Harvey Pearson is a self-taught director, writer, and photographer whose work spans narrative and visual storytelling, blending visceral and introspective qualities while exploring the human experience at its heart.Harvey&#039;s portfolio includes short films like In My Mind and commercial projects for brands such as Jack Daniel’s and Fendi. His directing credits also feature Dusk, Dark, Dawn—a trilogy of films for SG Lewis—and music videos for artists including Sam Smith, Jessie Buckley, and The Japanese House.

Director

Harvey Pearson

Harvey Pearson combines a modern mating ritual with a pulsating performance&nbsp;by indie rock duo Good Neighbours&nbsp;in the feelgood promo for Mary Jane.&nbsp;At a house party where people are casually sitting around talking, a young man attempts to get the attention of a girl he spots across the room, by the surprising&nbsp;method of dancing on his own, demonstrating&nbsp;some awkward, Dad-dancing style moves.Hopping between stark performance and the bouncy&nbsp;party scenes, this is both fun and relatable, as the our hero perseveres with his dancing, despite the fact the girl, apparently engrossed in her conversation, will not look his way.Eventually Good Neighbours appear at the party, to provide him with dance back-up. But will he ever achieve eye contact with the girl?[imgtoken data:1]"In Mary Jane, we meet this genuinely uncomfortable, awkward guy who then unexpectedly reveals himself as an exceptional mover, with the dance becoming a kind of mating ritual," explains Harvey Pearson. "I was really interested in the strange performance of attraction, especially when it’s coming from someone who doesn’t quite know how to express what they’re feeling."George Beattie, the DoP on the video, adds&nbsp;that as the video was character-focussed, they opted to shoot in 4:3 ratio, so the cast become the focus within the frame.&nbsp;"We wanted a classic warm interior look so I chose tungsten, muslin and soft sources," he says.&nbsp;"This was contrasted in the performance scenes where the lighting is direct and much harsher, akin to that of MTV music videos. I like sticking to a couple focal lengths when possible, the less choice the better sometimes. The 50mm at 2.8 in open gate was a beauty - shout out to Miti (my focus puller) she crushed it."

United Kingdom

Indie Rock

Good Neighbours 'Mary Jane' by Harvey Pearson

Good-Neighbours-'Mary-Jane'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson directs a stirring promo&nbsp;for returning singer-songwriter and producer Jamie Woon, set within a momentous vision of the natural world.Pearson&nbsp;describes the visual for All The Way as "a&nbsp;journey through light and dark, searching for harmony in the space between chaos and calm." It's also characteristic of his work in placing the artist in countryside and forestry, finding ways to use the artist and environment to&nbsp;reflect the emotion within the music.With overlaying of imagery, and beautiful portraits of Woon shot both night and day, the director elevates the sophistication and delicacy in the artist's music.&nbsp;In this respect he has supported in his image-making by some lovely cinematography by the prolific Sam E H Hooper and grade by Dan Levy, bringing out the almost tangible quality, and majesty&nbsp;of the setting.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Singer-songwriter

Alternative

Jamie Woon 'All The Way' by Harvey Pearson

Jamie-Woon-'All-The-Way'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson directs an evocative visual accompaniment to SALPA's debut album, What You Do Alone.&nbsp;The 15-minute film is an exploration of the album's themes, with gentle, transient vignettes and emotional performances by the English singer-songwriter, now based in Catalonia.&nbsp;Shot in March 2023, What You Do Alone navigates the contrasts of existence - darkness and light, fire and water, loss and hope - each element serving as a metaphor for personal growth and acceptance.[imgtoken data:1]"The origins of this film trace back to my first conversations with Luke (SALPA), where our shared appreciation for each other’s work quickly evolved into a creative collaboration," explains Pearson."As I immersed myself in his upcoming album,&nbsp;I found myself deeply drawn to its themes - reflections that resonated with my own experiences.&nbsp;From the outset, I wanted to craft a visual journey that embodied the album’s emotional arc, so we set out to create a film that took on multiple tracks from the album."[imgtoken data:2]"Drawing inspiration from the breathtaking landscapes of Catalunya, where Luke and Uma (his collaborator and partner) live, these organic elements became integral to articulating this narrative," Pearson continues.&nbsp;"Through this visual and sonic world the film explores the power of acceptance and the idea that confronting our inner struggles is the only way forward. At its heart, 'What You Do Alone' is a meditation on the transformative nature of love and self-acceptance."

