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Taylor Swift has narrated stories through wordplay since the beginning of her career. She has also tried her hand at visual storytelling by directing many of her music videos. When it comes to short films, Taylor made her feature-length directorial debut with All Too Well: The Short Film, which featured Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien.
Taylor's directorial journey started in 2010 when she collaborated with Roman White to direct the music video for her song Mine. White had previously directed the videos of Taylor's classics, such as You Belong With Me and Fifteen. Taylor's next directorial venture came nine years later when she co-directed the music video for Me!
In all, Taylor Swift has directed or co-directed 10 music videos in her life. These include Mine from Speak Now, Me, You Need to Calm Down, The Man and Lover from Lover, Cardigan from Folklore, Willow from Evermore, Anti-Hero and Bejeweled from Midnights, and finally, her debut short film as a director, All Too Well (The Short Film).
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The 14-time Grammy winner expressed her desire to be a full-scale director in a talk at the Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022.
"I feel like I would just absolutely love for the right opportunity to arise because I just absolutely, absolutely adore telling stories this way,” she explained.
List of all the music videos Taylor Swift has self-directed
Here is a list of all the music videos Tayor Swift has directed or co-directed in her career thus far.
Mine (Speak Now)
Taylor Swift was the co-director of the music video for Mine! from her album Speak Now. Directed by Roman White, the video stars the Grammy winner herself, and shows her getting married to a guy played by Toby Hemingway.
In the video, Taylor's character goes through a lot of trauma because of domestic violence in her parents' relationship. Finally, she meets a guy (Toby Hemmingway) and falls for him. The video is about the ups and downs of their relationship, and ends with the two getting married and having children.
The video premiered on August 27, 2010, and has over 320 million views on YouTube, as of this writing.
Me (Lover)
Taylor Swift directed the music video for Me, from her album Lover, along with director Dave Meyers. The video was filled with easter eggs, and Taylor later revealed that it alluded to her upcoming tour, single, and album at three different levels.
The music video was released on April 26, 2019, and had already amassed over 65 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours. It became Taylor Swift's most-watched video, beating Look What You Made Me Do's record of 43.2 million views.
It also won big at the MTV Video Music Awards 2019, where it was nominated thrice and won Best Visual Effects.
You Need To Calm Down (Lover)
The music video for You Need To Calm Down was directed by Taylor Swift and Drew Kirsch, and featured a large number of cameo appearances, especially from icons of the LGBTQ+ community.
The video was lauded for Taylor's stance on queer rights and was considered one of her most politically surcharged moves to date. Publications like the New York Times praised Swift's inclusion of drag queens and other LGBTQ+ activists.
The You Need To Calm Down music video was the most nominated video in the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, bagging nine nominations and winning two— Video of the Year and Video for Good. At the American Music Awards, the video bagged the Favorite Music Video Award.
Lover (Lover)
Lover was yet another video that was directed jointly by Taylor Swift and Drew Kirsch, and released on August 22, 2019. Taylor revealed in an YouTube Live that the video was inspired by the song You Are in Love, especially by the line "You two are dancing in a snow globe round and round."
The video stars the singer and Christian Owens as a couple who live inside a dollhouse inside a child's snow globe. The dollhouse has seven distinct rooms, each depicting the various nuances of a relationship.
By the end, the child who has the globe is revealed to be the couple's daughter. The Lover music video featured several easter eggs and references from various Taylor songs and albums, including Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights.
The music video won several accolades, including Best Production Design in a Video at the MVPA Awards. It also received nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Art Direction at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Man (Lover)
Taylor Swift directed yet another music video for her album Lover. This video was a landmark in the Grammy winner's career because it marked the first time she directed a music video without a co-director.
It is a satire on the luxuries of being a man in this world, featuring Taylor as her male alter-ego, Tyler Swift. She portrays the double standards of society and the way a young and arrogant man leads his life without facing any consequences.
"With The Man music video, I wanted to show a heightened reaction of how the world reacts to someone who's male, hot, rich, young and cocky. I wanted to show how there's immediate approval and benefit of the doubt given, in a ridiculous way," explained Taylor in 'Taylor Swift - The Man (Behind The Scenes: Directing)' on YouTube.
The 34-year-old was awarded Best Direction at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards for her debut as a solo director. She also became the first solo female artist to win a VMA award in that category in history.
Cardigan (Folklore)
Taylor wrote, directed, and styled the music video for her song Cardigan, which was released on YouTube on July 24, 2020. According to Taylor Swift - The Making of 'cardigan' | Vevo Footnotes, Cardigan was inspired by the singer's experience of being isolated at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taylor collaborated with assistant director Joe Osborne, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and set designer Ethan Tobman to make the music video. Prieto revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone on July 31, 2020 that the concept of Cardigan was "more personal," "more ambiguous," and "more of a fantasy" than The Man.
