It was just a few months ago that Marin natives Sophia Sabella and Pablo Feldman were on set producing Doechii’s music video for “Anxiety,” the rapper’s first top-10 hit, which delves into her mental health struggles.
For the jam-packed project, they navigated building a house on a sound stage, where most of the music video takes place, going from room to room in one chaotic scene to the next, shutting down a street for a choreographed dance portion with Doechii and 85 dancers, having pyrotechnics and supporting director James Mackel’s creative vision every step of the way.
“We had such specific timing; it’s amazing how much each detail needed to flow successfully that when you’re watching the video, you might not know how much was needed to make sure everything was done perfectly and timed perfectly,” Sabella said. “We were so excited, and it turned out better than we ever imagined.”
The video, which was released on April 18, has amassed 58 million views to date.
“Doechii is such an amazing performer,” Feldman said. “When we saw the video, we were just like, ‘This is one of the most amazing music videos we’ve ever seen.’”
The Grammy voters agreed. Last month, “Anxiety” was nominated in the best music video category; it will go up against Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Clipse’s “So Be It,” Sade’s “Young Lion” and OK Go’s “Love” at the Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 1.
“That day, we got a text from our partners and Doechii’s team at Top Dawg Entertainment, who were amazing partners. They were like, ‘Congrats, Grammy nominees.’ We were like, ‘What do you mean?’” said Sabella with a laugh.
Sabella and Feldman grew up during the MTV heyday, when music videos were integral to a song’s success and getting a music video showcased on the TV station could propel an artist into stardom.
“Sophia and I have always loved music videos since we were kids,” Feldman said. “And we’ve always been super intrigued by music videos and that type of storytelling as well.”
The couple, who grew up in Mill Valley and went to Tamalpais High School, really delved into the space when they connected with Jolene Mendes, who produced their first feature film, the coming-of-age drama “Edge of Everything,” which had sold-out hometown showings at the Sequoia Cinema — where they had their first date — in 2024.
“We reached out to Jolene on that feature, and then she accepted to produce it, which was amazing,” Sabella said. “We had such a good experience with her on that feature that we kept working together over the years on various projects. And then we were like, ‘We work so well together, we should just start a company and make it official.’”
So, around a year ago, the Los Angeles-based couple started a TV and film production company, More Avenue, with Mendes.
“For the three of us, our mentality is, ‘Let’s have fun with it, too.’ It feeds into the stuff that we’re directing as well; we’re always having fun with it and bringing that energy and the work is going to turn out to have that energy and be better for it. The environment on set with the crew and everybody does infuse into the work, the tone that you set,” said Feldman about the company, which does feature films, music videos, commercials and other work.
The opportunity for “Anxiety” came through Mendes, who has produced videos for Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group and other clients.
“She’d worked with James before, and when he started putting together the music video for ‘Anxiety,’ he reached out to her and brought us all on to be the production company and producers on the project. He’s an amazingly talented director that we’ve all wanted to work with for a while,” said Feldman about Mackel, who has previously worked with artists like A$AP Rocky and Trippie Redd.
It wasn’t long before Sabella and Feldman began to develop a love for music videos and felt their skills as filmmakers and writers helped them in this endeavor.
“You get to create some pretty amazing magic, which is a big reason we’re drawn to it,” Sabella said.
“Music videos come together really fast, and with our indie filmmaking background, indie films also come together really fast. It’s like once you get the green light, you just have to push it and go. We have a unique perspective that helps to support a director and make sure that they have everything they need. We know how hard it is on that side, so we’re going to push as hard as we can so that it’s easy for them,” said Feldman, who said they worked two weeks nonstop before the shoot, which in some parts only used one or two takes. “You get the tools to create something that is a really big visual medium in those one or two days. It was so cool to be able to work on one like that, and especially something that has really blown up and been so well-received; it was really cool to see.”
For them, it was an honor to have their work — and the work of other producers and creatives who are behind the scenes — highlighted at the Grammys.
“We did not expect all of this. As a company, it’s the biggest music video we’ve done, and that it was so successful felt really special. It’s been a year of a lot of hard work on videos, and, as producers, you don’t get your name in the light that much, and it’s pretty amazing to be included on this stage with so many other incredible nominees. To see all of our names up there was one of the most mind-blowing, amazing experiences,” Feldman said.