SALPA 'What You Do Alone' by Harvey Pearson

Salpa-'What-You-Do-Alone'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson directs a plaintive promo for Victor Ray, Strandz and Kojey Radical.&nbsp;The captivating video for Sticks &amp; Stones leans into an intimate style, making space for lingering performance shots and abstract cutaways.&nbsp;Ensuring each artist has their time in the spotlight, the video effortlessly transitions from solo to group shots, with a fresh and contemporary edge.&nbsp;"When directing the video, I wanted to create a performance video that allowed each artist to shine - both individually and in their interactions with one another," Pearson explains.&nbsp; "Victor, Kojey, and Strandz each bring such distinct and dynamic styles to their performances, and it was exciting to embrace and highlight their unique energy."It was equally important to carve out a space for Victor to tell his story, particularly hearing him deliver his first rap verse - giving the video a sense of personal narrative that complements the collaborative energy of the track."By combining stripped-back yet bold visuals with moments of intimacy and connection, I aimed to amplify the emotion and individuality that makes [the song] so powerful."[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Hip Hop

Victor Ray, Strandz And Kojey Radical 'Sticks And Stones' by Harvey Pearson

VICTOR RAY, STRANDZ & KOJEY RADICAL 'Sticks and Stones'

Harvey Pearson directs a beautifully minimalist promo for up and coming singer-songwriter Cordelia.&nbsp;The live video for Little Life was shot at the artist's family home, and consists of a single scene and only a handful of camera angles. It's an inspired visual that feels personal and intimate, whilst perfectly suiting the gentle track.&nbsp;"Having heard this song seemingly everywhere, directing this video&nbsp;was a pleasure," says Pearson.&nbsp;"Accompanied by a small yet dedicated team, we journeyed to Cordelia’s family home in Stroud, spending the day around where she grew up."The track explores themes of reflecting on balance and contentment in life, emphasising the beauty found in the smallest of moments.&nbsp;We sought to capture one of these 'small moments,' culminating in a shot at the end of the day as Cordelia's dad cleared up from dinner."With a completely minimal camera setup, this quiet&nbsp;moment showcased Cordelia’s captivating performance. The result is a video that, I hope, not only visually complements the track but also authentically captures the raw emotion of its themes."&nbsp;

Cordelia 'Little Life' by Harvey Pearson

CORDELIA 'Little Life'

Harvey Pearson directs an intimate promo for Victor Ray, a stripped-back affair in a dark, minimalist studio environment.Pearson's video for Comfortable is focussed entirely on the performance of Ray&nbsp;- a&nbsp;singer who was born in Uganda and raised in Newcastle-upon-Tyne - without any extraneous conceptual elements.&nbsp;It's a powerful one-shot visual which matches the pace of the lilting track."With this video I wanted Victor's performance to be front and centre," Pearson confirms."We opted to capture it in a single, continuous shot, illuminated by one light source - immersing the audience and emphasising the intensity of Vic’s powerful delivery. Reacting to every move, the camera flows around him, accentuating this raw and powerful intimacy."&nbsp;

Victor Ray 'Comfortable' by Harvey Pearson

Victor-Ray-'Comfortable'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson directs an evocative promo for sister-duo Sarah Julia and their&nbsp;song Caingorms, filmed in the eponymous Scottish mountain range.&nbsp;In the video the sisters are joined by&nbsp;an enigmatic (and very hairy)&nbsp;figure who dwells unobtrusively in the area. He becomes their guide as they retrace paths on the hillsides they have walked many times before. As they explain this symbolic figure&nbsp;has deep significance for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“The Cairngorms are a place our Dad used to take us hiking when we were younger," they explain.&nbsp;"It holds a memory of a version of him that we try to hold on to.”&nbsp;This sense of memory and wistfulness is visualised through tender, emotional vignettes, which blur reality and fiction with creative flair. Lovely work with an emotional message from Harvey Pearson.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Kodak

