Iron & Wine - Naked as We Came

What this video is

Released in spring 2004, this video arrived during a pivotal moment for American independent folk music, when artists on Sub Pop and similar labels were gaining mainstream critical traction without sacrificing lo-fi intimacy. Sam Beam's background as a film and cinematography professor gave him a distinctive command of the moving image unusual among singer-songwriters of the era. The single-take format aligns with…

Why it matters

A landmark example of the self-directed indie folk music video, demonstrating how formal film theory (the long take, available light, compositional stillness) could be applied to the sub-two-minute pop video format. Beam's dual identity as filmmaker and musician produced a work where production…

The director

Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974) is the American singer-songwriter behind Iron & Wine. He earned a BFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Film from Florida State University. Prior to his music career, he was a professor of…