Raaniya's Portfolio

 Firstly, what does the term "semiotics" of music videos mean? It refers to how meaning and emphasis are created through a music video's imagery, audio, and symbols. In other terms, it's about how these videos "speak" to us and how we understand and interpret them. Our interpretation may also depend on the colors, settings, costumes, etc. without using words.  For example, if we look at a video of a bright red rose, other than the obvious fact that it's a flower, the red can symbolize love or romance. On the other hand, we may depict dying love or heartbreak if the same flower is shown in dull lighting and muted colors.  Here are the key components: Signifiers and Signified: Signifiers are the physical elements we see in a video (images, colors, actions) Signified is the meaning or concept these elements represent (e.g. the red rose example) Denotation and Connotation:  Denotation is the literal meaning of what is shown (a person walking in the rain may ...

The script or screenplay is the written plan that guides the production of a music video. It outlines every aspect of the video from visual to narrative elements such as settings, camera movements, audio, narration, actor directions, scenes, etc. The rest of this blog will talk about the key components of a script/ screenplay. 1. Basic structure: - First and foremost, it's vital to determine the concept or theme of the script, so that the idea aligns with the actual video. This can be done through listening to the song to determine a suitable theme, which will serve as the basis for the rest of the script.  - Visual description: The visual aesthetics of the script details the overall look and feel that aligns with the song's mood and message. This involves writing detailed notes on the costumes, makeup, setting, and vibe of the MV. - Transitions and camera movements: This aspect describes how the scenes and shots will transition (fade in/out, cutaway) and how the camera will mo...

Lighting plays a crucial role in setting the tone and mood of a music video. The kind of lighting used enhances the aesthetics and atmosphere of the video, directly impacting its visual appeal. Let's take a look at some key aspects: 1. Mood and Atmosphere: Bright and Vibrant Lighting: creates a cheerful, upbeat, and happy atmosphere.  Dim lighting: Emphasizes tension, mystery, or moody atmosphere. 2. Depth The type of lighting used impacts user engagement with a video. For example, using the three-point technique creates a professional look in music videos, since it uses a key-light, fill-light, and back-light, giving a 3-dimensional feel, which allows for more engagement from users. On the other hand, using flat lighting makes a video look 2D, which may seem less appealing to audiences, therefore decreasing engagement. 3. Colour of lighting:  The colour of lighting used, warm or cold, indicates transitions in mood and setting. Warm colours usually creates a cozy, inviting atm...

The purpose of this music video is to explore the themes of isolation, mental health, and self-identity. It delves into the challenges one endures when subjected to loneliness and constantly feeling misunderstood. Our MV highlights hallucinations as a coping mechanism for these struggles. The protagonist's reliance on hallucinations emphasizes the profound impact of loneliness, a struggle that outsiders often fail to recognize. The music video portrays this through a scene where the mother appears to be yelling at the protagonist, who remains detached and continues singing the lyrics, emphasizing her disconnection. This shot forms the basis of misunderstandings, resulting in hallucinations to disconnect from the harsh realities of her daily life. The MV continues to serve as a reminder of people's inner battles, masked by the facade they present to the world. In light of whatever I mentioned, the video opens up conversations about the importance of having a supportive environme...

 

  My teammate, Muhjah, handled the editing aspect of our music video using iMovie. Some of the clips had to be sped up ever so slightly to match the song lyrics. Other than that, minor editing, such as cutting the irrelevant parts from the clips and ensuring that they were in the correct order, was easily handled with basic editing tools.

We decided to film entirely at school, in the principal's office, since its aesthetic was the closest to what we wanted for the video. We were on a slight time crunch as all of us had separate classes so we tried to manage our time as efficiently as possible. Filming took us around 50 minutes since the final video was just supposed to be a minimum of 1 minute long.  The MV included 3 actors, including myself, Dua, and Muhjah was the main character. We shot the scenes using Muhjah's video camera as we wanted a clean, crisp video. I was behind the camera for the most part, while Dua filmed a few scenes as well.                                                                                                         BTS pictur...

 Auditions weren't required for this music video as, Dua, Muhjah, and I ourselves acted in the song. We decided on Muhjah for the main character to act and lipsync, while Dua is the ghost, and I act as a side character to show the main character's state of mind. 

 After the mood board, we worked on the storyboard. The initial planning was done verbally, and after further discussion and confirmation of how the scenes should look, we stamped the ideas through a rough sketch.

I made a script for the MV just to serve as a guide on what we want our scenes to look like. Since the video contains no dialogue, we focused on the camera angles and characters:

 I've used the mood board as a way to highlight the themes of the video, which are desi, struggle, and isolation. We want to stick to a white/pink colour palette.

                                                                                            SONG SELECTION We were torn between two songs to use for the MV, Koi Aanay Wala Hai by Strings & Ikisvi Sadi by Biryani Brothers. Both have their own distinct vibe and emotional depth. However, after listening to both songs a couple of times, we ultimately landed on Ikisvi Sadi , since its lyrics resonate deeply with feeling misunderstood and isolated from those around you, which is also a genuine and relatable issue of this era.                                                                   ...