Cinelab Film and Digital

Sarah Julia 'Cairngorms' by Harvey Pearson

Sarah-Julia-'Cairngorms'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson directs a spellbinding studio-based&nbsp;promo for&nbsp;Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler.The first thing to note about this video for a track from the collaboration between actor/singer Buckley and ex-Suede guitarist Butler&nbsp;is the&nbsp;remarkable execution by Pearson - shot all in one-take, with mesmerising lighting cues, fluid camerawork and live audio, there are a myriad of complex processes at play, cleverly hidden by a seemingly simple concept.&nbsp;The black and white aesthetic - following from Pearson's other visuals for the&nbsp;pair's album&nbsp;All Our Days That Tear The Heart&nbsp;- paired with traditional lighting and engaging composition, elevates the atmospheric style&nbsp;and perfectly suits the artistic, jazzy number.&nbsp;

Jazz

Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler 'Seven Red Rose Tattoos' by Harvey Pearson

Jessie-Buckley-And-Bernard-Butler-'Seven-Red-Rose-Tattoos'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson's uses a twin-image format to create a hypnotic video for new artist Leo Bjanji.Throughout the video, Bjanji stands in a US-style phone box, in a field of wind turbines, talking the lyrics to Sea Demon into the receiver, as the camera rotates around him. The double image device really works to compliment this&nbsp;strong, simple set-up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Leo Bhanji 'Sea Demon' by Harvey Pearson

Leo Bhanji - Sea Demon

Do you ever truly accept the passing of a loved one? Harvey Pearson poses the question in the video for Benjamin Francis Leftwich's Canary In A Coalmine.An elderly man clears the chairs from a hall&nbsp;service and when he moves to the centre of the room, he is joined by his departed wife for a last dance.&nbsp;Pearson cast a real married couple,&nbsp;Bill and June Best, in the roles of the husband and wife.&nbsp;The video is for the lead single from Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s new album To Carry A Whale, released earlier this month. released last week.[imgtoken data:1]

Benjamin Francis Leftwich 'Canary In A Coalmine' by Harvey Pearson

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Canary In A Coalmine

Harvey Pearson addresses a tough subject in a hugely affecting way&nbsp;for young indie-soul&nbsp;singer Puma Blue.Jacob Allen (aka Puma Blue) wrote Velvet Leaves a few years after his sister attempted suicide - when he was finally able to process&nbsp;this traumatic and tragic event. Pearson's video for the song explores the relationship between the singer and his sibling - their friendship and the impact of her mental health issues upon him - in an impressionistic fashion, with reality slipping into a dreamworld and then veering towards somewhere nightmarish.With Mia Gill playing the sibling foil to Allen's sensitive performance, Pearson uses a number of effective, lo-fi&nbsp;visual devices to express emotion and instability: the film speeding up to a blur, the vision of the girl becoming indistinct; the siblings frozen in a fiercely white spotlight, as if in grave danger.&nbsp;But perhaps most effective of all is a more realistic snapshot, after Allen witnesses his distressed sister storming out of the house.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"This was a really special project and the first job out of lockdown," says Pearson. "Jacob (Puma Blue) came to me with this beautiful track and the touching story it told, one of family and getting through the hard times - balancing on the line of life and death. The video is a small tribute to Jacob’s sister, exploring memories and an abstract journey through mental health."&nbsp; &nbsp;

Alexa Haywood at Free Agent UK

Indie

Soul

Puma Blue 'Velvet Leaves' by Harvey Pearson

Puma Blue - Velvet Leaves (Official Video)

The third in a series for SG Lewis, Harvey Pearson follows last year's videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2018/06/29/sg-lewis-dusk-harvey-pearson/53864" target="_blank">Dusk</a> and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2018/11/05/sg-lewis-dark-harvey-pearson/55809" target="_blank">Dark</a> with, appropriately enough, Dawn.This impressionistic love story was shot in Los Angeles as the same time as its predecessors, and as previously it is distinguished by Hunter Daly's glowing cinematography, shot on Kodak 16mm film.

