Versatile performer

When it comes to being different and creative, Dushyanth Weeraman is one artiste in the local music scene who has made his mark… for sure… From his Showboat fame, to making a name for himself as a versatile performer, to his latest hit singles, he has slowly but surely created his own niche, the stage being his comfort zone, so to speak.

And with the music video for his single "Jayththu Nonay" being released yesterday, he has now officially entered into the realm of direction as well. Creating the storyline for the video, and shoot direction, handling the choreography, special effects direction, and the final edit, making the creation all his own. "I was initially approached by Lalith Senanayake, a cartoonist attached to a local newspaper, asking me whether I would like to do the video in a cartoon format. The lyrics of the song are quite abstract, and has three characters, so I agreed to doing the video this way. But practically, it was quite an impossible task, as it was about a four minute song, and we needed to draw at least 25 frames per second, and so this plan was scrapped," said Dushyanth.

He then thought of doing the background and environment of the video in 3D, and combining it with real actors. "So with the assistance of Lal Dissanayake of Turning Point, I started on the project on May 1, and I had to come up with a storyline, to go with the lyrics, all the while preserving the meaning of the song."

The story basically revolves around a girl named Jayththu Nonay, who this particular boy (Dushyanth's character) likes, but while she is fun loving and jovial, is also quite rude and is a typical tomboy. Jayththu Nonay's role is played by Anarkali Aakashaa, who needs no formal introduction, while Vasantha Duggannarala plays "Thekka Mama," and Nilmini Kottegoda, a famous actress in the Sinhala entertainment scene, takes the role of "Thekka Nenda." "The lyrics were written by Vasantha Duggannarala, one of the most talented lyricists in the country, and I was fortunate enough to get him to play this role as well. The other two actresses too, are perfect for their roles." The story in the video has a good sense of humour, love, anger and mystery portrayed, while the special dance performance by Dushyanth incorporated into the video, adds that extra touch of entertainment as well.

The music video is a merging of real actors and technology, in order to get a unique effect, and anyone watching the video would agree that this has indeed been achieved. What's more is that the entire video is done in 3D graphics and animation, which is a unique feat in the Sri Lankan context. "The 3D animation was done using programmes such as MAYA, 3D MAX and COMBUSTION, which is a first in Sri Lanka. Every single shot was painstakingly done, considering all factors imaginable. For instance, in a scene where "Jayththu Nonay steals a lamp and runs with it, what really happened was that Anarkali had the unlit lamp in her hand, but when we merged the two together, we inserted a flame into the lamp, and wherever the lamp went, the flame had to be moved as well, as in, in every frame. So every thing such as even shadows of trees, people and the lamp itself, has to be considered, to give it the most realistic appearance."

The undertaking was huge, considering that it was Dushyanth's first time directing, and the assignment was strenuous, with them shooting for 24 hours straight. "The edit was another long process, which took about 3 days, with just a 5 hour break. Basically everything was in my head, it was a case of me explaining my ideas to the other actors, and then us taking it from there.

He is confident that his existing and growing fan base, is sure to love the video clip for "Jayththu Nonay," with the target audience being both the young and the old. The music video was released yesterday on Sirasa Looks Like, but if you missed it, you can catch it on his website www.dushyanth.com. You can also download his songs, videos and pictures via this website.