Taylor Swift Expertly Directs Herself in ‘Lavender Haze’ Music Video: Watch Behind-the-Scenes Footage

Taylor Swift is showing how she made her vision for her January “Lavender Haze” music video come to life. On Friday (March 3), the pop star shared behind-the-scenes footage from her days-long shoot with model Laith Ashley, who played her love interest in the project, and a group of extras.

In the very first clip, Swift is breaking down walls on a set decorated to look like a living room, acting out one of the video’s last scenes. (In the final product, the room’s walls fall away to reveal a starry sky swimming with enormous, magical koi fish.) Then, she shifts immediately from actress to director, adorably raising her arms and shouting, “Cut!”

The new video also shows the “Anti-Hero” singer coaching her leading man, explaining to Ashley what types of scenes they’ll film together and how post-editing will add special effects to one of their more intimate moments. “I didn’t expect for her to share anything with me,” he tells the camera at one point.

“I was just like, ‘I’m kind of just here … kind of just a model,” he continued. “But she went into detail as to what my role was in the video, so I’m really happy to be a part of it. She was just so warm and down to earth.”

Following “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled,” “Lavender Haze” marked the third music video to be released for a track on Swift’s blockbuster 10th studio album, Midnights, which dropped in October. “This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released, and this one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights,” the singer wrote on Instagram following the finished video’s release. “Like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream.”

Behind-the-scenes content isn’t the only treat Swifties woke up to Friday morning, though. The “All Too Well” musician also shared a handful of “Lavender Haze” remixes from Tensnake, Snakehips and Jungle.

Watch the “Lavender Haze” behind-the-scenes video and listen to the remixes below: