Feathers in Space ft. Azadé Aria -Inertia (Music Video) – student project by Oindri Dutta

AG: Tell us a bit about yourself, your background.

My name is Oindri Dutta and I am from Kolkata. I’ve graduated from Symbiosis Institute of Design in April 2019. This music video is my graduation project. It my first complete film.

AG: How did you conceive of the idea for the video? Tell us how you went about developing the visual style for it.

The objective of the video was to promote the song and the band. I asked the song writer what inspired him to write the song and what were the feelings and emotions he wanted to convey through it. The song is about heartbreak, hence I had to research existing music videos and short films on the subject. After gathering all the information, I realised I needed an element in the video that could be used as a symbol or metaphor as well as help in promoting the band. This element is present in band’s name itself (the glowing feather).

Then it was time to storyboard. I tried in incorporate the song writer’s emotions as much as possible. The visual style of the video was inspired from a short film called “Late Afternoon” by Cartoon Saloon. I loved its simplicity and vibrancy and wanted to implement the same feel in my video. The colour scheme however was to match the mood of the song. The song is mellow, but also upbeat during the chorus, hence I used a complimentary colour scheme.

AG: What were the challenges faced and the responses you've got to the video so far?

I had to face a lot of challenges right from the beginning because it was my first time making a music video. I had to make sure the visuals reflected the mood of the song and also went with the beats of the music. I had to use Autodesk Maya for the camera movements in certain sections of the video. I had made a rough set and then animated the camera movement. This footage was then used as a reference for the final animation, which was done in 2D. Even though it was challenging, I still had a lot of fun and learnt a lot from the project.

The response that I’ve got so far is very positive. I was very happy when some people told me that they got goosebumps from watching the music video, but even happier to know that the band members loved it. For the project, my college awarded me the “best pre-production 2D” during Design Showcase 2019.

AG: What are your other interests?

I’ve loved drawing and painting since a very young age. And I love spending time learning how to use different kinds of traditional mediums to draw and paint. I also like thinking of ways I can use certain waste materials to make art. Apart from that I also have an interest in musical instruments and know how to play the guitar and ukulele.

AG: What are your top 3 favourite animation films?

It is extremely difficult to chose just 3 out of so many wonderful animated films. But currently my top 3 would be “Toy Story 4”, “Klaus”, and “Your Name”.

Oindri is currently working on another music video for the artist Siddhant Kalmegh. She can be reached at [email protected]