Few of us choose the adventurous path in a career; a road that offers no guarantee of security or financial compensation in deference to the experiential one. To travel through life in pursuit of a creative existence is only for those who greatest aspiration is to manifest something unique and uplifting in the actual process. Those who have collaborated with Weichao Zhao will confirm that this describes him to a tee. How light effects our lives may not be a primary sense of focus for most of us but Weichao spends his days and nights contemplating how this can alter the emotional reception of any scenario. His tools are not antiquated but rather among the most technologically advanced in the industry and are evolving essentially by the hour. His substantial skill and imaginativeness have place him in wildly different professional settings. Most recently this included his work on the “Casoblanco” music video by Marsha Ambrosius with music legends Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. When offered to be a part of the team on this production, Weichao confirms, “I didn’t have to think about it for even a second. The chance to work with some of the most respected names in music sounded like an amazing experience, and I’m all about the experience.”
Not to say that lighting is more important in a music video than in a film, but perhaps it’s more expeditious in the way it effects the action taking place as well as the response it elicits. By nature, a music video is more brief than a film and has less time to cultivate an emotional tone. Lighting in general, and specifically in regard to “Casoblanco” must be able to create an impact immediately and effectively. Weichao confirms that the many sudden scene changes, with large portions of the scenes sometimes shifting within seconds, required him to establish seamless transition between different moods and scenes. By adjusting the color palette and intensity levels, he achieved smooth transitions while maintaining technical precision throughout the process. With major star power on set like Marsha Ambrosius (9-time Grammy Award Nominee), Snoop Dogg (17-time Grammy Award Nominee), and Dr. Dre (7-time Grammy Award Winner), the pressure was most certainly on for Weichao to deliver immediately at the highest level. The relationship between the lighting and the music made the presence of these musical luminaries a bit more intense for Weichao personally as he confesses, “These particular artists are some of the biggest names in the rap world of the past few decades and each one of them is extremely sensitive to the rhythm. They’re very familiar with the process of filming a music video and how the rhythm also affects the lighting all throughout the different scenes. There are an unusually high number of lighting cues in this music video, necessitating the lighting changes to be precise on the beat of the music. I knew that I was working with the most established and scrutinizing artists in the industry on this project and the pressure was actually exciting to me. Marsha in particular has a very demanding and perfect creative spirit, which is very important and it made working on this an exciting challenge and a pleasure for me.”
One of the most highly anticipated music videos, “Casoblanco” is yet to be released. Big names means lots of big decisions; an often slow and meditative process. Weichao can wait as he is still basking in the glow of working with some of the most recognized names in the music industry on this production. Unable to reveal too many specific details, he mentions, “The opening scene follows Dr. Dre as he walks to a record player. He hits the PLAY button and the show begins. The director required a Spotlight to follow him from the starting point to the ending point (record player) and once he hit the button, the rest of the lights are lights up, illuminating the entire scene. The whole scene set-up is kind of narrow and there is not much space that allows for any big movements. We rehearsed a lot for this one single movement and it set the tone for the entire video. There were a lot of perfectionists on this job and I think the final version speaks for itself. I’m incredibly excited for the world to see it!”
Writer : Basil Thomson