JOIN USHere’s a music video that sends out positive vibes
The new year has seen an increasing number of musicians collaborate with production houses. Sugar Shot films and Dusk and Dawn productions recently collaborated with acapella group No Treble to bring out a Ritviz mashup.
Metrolife caught up with Sanjay Sugumaran and Nithin John Francis from the team to know more about the music video and the challenges musician s face.
How did the idea of the project come about?
Sanjay: Musician Raheal Roy Thomas and I thought we should do something and we roped in acapella group No Treble and then the production houses came into the picture. It started as a small plan and grew into the scale we never expected.
Nithin: We were excited after we heard what Dusk and Dawn productions had done with the song. We didn’t want it restricted to an audio platform and decided to put a face to it, so it could reach out to a bigger audience and that’s how the video for the project started.
The song has a positive vibe, what was the motivation?
Sanjay: We know how the year 2020 went. Especially, in the creative arts field, there were no shows. I did only three shows last year— in 2019, I was doing five shows a week. The pandemic hit the industry hard. It was then that we decided to do a project which is fun and has a groove to it.
Nithin: The first time we heard the song, we forgot about the pandemic situation and the sadness of what Covid did to all of our lives. We experienced bliss and wanted to communicate this and since we know the language of filmmaking, we brought out the video.
In the video, we can see people holding a slate with their aspirations written on it. Can you tell us more about that?
Sanjay: We extensively brainstormed over video calls. Nithin came up with the idea: Write what you wanted to do in 2020. In Bangalore slang, I can say that we “felt off”
Nithin: On the first day of the show, when the slate was given to everybody; the answer I got from them was is one slate enough. About the idea, we had to keep in mind the Covid. Some team members were not even in the city when we shot the video— one was in the US and another in Mumbai.
How is pursuing music as a hobby versus a profession?
Sanjay: Everyone will be supportive if you are pursuing music and creative arts in general as a hobby but that’s not the same when it comes to profession. The moment you screw up in it, it becomes a problem but if you make it big, it’s fine. It is no different from a regular job. In this context, we need to look at the mental health aspect and listen to people.
Nithin: As a nation, we are not very old. We have spent the majority of our history trying to build a country which involves efforts in engineering, medicine and economics. The creative side is still blooming.
What does this mashup mean to you?
Sanjay: It means fun and detox. I have learnt something new in terms of video production. It felt like I was learning a language at school.