SG Lewis 'Dawn' by Harvey Pearson 

Sg-Lewis-'Dawn-'-by-Harvey-Pearson-

Harvey Pearson presents a&nbsp;story of urban isolation, and acceptance of yourself, for Amber Bain&nbsp;aka The Japanese House.In the Maybe You&#39;re The Reason video, Pearson employs a subtle use of VFX in a minimalist setting, to establish existential loneliness, and to&nbsp;create&nbsp;a resonant symbol of improving mental health - an alter ego who watches over Bain, and ultimately, provide crucial support.

Alt-Pop

The Japanese House 'Maybe You're The Reason' by Harvey Pearson

The-Japanese-House-'Maybe-You're-The-Reason'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Harvey Pearson - just signed to My Accomplice - has directed an affecting one-shot video for singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich, dramatising his song Gratitude.Pearson's film tackles the subject of mental health, and its potentially grim consequences. Through the use of the single take dropping the viewer into a crucial moments of a young man's experience, it treats the subject in an unsensationalised way. Which makes it's final moments all the more powerful.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Benjamin Francis Leftwich 'Gratitude' by Harvey Pearson

Ben-Francis-Leftwich-'Gratitude'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Director and photographer Harvey Pearson has joined the directors' roster at&nbsp;My Accomplice, for music videos, commercials and other content.The announcment of his arrival at the London-based production company coincides with the release of his latest video, for&nbsp;Benjamin Francis Leftwich, and just before the release of the final part of his series of videos to accompany the new album by SG Lewis,&nbsp;Dusk, Dark, Dawn.&nbsp;Pearson has been building a fine reputation for both his filmmaking and photographic work, since he directed his first official video for Island-signed band Aquilo at the age of 17. Growing up in Lancaster, he had worked with several bands from the area, including Aquilo, before that point. After leaving school he toured with Aquilo&nbsp;and other artists including Låpsley, documenting their tours through Europe and North America.He has since worked with&nbsp;Atlantic Records, Island Records, Sony Music, TAP Management and more, working in both film and stills. His photography has led him to shooting a number of artists including&nbsp;Vance Joy, Col3trane and Sigrid.Recently, having&nbsp;directed a three-part film visualising Lewis’ album&nbsp;Dusk, Dark, Dawn, shot in Los Angeles, Harvey has directed a video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2jwl8bgEqY" target="_blank">Benjamin Francis Leftwich's Gratitude</a> - released today. Harvey is also currently developing his first short film; a drama focused on the effects of mental health, which he wrote and will direct, due to start production in the new year.• Watch Harvey Pearson's showreel at My Accomplice <a href="https://www.myaccomplice.co.uk/harveypearson" target="_blank">here</a>

My Accomplice

Harvey Pearson signs to My Accomplice

The second part in the trilogy of films for SG Lewis, visualising the album Dusk, Dark and Dawn, by Harvey Pearson.The film for Dark, which takes us into after-dark Los Angeles, ostensibly to a houseparty, keeping things vague and impressionistic. It features the track A.A.T, featuring&nbsp;Drew Love.

United States

SG Lewis 'Dark' by Harvey Pearson

Sg-Lewis--'Dark'-by-Harvey-Pearson

Love blossoms in the sunshine, and then things get deeper as the sun sets, in SG Lewis&#39;s Dusk.Harvey Pearson&#39;s film covers a single day and night, and admirably reflects the complexities of a relationship, keeping the viewer guessing until the final frame.Dusk also looks fantastic: it was&nbsp;shot on Kodak 16mm motion picture film, by cinematographer&nbsp;Hunter Daly. Overall the grainly quality of the colour film, and the editng, lends a dreamy quality to the narrative. And as this is the first part of a trilogy of films for Lewis, that narrative is likely to unfold in future films.

SG Lewis 'Dusk' by Harvey Pearson

Sg-Lewis--'Dusk'-by-Harvey-Pearson

A forest setting&nbsp;and Supple Nam&#39;s choreography provide the twin pillars of Harvey Pearson&#39;s&nbsp;video for singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan. Shot in Bourne Woods in Surrey, and nicely photographed by DoP Charlie Goodger,&nbsp;the focus never shifts from the impressive Hannigan and her performance of the heartfelt Fall, as her physical movement also&nbsp;reflects the struggles at the heart of the song.&nbsp;&nbsp;