Some of the most beautiful song videos for cinematography come from indie artists: The Lumineers, Seafret’s “Oceans”, Conan Gray’s “Heather”, Prateek Kuhad’s “cold/mess”, Parekh and Singh, Novo Amor and Taylor Swift’s All Too Well short film. Each one uses framing, colour and light to tell a story the song alone cannot.
Music videos no longer play on TV the way they did in the MTV and VH1 days, but YouTube has kept the form alive. Our picks needed two things: a good song, and a video with a clear visual idea and strong direction. We have refreshed the list for 2026 with credits and one newer addition.
8 beautiful song videos we love for their cinematography
1. The Lumineers: the Cleopatra videos (2016)
Instead of one video, we pick a set. For their 2016 album Cleopatra, The Lumineers released linked videos for “Ophelia”, “Cleopatra”, “Sleep on the Floor”, “Angela” and “My Eyes”. Several, including “Cleopatra”, were directed by Isaac Ravishankara, and together they play as chapters of a single story about leaving home, love and loss.
In 2017 the band put them together as a short film, The Ballad of Cleopatra. The warm, grainy look matches the band’s piano and stomp folk sound. They later did something similar for their 2019 album III, a 44-minute film directed by Kevin Phillips that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
2. The Wisp Sings (Winter Aid)
Winter Aid is the project of Shane Culloty, a singer-songwriter from County Kerry, Ireland. He recorded “The Wisp Sings” at home in a Dublin flat, and it first broke out in 2014 through a Spotify playlist of beautiful songs.
It found a second life during the pandemic on TikTok and has been used in TV shows and ads. In 2023, a remastered 10th anniversary edition of the EP was announced. The visuals around the song are simple and wintry, which suits its hushed, sad mood.
3. Oceans (Seafret, 2015)
Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, this video stars Maisie Williams, then known as Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. She plays a lonely teenager who creates a superhero alter ego to cope with being alone.
The video is quiet and restrained, with small moments that hit hard. It shows how much a good actor and a clear idea can add to a song about longing.
4. Heather (Conan Gray, 2020)
“Heather” is from Conan Gray’s debut album Kid Krow. The video, directed by Dillon Matthew and Gray, came out on 20 August 2020. It shows Gray trying to become the idealised “Heather” of the song, moving between feminine and masculine beauty standards.
It feels intimate and unpolished, like a friend confessing something. Soft light and close framing keep the focus on his face.
5. cold/mess (Prateek Kuhad)
“cold/mess” is the title track of Prateek Kuhad’s 2018 EP. Its video stars Jim Sarbh and Zoya Hussain as a couple, and the shots follow small, everyday moments in their relationship as it falls apart.
The song reached a global audience when Barack Obama included it in his list of favourite songs of 2019. For Indian indie music, that was a big moment.
6. I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll (Parekh and Singh, 2016)
Kolkata dream pop duo Nischay Parekh and Jivraj Singh released this as the first single from their album Ocean. The video, directed by Misha Ghose, borrows openly from Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom: symmetrical frames, flat side pans, pastel colours and matching suits.
Part of it was shot in a rajbari, an old royal home, outside Kolkata. It went viral in 2016 and is still one of the best-looking Indian indie videos.
7. Anchor (Novo Amor)
Novo Amor is the project of Welsh musician Ali Lacey. “Anchor” is a soft, almost whispered song, and its video, released in 2015, retells the selkie myth from Celtic folklore, in which a seal takes human form.
The video feels like a short film rather than a promo, with the sea and the myth doing most of the talking. Novo Amor’s videos often lean on nature and folklore in this way.
8. All Too Well: The Short Film (Taylor Swift, 2021)
Taylor Swift wrote and directed this 15-minute film for the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” from Red (Taylor’s Version). Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien play a couple whose relationship falls apart, and Swift appears in the final scene.
It won Video of the Year at the 2022 MTV VMAs and the Grammy for Best Music Video in 2023. Fans still talk about the scarf.
A newer pick: Fortnight (Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone, 2024)
Swift directed this black and white video for the lead single of The Tortured Poets Department, with Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto behind the camera. Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles appear as scientists, a nod to Dead Poets Society.
The video won Video of the Year and Best Direction at the 2024 MTV VMAs. It shows how a pop video can look like a feature film.
What makes a music video look beautiful
The videos on this list share a few traits. They use one strong idea instead of many, they let shots breathe, and they trust colour and light to carry emotion. Most of them also cast actors who can say a lot without dialogue.
If you like this kind of list, browse our listicles and Hollywood section for more.
Frequently asked questions
Who stars in Seafret’s Oceans music video?
Maisie Williams, known for Game of Thrones, stars in the 2015 video directed by Jonathan Entwistle.
Which Prateek Kuhad song did Barack Obama like?
Obama included “cold/mess” in his list of favourite songs of 2019.
Who acted in All Too Well: The Short Film?
Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien play the couple, and Taylor Swift appears at the end. Swift also wrote and directed it.
Which Parekh and Singh video looks like a Wes Anderson film?
“I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll”, directed by Misha Ghose, is styled after Moonrise Kingdom.
Sources: Wikipedia: All Too Well: The Short Film, Wikipedia: Cleopatra (The Lumineers song), Wikipedia: Heather (Conan Gray song), Hot Press on Winter Aid.
