James Mackel Breaks Down the Cinematic Vision Behind Doechii’s “Anxiety” Music Video
Director James Mackel approached Doechii’s music video “Anxiety” as more than just a promotional visual.
For Mackel, the goal was to translate the feeling of anxiety into something audiences could physically see and experience.
The result is an ambitious music video that plays like a short film, blending choreography, cinematic staging, and narrative repetition.
The project is now featured in the SXSW Music Video Competition, placing Mackel among a new generation of directors pushing the boundaries of the medium.
Building a House to Visualize Anxiety
Interestingly, the concept for the video began with a single image.
A house.
Mackel started imagining how anxiety often feels like moving through the same environment again and again. That idea eventually became the core visual structure of the video.
To achieve the concept, the production team built an entire house set inside a studio.
The design allowed the camera to move freely through the space while capturing different emotional stages of anxiety.
The same movement is repeated multiple times, but each pass through the house feels slightly different.
Three Passes Through Anxiety
The video uses three distinct camera styles to represent different emotional phases.
The first pass is handheld, keeping the camera close to Doechii as if the audience is experiencing the anxiety with her.
The second pass becomes smoother and slightly more distant, reflecting a moment of awareness within the cycle.
By the third pass, the camera pulls back into a wide shot revealing the entire house, which appears split open.
The moment feels calm and chaotic at the same time.
It visually represents the realization that the cycle is repeating.
Precision Behind the Chaos
Despite the chaotic feeling on screen, the production itself was extremely precise.
The house set was engineered so that one of its walls could be removed in under an hour, allowing the team to capture a wide lateral shot that transitions the story from the interior of the house to the outside world.
The entire project was shot over two intense days, totaling roughly thirty six hours of filming.
To maintain precision, Mackel even had an editor on set, assembling the video in real time.
By the time production wrapped, the team already had a nearly complete version of the final cut.
A Director’s Personal Connection
Like many people, Mackel has his own experiences with anxiety.
While directing the video did not necessarily solve the feeling, it did give him a way to explore and express it creatively.
For him, anxiety is something deeply personal and different for everyone who experiences it.
The video was less about explaining the emotion and more about visualizing the loops and patterns that many people recognize in their own lives.
Looking Toward Narrative Filmmaking
Although Mackel has built his career directing music videos, he has his sights set on narrative filmmaking.
His inspirations include E.T., Alien, Predator, and the conspiracy thriller Capricorn One.
Science fiction and conspiracy storytelling are genres he hopes to explore further as his career evolves.
SXSW Recognition
Having the video selected for the SXSW Music Video Competition represents an important milestone.
For Mackel, it is both recognition of the work and a sign that there are bigger projects ahead.
And if anxiety had a final cinematic form?
Mackel already has the answer.
Godzilla.
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