Sting - Seven Days

What this video is

Released in April 1993 as the second single from Ten Summoner's Tales, 'Seven Days' arrived during a period when MTV was actively championing prestige adult-oriented rock alongside grunge and hip-hop. Sting's post-Police solo career had by this point firmly established an aesthetic of cultivated musicianship and literary songwriting — a deliberate counter-programming against the era's dominant pop maximalism. The…

Why it matters

A landmark example of the prestige adult-contemporary performance video format of the early 1990s. The video's success — anchored within a Grammy-winning long-form project — helped legitimize extended, musicianship-focused video formats as a serious artistic category distinct from high-concept MTV…

The director

American filmmaker and cinematographer; USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate. Began career as DP on music documentaries including Madonna's Truth or Dare (1991) and U2's Rattle and Hum (1988). Three-time Grammy Award winner/nominee. Directed hundreds of…