Bow Anderson Reflects on an Emotional Night in Moody Promo for ‘Heavy’

Great Guns director Calum Macdiarmid has debuted a moody new promo for pop star Bow Anderson’s latest single ‘Heavy’. 

The music video, which follows Bow wandering around a field during magic hour, echoes the core sentiment of the song – with the Scottish star describing herself standing in a gold dress at the end of a night that’s gone wrong. Inspired by the lyrics, the promo acts almost as a selfie message recorded by Bow, directed at someone she’s angry at. As the chorus hits, she throws her phone up in the air in frustration as the camera flies away from her, capturing her performance via drone. 

Director Calum Macdiarmid is no stranger to remote shooting, having directed numerous music videos and commercials during lockdown. This project, however, presented its own challenges, taking the concept of a remote shoot in new directions. With no access to a live feed, Calum was required to direct over phone and Whatsapp from his London home as Bow and two crew members shot in a field on the outskirts of Edinburgh. 

Speaking of the experience, Calum Macdiarmid comments: “There was definitely an element of improvisation that I never would have expected. Whilst I nervously paced around my loft hoping they were nailing the shoot before it got too dark, I glanced out the window to see an incredibly large bright moon. The original plan was all about the sunset, but I rang the team immediately and shouted ‘get her in front of the moon!’ They did, and I think it’s the best shot of the film – it turns out it was a supermoon that evening.”

For Calum, rehearsals and planning are vital to remote shooting, with the moon shot a rare piece of spontaneity typically only found on set. The incredible magic hour sunset at the centre of the film reflected this need for planning, notes Calum. 

He says: “It might appear that we got lucky there, but in fact this was all part of the planning. Whilst the sun is more beautiful than even the most expensive rigs, it is utterly unreliable in the UK and hence we usually create a ‘fake sun’. As the team shot solely on iPhone and drone across a number of evenings, we could afford to keep going out to really perfect that lighting. This also gave us time to review rushes, regroup, and make tweaks to both the performance and camerawork. Remote shooting is actually becoming a lot of fun!”