Making of: See Me Thru x Madame Gandhi
Madame Gandhi in “See Me Thru”
“The shot angles, the clothes on our bodies, the gaze behind the camera, the choreography of bodies and light, the pace of the edit, the energy on set, every element came together to show a nuanced love between womxn that is dripping in eroticism, without ever even showing a kiss. ”
Pisces Pool
Dejha Ti, Ania Catherine, and Director of Photography Tara Violet Niami
Specialty Wardrobe by Perfect Number, Bloke, and United Nude
Dejha Ti and Ania Catherine
Ania Catherine, Dejha Ti, and Stevie Rae Gibbs
RE: Concept and visual approach
We didn't rely on expected technologies to achieve the "special effects" in the video. Each scene was an immersive installation, our bodies were inhabiting each world whether it be defined by water, light, or another material, which makes everything feel more visceral and fleshy. For example, the purple pisces pool looks like CGI but it actually existed in real life on set. Likewise, the waterfall scene was real. The lighting effects during the drumming scenes appeared to be "high tech" or look like immersive projection, but it was done organically using light refraction. While our work often uses complex technology, as a direction we decided to not rely on tech to create the look of the video. What gives "See Me Thru" its look is the lighting techniques we used and doing effects "in-camera" and practically rather than using post-production tools. This approach gives the work more voice and avoids fashionable software and plugins that often, in our opinion, risk making contemporary work look homogeneous or time-stamped.
RE: Depicting eroticism between women
The shot angles, the clothes on our bodies, the gaze behind the camera, the choreography of bodies and light, the decision of what clips make it into the final film, the pace of the edit, the energy on set, every element came together to create an immersive world that shows a nuanced love between womxn that is dripping in eroticism, without ever even showing a kiss. What we want “See Me Thru” to show that is often missed in representations of love between womxn is the ways that small moments can be monumental, whispers can scream, and one look can shift your entire sense of reality. We curated a team with the awareness that the standpoint and experiences that each individual involved creatively will subtly but significantly influence how we, Kiran, and queer love will be represented and translated to the audience.
See Me Thru (Official Music Video) for Madame Gandhi
Directed by Dejha Ti and Ania Catherine
Director of Photography: Tara Violet Niami
Produced by Operator & Moonstruck Films
BTS Photography by Ariel Pomerantz (unless otherwise noted)