Business partners Jan, Nik and Shiv are the minds behind city-based The Recording Tape Co., which combines their love for the camera and music
Shivani, Janani and Nikhila
Their story starts like this — Nikhila Sarma (Nik), Janani Diwakar (Jan) and Shivani Murali (Shiv) studying together at MOP Vaishnav before going their separate ways. Nik, wanting to become a professional musician, began vocal training at a music school; Shiv followed her love of videography, making her mark as an assistant director for television commercials, while Jan’s interest lay in photography. But one thing tied all of them — they loved seeing the world through a camera, and music.
Then, just a few months ago, the three friends got together over a cup of tea, thinking of ways to combine their passions into one idea. That’s how The Recording Tape Co. was born! Based in Chennai, they specialise in photography and videography exclusively for musicians — bands or individual artists. “I have always been interested in music and photography. One day I thought, why not combine both interests? We can help the Indie music scene by focusing on musicians. When I spoke to Jan and Shiv about the idea, they loved it! We have been best friends for six years, and working together is much easier for us,” Nikhila, the musical brain behind the group, smiles.
Even though they officially launched through their Facebook page a little more than a week ago, they have already made headway. The Nomad Project is the first band they have collaborated with; a new experience because of the band’s use of raw, natural sounds. An amazing time, Shivani muses, and recalls how they jumped at the opportunity because not only is the musicality of working with raw sounds awesome, it’s also the meeting of two startups of sorts. The Nomad Project is also just starting out.
“Inspiration can come from anywhere,” she says, bringing her experience of making films into music videos. “Through my experience in cinematography, I learnt that there is no particular way to do anything. No rulebook, it is about what works for the client. The goofball idea can come from anywhere!” Shivani explains.
Not surprisingly, they are taking things slow — the metaphorical testing of waters and going with the flow, Janani laughs. The videography part of The Recording Tape Co. is still new so both Nikhila and Janani, being new to the concept, look to Shivani for guidance. But being the photographer amongst them, Janani says that working with musicians is different. “You have to be careful when shooting at concerts, make sure to not disturb them when they’re playing. But for portfolio pictures, as a photographer, you have the control. And we love doing a lot of outdoor shoots!” she exclaims. “Most people like to listen to music while they work. In our case, we are working and we get to listen to some music!” she signs off.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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