Planning
Using the fairytale story idea, I wrote a quick plot in my notes app.
The plot follows a cinderella like structure, with the eventual happy ending; a circular story.
The song I finally decided on is Back To You by Selena Gomez.
This song represents remembrance, memories, young love at first sight; elements that I found in Cinderella too.
​
Moodboard
I made a mood board with Milanote, with a specific set of ideas according to the story I've planned. Some ideas may or not may not make the cut
Lyric Breakdown for Back To You
page 1
page 2
page 3
Casting
Female Lead : Mubashira Aamir
For the female lead, I needed someone with experience. Mubashira has been the center of our school plays since 7th grade, playing the lead in our urdu production Anarkali, and even playing the lead in an Arts Council play in Karachi. Since she is the center of the music video, her acting needs to be flawless and specific, and only a proper actress could get what I wanted. On top of that, she is a close friend so I find managing her would be easier and more accessible and comfortable than someone I do not know. She is also sort of an influencer who likes to keep her Instagram feed fashionable, therefore I knew she would have most of the outfits I needed (and she had them all!)
Male Lead : Faiz Ahmed
click on the sides of the
pics to see more pics!
Faiz is one of my close friends who himself offered to take part in this. Most boys were not too eager to participate, and none really enjoyed acting, but I took what I could get and chose Faiz. His role is comparatively very small, even though he is a lead character, so it shouldn't be a huge problem if his acting is not the best. The upside of choosing people I know closely is that I can manage and arrange timings with them easily, as well as push them to perform a little more easily without offending them too.
Locations / Set Designs
The karaoke club scenes are integral to the plot. The karaoke club appears in the beginning and the end, the full-circle moment setting. My mother is a doctor and a personal trainer who conducts fitness classes from home, that's why we have this gym (pictured above). This is a large space with walls 15ft wide and 10ft tall, divided in two sections, but we only used the bigger side. It came with a party light installed and steppers (used for exercise) for the "stage" Mubashira performs on. All we had to remove from the room were the weights, and we added two tall tables to keep the mic on and one table from the karaoke "screen".
I went to an event planner's shop close to my house. these pictures are from the inside of the shop. I explained to him that I need big black sheets, light enough to hang, to cover the 4 walls all around the gym area i needed. At first they were confused as to how to do it without damaging the wall, but eventually they found a way and I used this set up twice, and it cost me RS5800 each time to set it up (Rahmah and I divided this cost).
Next, I needed streamers for the stage setup. The inspiration was from the music video for "Are You Bored Yet? by Wallows (pics on the left). This adds to the dreamy quality of the video, not to mention the decor to show a club. Pictured on the far left is the shop I went to, Paras Art Fever, and the circled items are the packs of streamers I bought.
1
2
3
4
5
Picture 1: The pillow on the seat was used, along with 5 other similar pillows, on the bed
Picture 2: A big mirror for a transition or reflective over the shoulder shot (was not used)
Picture 3: the dressing table we used for the getting ready scenes and checking for the lost necklace
Picture 4: wall decor to keep the room's naturalness alive
Picture 5: another dresser we could have used (but used the one in pic 3 because it's more full and fitting for a getting ready scene)
Picture 6: another dresser we didn't use
BEDROOM MIDDLE ACT
6
Costume / Props
Me, Rahmah and Mubashira hopped on call to decide costumes and brief Mubashira on the concept behind the clothing too.
Outfit 1
I chose this outfit with a color theory in mind; dark colors to show an introverted and shy personality, and the light colors to show confidence and embracing her true self. This is the beginning outfit, when she enters the karaoke club, not ready to show her singing talent or even find the "someone", both of which happen and bring her out of her shell. This is the outfit where she drops her necklace too, which is the "shoe" from "Cinderella" in this music video. There is a sparkle on the top, a theme which I intend to carry on in the next two outfits too, as it sets her apart from the minor character and shows her as the main character, plus the sparkle adds a magical element to it, a reminder of the Cinderella "fairytale" vibe.
Outfit 2
The middle outfit. She transitions from the black outfit to this outfit, which is not quite white, more pinkish. This mix of color shows the growth as she will wear white in the end, a clear and solid color, to show her in full form, in all her confidence. Outfits show her 3 stages of growth, from shy to gaining confidence, to absolutely confident, much like a butterfly growing and coming out of its cocoon, or a flower blooming. Once again, the sparkle is intact, to keep her as the main character, and to keep the magical element running. This is also a nightsuit outfit, which is why the setting is darkened and only lit with a sunset lamp.
We added sparkly pillows to decorate the bed for the dreamy transition scene. Mubashira already had these at her house so we did not need to buy any. These add to the sparkle theme, making it more magical and dreamlike, and enhance the nighttime setting.
earrings we decided on, to continue the sparkle theme.
first necklace idea : simplicity is key
final necklace idea
- this shows up more clearly on camera as the bow is bigger and more eyecatching
sunset lamp: used as the only lighting in transition scene in bedroom. this gives a more dreamlike, fairytale aspect to the way she is acting (in love, fantasizing, gaining confidence)
Outfit 3
The final outfit, the blooming. Her confidence is full here, the sparkle is brighter than before, and she is performing all on her own without needing a 'push'. She enters in this outfit because she has found something worth connecting with and something that brings out the best of her. The full white reflects the clarity she has found, the bright and shiny her that has come out of her shy shell. There is more lightness to this outfit than the first, and her change in personality is as straightforward as the change in clothes. Therefore, the use of outfits directly affects the acting and storyline.
Outfit #1 : Black
Outfit #2 : White
(pants are white but not pictured here)
mic we used, I had one already since it came with a speaker I bought a while ago.
the laptop was used to show karaoke lyrics
Camera To Use
We will be using Rahmah's iphone 12 Pro Max to shoot the entire video. The video will be filmed in the 4K setting in the phone camera.
​
The final plot. The original went through a rework after I sat down and decided costumes, setting, and timeframe
