Music & Performance · 2022

It Ain't Easy

Director · Cinematographer

Musician Tennyson King performs among members of an arm-wrestling club.

The film

A playful music video for Tennyson King, rebuilt and delivered in ten days after severe flooding stranded the original director.

The approach

Larger-than-life competitors and dry character comedy turn the song's everyday struggles into a warm, energetic contest.

Watch the film

Project details

Release: 2022
Category: Music & Performance

About the music video

A fast rebuild with a comic physical hook.

The video works because the idea is simple and physical: an arm-wrestling club, character comedy, group reactions and a lakeside setting turn the song's pressure into a friendly contest.

Tennyson King and the song stay central, while the finished video shows James's fast direction and cinematography under a real production constraint.

Watch It Ain't Easy IMDb title It Ain't Easy Artist Tennyson King Press Pancouver profile

Additional credits

Artist: Tennyson King
Director / Cinematographer: James Alton

Behind the scenes

From the production.

Finished frames and behind-the-scenes photographs from the shoot.

A man grips an arm-wrestling trainer while a woman lifts dumbbells outside. — A man works the arm-wrestling trainer as a woman lifts dumbbells behind him.

A group lifts weights outdoors among the trees. — The group trains with free weights outside.

Two men clasp hands across an arm-wrestling table. — Two competitors set their hands at the arm-wrestling table.

Two men lean into an arm-wrestling match. — Two competitors lean across the arm-wrestling table.

A woman looks into the camera in warm interior light. — A woman faces the camera in warm light.

A group raises drink cans together inside a wooden room. — The group gathers together with drinks inside the wooden room.

It Ain't Easy

A fast rebuild with a comic physical hook.

From the production.

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