train of thought

This is one of those unscientific child-posts. Beware!

I love this song. I simply love this song. I have acknowledged my awe time and again. I feel this is a lesson in visual language with an appropriate (beautiful) grammar to go with.

Framing, composition, energy, casting, choice of location, colors, coordinates and perspectives.

But there's a period in this song the start of which has always left me smiling. Always! I never knew why. But I knew and I realized I smiled every time it started. I knew something different was happening. I couldn't my finger to it. I think I have a reason now.

Here's the actual edit in its original form.





The majority of the song has us follow the train. With Santosh Sivan and his team lodged on the train we see what they are seeing as we follow the train. Whether it is fast, is slow, whichever direction it is moving in.

Deciding to shoot on a moving train is a brave decision. There's only so much you could do in terms of space. No matter what you do, you are limited and run the risk of bringing in the devil of boredom. But you cannot help it, you have decided to shoot the song on a moving train. Live with it!

So, in come the distractions. In an effort to break the visual monotony, Sivan employs a lot of profile shots. But most of these shots have a stationary camera, a hinged camera following the train as it chugs along on a beautiful bridge.

But this edit I have made shows the team follow the train for the first time on a parallel track/road/space in an almost "V" shape. We move along the train in its direction. All the earlier motion is in a direction perpendicular to our field of vision. This for a change breaks the momentum. Most amazingly it also coincides with a change in the song.


Here it is in its altered form at 80% speed.



Sometimes the mundane become exciting with a change in perspective.

Visual choreography at its very best! :)