Disco lights, bullies and embarrassing dancing. Nothing will stand between a boy and his school dance in Dustie Carter’s charming video for Sleepy Soul.

Our young hero has two left feet and a girl to impress. So, armed with a pair of headphones, an instructional dance video, and a basement full of cardboard classmates, he overcomes his nerves with pure guts and ingenuity.

The video has a nostalgic style. Period details will feel familiar to anyone who came of age at the turn of the millennium, but this is ageless middle school story transcends its '90s setting. Mike Dalton’s signature milky photography ebbs in and out of focus, establishing the warm atmosphere of a distant memory.

A special mention should go to  the video’s young star Mitchell Scheer, who is certainly not a terrible dancer. He carries the video with that strange mixture of confidence and naivety that defines the formative years of so many.

DUSTIE CARTER:

"The sound of Sleepy Soul seems lost in time, in an era you can’t place, so it seemed perfect to place the story in the past, as if it were a memory. Growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s gave me my inspiration, and automatically, I remembered to how it felt to be at a middle school dance. The awkwardness of dancing (attempting to dance) with your early-teen friends, streamers trying their hardest to decorate the basketball gym, the unnecessary smoke machines, and of course the perfectly embarrassing wardrobe. All of these memories came together to shape the style and tone we would set out to achieve."

"I’ve never directed anyone this young before, so I was excited to take on a new challenge. It was awesome to see what these young actors/actress brought to this project. They just blew us away with their performances."