Video by Thread Creative Company

https://www.madebythread.com/

"Lost for Now" is the opening track from Joel's new album "Layers"

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/joelansett/layers-2

Joel’s Notes:

It’s a rare joy to have a one take performance captured like this. It’s honestly not something I would have had the confidence or resources to put together without Zack Wilson having the vision to make it happen. He brought a fearless desire to capture a one take performance and he put a dream team together to set up all kinds of lights and one serious camera. Dave Wilton graciously wore several hats by inviting us into his space, learning the songs, performing the songs, and then engineering and producing the audio in A+ quality. All that was left for me then was to perform the song 😅❤️ so thrilled to get to share this with you. I hope you love it and if it’s hitting home, feel free to help us share it far and wide 🌻

Zack Wilson Director's Notes:

In over a decade of collaborating with Joel, I have never been able to truly recreate the experience of being in a small room with Joel & an attentive audience. If you’ve been in one of those spaces, you know what I’m talking about. That was my primary goal - to bring that experience to the screen. To, if possible, remove the barrier of time and space and technology in order to connect the viewer to the song, and beyond that, the songwriting.

When talking through the project approach, I really encouraged Joel to do these in one take. That felt important. I wanted the honesty and vulnerability of the performance to match the same attributes in Joel’s songwriting. Joel obliged, and I’m so thankful for that. @aboyandhiskite masterfully created the sound, including that beautiful reverb live in the room. Dave Wilton is a legend.

I worked with DP @josh.heinrich to develop the visual approach, and the theme was the same. Make choices that match the honesty and vulnerability of the performance. We settled on Cooke Speed Panchros for the history, warmth, and character that’s baked into the image. Shooting them on full frame left us with somewhere near 4:3 in the middle of the frame. We embraced that aspect ratio, knowing that it would allow us to keep more of Joel’s face and instrument in frame at any given time.

Josh, @colorado_gaffer, and I worked to create a unique look for each of the 3 performances.

LYRICS:

Can you imagine the panic at the first sunset

Down on your knees begging it not to go

Why would you warm up my heart and my skin

Just to leave me alone in the end

I truly don’t know how to make it

Now that you’re gone

Why? Why do you take?

Leaving my heart on a limb just to see how it breaks

Feels like everything is lost

Til you hold me

Saying it’s only lost for now

Can you imagine the joy eleven hours later

There’s a chorus of birds teaching me how to sing

Hard to believe all the people I see

Brighter today than they were in my dreams

I hear the notes of my pain and you’re making a song

Why? Why do you take?

Leaving my heart on a limb like it’s some kind of game

Feels like everything is lost

Til you hold me

Saying it’s only lost for now

Hard to believe what you say

Hard to believe what you say

But I wanna believe when you say that it’s all coming back one day