Tyler Childers is a grassroots country artist from Kentucky who provides an alternative voice in a genre associated with conservative values, and worse. And following the race-baiting ugliness of Jason Aldean's Try That In A New Town song and video, Childers' video for In Your Love - directed by Bryan Schlam - could hardly be more timely.

It's a love story, set in the Appalachians in the 1950s, of two gay Kentucky miners. Starring Colton Haynes (WB's Arrow) and James Scully (Netflix's You), this is a tale that is touched with tragedy, but crucially one that sends a message of the power of love surmounting all obstacles, and the paramount importance of tolerance.

The script for In Your Love was written by Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House - a friend of Childers - and Jason Kyle Howard. They then worked with Bryan Schlam on how to best adapt this unique story for the screen. It's the second time Schlam has worked with Childers - and bucked expectatations - having already directed the video for Angel Band (Jubilee Version). The In Your Love video also weaves in a performance by Childers and his band The Food Stamps, into the narrative. 

For House, it was important to not only depict the strife of growing up LGBTQ in an intolerant society, but also the joy and complexity of rural lives. For Schlam, the challenge was in how to do justice to the emotional core in such a short amount of time.

"I knew we only had three minutes and forty-five seconds to put this story together, so every single shot, every single beat, and every action had to have purpose," says Schlam. "I wanted to move the audience in a way a traditional music video wouldn't be able to."

After locking actors Colton Haynes and James Scully to star in this romantic tale, Schlam could lean into a more narrative storytelling world in order to truly bring the emotional truth of the song to life. To stay as accurate as possible to its time and Appalachian setting, Schlam worked diligently with the team at his production company home, Brooklyn-based Ghost Robot - including producer Whitney Wolanin and production supervisor Loren Greene - to source authentic locations and period detail.

"I spent so much time working through archival footage of miners in '50s and '60s," he says. "Just looking at every single detail
from exact helmets, to the tools they used, to how dirty their clothes and faces were."

After sourcing the perfect farmhouse and bar location, a limestone cave roughly an hour outside of Nashville stood in for the
central coal mine. When it came to making the mid-century setting immediately recognizable, period specific cars and costumes became key components.

Schlam brought in stylist Samantha Roe for everything wardrobe related; from the actor's midcentury attire to Tyler and the band's aesthetic in the video. Production designer Amanda Alberto was also key in providing key hand props, and diligently
removing contemporary background details and supplementing what was already there.

Director of photography Doug Porter was instrumental in shaping the narrative look of the video. Having also worked Tyler and Schlam on the Angel Band (Jubilee Version) video, Schlam praises Porter's ability to bring their creative vision to life. “By now, we have developed a shorthand that helped us pull off the shoot and give the frames emotion and life in such a tight schedule.”

Tyler Childers has been previously outspoken on social matters such as racial injustice and police brutality. By centering a same-sex couple, In Your Love has predictably inspired strong reactions, but the most popular social media comments by
far have been overwhelmingly positive. There's also been a swarm of reaction videos of TikTok, with fans filming
themselves crying after being deeply moved by the video.

For Schlam, this emotional reaction from fans has been particularly gratifying: "People are truly connecting to this inclusive message on another level," he says. "To be able to collaborate with Silas and Tyler on a story that lets people know they're loved, recognized, and welcome is a true gift – nevermind the opportunity to make a music video with such a strong message
about empathy and humanity behind it."