James Marcus Haney's video for Mumford & Sons is a deeply romantic portrait of two dancers, a character study and riveting dance performance disguised as a home movie.

A young couple (Yeman Brown and Stephanie Crousillat) dance and embrace in the dappled light of a New York loft. They take turns filming each other performing on a old-fashioned camcorder, giving us an intimate glimpse at their relationship - intercut with shots of a daytrip to view the Manhattan skyline. Through the lens, we see them as they see each other.

The video evolved from a chance encounter between the band's Winston Marshall and Yeman Brown at a Manhattan dance studio. Despite being a self-described newcomer to dance, the Mumford banjoist was moved to tears watching Brown perform. He was cast as the male lead and Kristin Sudeikis, the studio founder, enlisted as the choreographer of the piece.

Haney, a longtime collaborator with the band, introduced the heightened level of intimacy between Brown and Crousillat with the idea of shooting the video on Hi-8, a tape format popular in the '90s. Once the go-to format for scuzzy skate videos, here the format is soft and impressionistic, like a distant, fading memory.

JAMES MARCUS HANEY:

"The video for 'Woman' was a treat to make.  After hearing the song being recorded over a year ago in London, I was so hoping I'd get a crack at the video for it. The track is just so good. 

"As my friends will tell you, I quite like a boogie, but am so not versed in proper Dance with a capital "D".  So to be able to get lost in the body movement world of Yeman Brown and Steph Crousillat, with the choreo chops from Kristin Sudeikis, was such a highlight for me. 

"It was very important to convey the two as humans first, dancers second.  The direction was simple:  One last conversation between two lovers/best friends before never seeing each other again, using body movement instead of speech. The two nailed it."