Joe Connor directs an innovative and beguiling promo for Ellie Goulding's Like A Saviour.

Set against a desert backdrop cycling through different times of day, we see Goulding and a set of dancers perform slick choreography whilst the environment around them transforms. 

Making use of the latest production technology, the entire video was shot against a virtual LED screen, with the sand set built right in front (and on top) of it, allowing the creative team to completely control every aspect of the visual. 

Aside from the magic of the technology, Goulding and the dancers hit every mark, creating an evocative video that perfectly complements the emotive track. 

"Ellie came to me with a brief that dared me to think a little differently," explains Joe Connor. "I wanted to throw myself in front of the latest technology and play with what was possible using the large Virtual Production Volume screens.

"We’ve all seen the images of the Mandalorian, but I felt that there was so much room to use this technology for artistic expression. I wanted to create a desert space where time constantly shifted, from day to night and back to day again. This felt like a really exciting and dynamic starting point to work from. 

"Working with D-Neg studios, we built a large-scale, 3D desert in Unreal Engine and then built a detailed, real-world foreground using tonnes of sand to blend into our 3D world. The ability to shift through the time of day was enhanced by David Procter’s real-world lighting, which was synchronised with the constantly changing lighting on the screen. 

"What the team has created is a video which feels unlike any other Ellie Goulding video. It’s a great example of cooperation and collaboration in the pursuit of a singular visual idea."