It takes more than just an advanced camera and a desire to take pretty pictures or create videos to be successful in the creative, yet technical field of cinematography and filmmaking. It is an art and just like any other art, it needs creativity and plenty of imagination. A cinematographer should be able to appreciate the ordinary things alongside the extraordinary and think beyond them to interpret it. One such talented individual is Agam Mann of the Agam-Azeem duo. The duo has directed over hundreds of commercially successful Punjabi and Hindi music videos and has collaborated with many top-tier artists like Karan Aujla, Sidhu Moose Wala, Parmish Verma, Neha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar etcetera. Some of their music video directions include ‘Mexico Koka’ by Karan Aujla, ‘Shona Shona’ featuring Shehnaaz Gill, Siddharth Shukla & Tony Kakkar, ‘Poison’ by Sidhu Moose Wala, “Sohne lagde, jatti jeone morh wargi” and many more. Agam Mann is here to tell us his story.
How were you introduced to filmmaking?
I was born in Punjab to a Sikh family and was always fascinated by the idea of freezing time through pictures and thus started photography in school at the age of 12. I completed an inter-mediatory photography course from the Objectifs Visual Arts Centre Singapore at the age of 13. At 14, when the world of most kids revolved around animated, power-ridden boys, I ended up producing my first short film. When I turned 15, I directed a short film called “Chandigarh in 4 minutes”. Soon, I started directing Indie short films and single-handedly wrote, directed, shot, and edited them. Yaar Maar and Ambar Vel are a few of my many directions. My first Short Film has won two national awards in film festivals.
How did you enter the field of music video direction?
In 2017, I directed my first music video ever. My big break, though, was directing Akay’s music video Sek Lain De in 2018 and the two seasons of Rooh Brew, a Sufi music video series. Then there was no looking back, we(agam-azeem duo) have directed over a 100 commercially successful videos.
What do you keep in mind while directing a music video?
There are a thousand different approaches you can take with a music video, but we as artists have always want to reach out to our audiences. With every music video, we try to tell a short story. Instead of performance music videos which highlight the performance of the artist, we prefer to make narrative music videos which are much more engaging. The story attracts their attention and keeps them engaged till the end. We also like to incorporate a lot of visual effects in our videos.
What are you planning to do next?
I have always aspired to become a feature film director. Directing music videos has helped us gain experience and a better understanding of the art of filmmaking. With years of experience as music video directors, we plan to direct our first feature film very soon. The film will be written and directed by us. Currently, the film is in its writing stage.
What would be your advice for other budding filmmakers?
Being passionate helps us manifest what we desire. It doesn’t really matter what equipment you use or if you have the required budget for it. The only thing that counts is how much you love your work. Technology has become so accessible, everything is on the internet, you can just pick up your smartphone and create content, no one is stopping you.