The video starts with Taylor playing a piano in a dreamy background. The piano seems to emanate sparkling golden lights and Taylor finds herself magically teleported into a forest.
In the forest, Taylor plays the grand piano from where a waterfall emanates. However, she quickly finds herself floating in the sea and staring at an unending abyss. The piano starts glowing again and Taylor is brought back to her cottage, where she puts on a cardigan.
Taylor Swift - The Making of 'cardigan' | Vevo Footnotes gives quote a poignant description of the entire scene. According to the songwriter, the forest scene represents the "evergreen beginning of a relationship" while the ocean is symbolic of the "isolation and fear involved while the relationship is breaking down."
Cardigan won Favorite Music Video at the American Music Awards 2020.
Willow (Evermore)
Willow was the continuation of Taylor Swift's Cardigan and elaborates on the dreamy symbolism of a relationship in Cardigan. It describes the feeling of longing for a person and the various crevasses of life that lead to that person.
The Willow music video won big at the 2021 award ceremonies. It was nominated for the Ten Songs I Wish I'd Written award at the Nashville Songwriters Award. The video also won nominations for Best Pop, Best Direction, and Best Art Direction at the MTV Video Music Awards 2021.
At the Gold Derby Music Awards, Willow took home Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Music Video. At the BMI Awards, it won Best Performed Song of the Year.
All Too Well: The Short Film, (Red (Taylor's Version))
Taylor Swift made her filmmaking debut in a short film with Red's(Taylor's Version) All Too Well: The Short Film. The film is based on Taylor's All Too Well song that released in 2012.
The short film stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien, who endure a topsy-turvy relationship that finally falls apart primarily because of their age gap. It was released on November 12, 2021, and screened in select theaters worldwide.
All Too Well: The Short Film won some major accolades in 2022. Taylor's filmmaking debut was honored with an American Music Award, a Grammy Award, an Art Directors Guild Award, and a Hollywood Critics Association Award.
At the VMAs. the songwriter became the first person to win Best Director for a self-directed work for All Too Well: The Short Film.
Anti-Hero (Midnights)
Taylor's Anti-Hero music video was released eight hours after the launch of her Midnights album on October 21, 2022. The video begins in a 1970s setup with the singer surrounded by ghosts wrapped in tablecloths. This Taylor meets another version of herself, and they drink and sing together. Elsewhere, a giant Taylor enters a neighbor's dinner party and wreaks havoc.
During the bridge section, Taylor describes her own funeral which is attended by her family members. The elder version of Taylor escapes from her coffin and goes on a journey to learn about her last will and testament with narrator Taylor. The video ends with the family members fighting and accusing each other of the murder of Taylor Swift.
Anti-Hero won several accolades including People's Choice Awards, Best Music Video at iHearradio Music Awards, and Best Video at MTV Europe Music Awards. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Anti-Hero won Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, and Best Video.
Bejeweled (Midnights)
In the Bejeweled music video, Taylor dresses up like a Cinderella-esque character called House Wench Taylor and is harassed by her stepmother and villainous stepsisters.
After they leave the ball, Taylor undergoes a paradigm shift and passes through a room with a million gemstones. As she opens her cloak, we see a dance outfit, illuminated by the falling gemstones. Thereafter, Taylor meets her fairy goddess, and they dance in giant martini glasses.
Finally, Taylor goes to the thirteenth floor and shows off her dance number, which impresses Queen Pat. Queen Pat forces her to impress Prince Charming and marry him. However, she rejects the proposal and ghosts him. In the end, the Prince accepts Taylor's rejection.
The Bejeweled music video features people from Taylor Swift's inner circle like Pat McGrath, Jack Antonoff, Dita Von Tesse, and Laura Haim.
Taylor Swift wants to direct her own film
After directing a barrage of music videos and a short film, Taylor expressed her desire to direct her own film. At the Toronto Film Festival in 2022, in a discussion moderated by Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO, Swift elaborated upon the same, saying:
“I’d love to keep taking baby steps forward. And I think that I’m at a place now where the next baby step is not a baby step. It would be committing to making a film."
Many other juggernauts in the filmmaking world have lauded Taylor Swift's prowess as a storyteller. For instance, Searchlight presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum praised Taylor Swift's filmmaking talents. According to a 2022 article published by The Guardian:
"Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller. It is a genuine joy and privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey," Greenbaum commented.
Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum head the company that has produced masterpieces like Slumdog Millionaire, Nomadland, and Black Swan.
