Taylor Swift has been sharing her stories through song for decades now. And unless you lived under a rock in 2021, you’ve seen the music video for the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” from Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version). Written and directed by the pop star herself, she released the music video, All To Well: A Short Film, which featured actors Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, back in November of 2021. And with the song depicting the story of a young couple falling in love, and then going through traumatic heartbreak, the video left fans with a million questions about its correlation to her own dating life, specifically to her fleeting 2010 relationship with Jake Gyllenhall.
On Thursday, Dec. 8, Swift finally shared what went on behind the scenes of the short film on YouTube. (Merry Christmas!) “The behind the scenes footage of ATW the short film is out now!” the singer wrote in her Instagram post about the video. “The first seeds of this short film were planted over ten years ago, and I’ll never forget the behind the scenes moments of the shoot. I owe everything to @sadiesink_, Dylan O’Brien, my incredible DP @the_rinayang and my producer @saulysaulysauly.”
In the exclusive video, Swift is seen directing Sink and O’Brien, passionately exploring the visual representations of her emotional song, and explaining more about what she wanted the actors to embody while playing lovers. In the first look of the BTS, you’ll see Swift obsessing over the opening scene, screaming “Yessss!!!” when Sink is shown in frame wearing the iconic red-scarf.
The video then cuts to the PDA-filled scene in the woods, where we see Swift helping Sink and O’Brien channel their chemistry by explaining more about their characters “sweet and playful” love. “I feel like you guys have this natural chemistry that comes around once in a lifetime that just like happens and it’s sweet and it’s playful and you could be laughing in the middle of it, but it’s also got elements of physical chemistry to it,” Swift told the actors.
All of a sudden, the video cuts to the dinner party scene. “When she goes to hold your hand, put it back down on the table,” Swift tells O’Brien. “We need to see you put it on the table, that’s why it’s so embarrassing.” She also noted how the couple’s interaction should be drowned out by the laughter of the boyfriend’s friend group in the scene. “At a certain point, they’re going to have a moment of disconnect, but you don’t even need to notice it at all,” Swift tells the actors playing the friend group.
Fans are then left with a beautiful BTS moment between Sink and Swift, with the singer walking the actress through the birthday scene and playing the lyrics for her. “We’re watching a person lose an element of innocence and naivete. We’re watching her figure out how to turn it into something beautiful,” says Swift of Sink’s character. “In the older her, there’s a stillness and a stoicism and a seriousness and a stillness but a sadness. She’s fine, but she’s not who we met.”
Unsurprisingly, the short film directed by Swift has raked in awards, including Favorite Music Video at the 2022 American Music Awards as well as Video of the Year at the 2022 MTV VMAs. All Too Well: A Short Film has also been nominated for Best Music Video at the 2023 Grammy Awards. So, check out the intimate, never-before-seen footage and watch Swift dive into the emotions behind the film.