Videos Cut by Cut

Nepal: The co-founders of Stellar Studios, a Kathmandu-based video production company, talk about how they plan to make a name for themselves in this rapidly evolving field.

                              photo: prabish newa

For aspiring filmmakers Nayan Rai, Anjon Limbu, and Ashok Adhikari, cinema is their first love. And that’s what brought them together to start Stellar Studios a creative video production company that makes music videos and
advertisements. Rai was the first one who initiated the idea of establishing their own production house with Limbu and Adhikari.

Their most recent production is ‘Je Chhau Timi’ by Swoopna Suman and Samir Shrestha, which gained over 5,900,000 views within ten days. This song hit home for a lot of young Nepalis, not just in the country but also in Australia and the UK.

Founder Rai reveals that storytelling has always captivated him, and he has a constant appetite for learning new things. “I used to make a miniature movie theatre out of cardboard boxes as a kid and make several photo reels to show off my best stop motion work,” he recalls, adding that it feels surreal to see that he is now a CEO of a production firm at the age of 26.

Though the studio has been mostly sticking to music videos and advertisements, Rai believes his true calling is making crime thrillers. He is eager to see where his career will lead him in the future. “I can’t wait to tell you my story,” he says.

Limbu has been working in the media production field since 2016. He began as a video editor, but as he gained more experience, he also developed skills as a colourist and director. “I always try to get better at what I do, and every project I work on teaches me something new,” says Limbu.

Adhikari, on the other hand, is a VFX maestro, working on animation, editing and post-production. “In Stellar, we want to tell viewers important stories that compel them to reflect, experience, and reevaluate their worldview,” he says.

Launched oin 2021, Stellar Studios has already come a long way, coming up with music videos for popular artists like Sushant KC. They are a ‘full-service’ media company that works on not just advertisements and music videos but also political campaign ads, short films, and documentaries.

Their team comprises of Nisseem Shrestha as content supervisor, Nisim Gorkhali as operations manager, Supran Shrestha as photographer, Nhujan Dongol as junior editor, Rajesh Chaudhary and Aaditya Shrestha as the cinematographers.

The secret behind Stellar Studios’ success, Limbu reveals, is that each member of the team possesses a unique set of skills. “This has allowed us to be responsible in our specialised field and prioritise our commitments,” he says.

When the studio is approached by agencies and brands for a given project, it falls under their responsibility to turn the client’s vision into a concept that best fits their needs. For a project, the deadline set by their clients typically determines the pace for their initiatives. However, they lament that companies often delay payment long after the project is completed, which sometimes affects the studio’s sustainability. But this doesn’t mean they don’t give their best in all the projects they take up.

The scheduling procedure is also impacted by the actors' and crew’s availability. “In order to plan our film sessions, it is crucial to keep everyone’s schedule in mind,” says Rai. The studio uses a variety of software depending on the concept and the goal of the project, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort for their videos to go from visualisation and conceptualisation to the final outcome.

When it comes to the budget, Limbu adds that it again mostly depends on the project. “The budget elevates the production value. Even if it’s merely a music video, we have to think about innovation, productivity, management, crew involvement, cast, and other factors,” he adds.

In any media project, there are three important parts: pre-production, production and post-production. “Pre-production is like creating a foundation for the video that we are about to create.

It includes script writing, storyboarding, selecting the right cast, selecting the right location, and scheduling everything before the date of the shoot,” says Limbu, adding that if a crew fails to have proper preparation, it gets incredibly difficult for the shooting crew during production. The choice of location is set according to the video’s concept and budget. “We are very mindful and thorough with our pre-production process,” he says.

Post-production, in Limbu’s opinion, is where everything comes together. After they get the footage from the shooting team, the director of the project then sits with the editor and the editing takes place. “To give you an idea, we mostly use Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve for post-production,” says Limbu. After the editing process, the finalised video goes to the colourist for colour grading.

“In Nepal, the importance of colour grading and colour correction is greatly underrated,” he says, adding that colour grading adds that extra layer of finesse to the finished video and aids in establishing the narrative.

For the song ‘Je Chhau Timi’, it was singer Suman who reached out to them. The team decided that a one-take shoot was was the ideal approach to accomplish their objective which was to showcase the unfiltered realism of Suman’s music. The video features the two singers Suman and Shrestha singing below thundering dark clouds.

Despite the darkness that surrounds them, they are seen singing happily. “We wanted people to realise that everyone possesses the capacity for immense strength even in the most difficult times–all we need to do is accept it,” says Rai.

Apecksha Gurung

kathmandupost