Joe Dixon from directing team Tim & Joe has made a very touching video for Texan band Black Books’ song The Big Idea – featured on the TV show Californication – in which Joe cast his father David Dixon as a man who finds a new companion in unconventional fashion: he draws her on his hand.

It’s an idea that’s delivered with sincerity, and that’s made possible by the sensitivity of the direction and performance. Ultimately this is about grief, and one man’s way of dealing with it. And if David Dixon looks familiar to you – yes, he played Ford Prefect in the classic early 80s TV version of Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy…

“The band contacted us out of the blue and we just loved the song too much to turn it down,” says Joe. I decided to make it with long time collaborator/lifetime father David Dixon and wrote an odd little story for him. It really lives (or dies) on the integrity of his performance, hopefully for us it’s the latter.

“I just want to thank everyone who helped out along the way, especially Joe and Katy who designed the gorgeous Bette as she became known, as well as (far more than just a) DOP, Marcus Autelli. This is his first DPing job in the UK which I think is quite remarkable. He’s got a bright future.”