrics?
Fun fact, they’re a real couple.
I treated this scene as almost an ‘inciting incident’ although it’s not really an incident, more just a catalyst for Myles to enter the dream-like world.
Boiling it down, Myles is inspired by the love he witnesses, and this motivates him to go on a journey of aesthetic self-improvement in order to make himself a more viable love interest.
“It was important to emphasise the fantasy world with locations that felt elevated and otherworldly compared to the more urban environments.”
Following this successful collaboration, are you excited to dive further into creating music videos? Can you share with us what would you like to explore next in terms of visual storytelling, specifically in the realm of music?
Big time! I’m new to London and super keen to collaborate with artists this year on music videos. I come from a documentary background, hence why street casting and non-actors always seem to feature in my fiction work. I think that this is something I’ll always try and incorporate into my work no matter how elevated/fictionalised the idea is.
Given my love for faster dance music, I’d love to collaborate on something quicker, more bombastic and high energy.
Writer/Director - Ned Donohoe
Producer - Faith Guoga
Director of Photography - Rob Farley
Production Manager - Joe Kenny
1st AC - Tom Austin
Gaffer - Jeff Cellis
Spark - Cristian Trujillocelis
Lighting provided by Leopold Naessens
Costume Designer - Claudia Gusella
Production Designer - Francesca Landi
Production Design Assistant - Daniele Mondin
HMU - Lily Parfitt
Runner - Max Goodkind
Runner - Sabishan Vasanthakumaran
Myles Morgan as himself
Love Interest - Anjelica Angwin
Saxophonist - Jasper Chin
Older dancer 1 - Patrick Cook
Older dancer 2 - Imogen Smith
Tailor - Elliot Rowland
Barber - Omer
Motorbike Rider - Harry Grunfeld