K-Pop Cover of "No Make Up" by Zion T.
- Daniel Chen
- Jun 1, 2019
- 1 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2019
Cast
Zion T. - Emanuel Narciso
Girl - Monica Vo
Boy - Daniel Quach
Bass - Tarn Limviphuwat
Drums - Daniel Quach
Keyboard - Monica Vo
Production
Original Song - Zion T.
Vocals - Emanuel Narciso
Song Recreation - Emanuel Narciso
Director - Tarn Limviphuwat
Cinematography: Daniel Chen
Editing: Daniel Chen
Narrowing it down to cover this specific song and music video seemed like a research project on it's own. Figuring out what song to cover made me realize that there was so much more to k-pop than fast tempo beats, intricate choreography and the glam that came with my preconceived notion of k-pop. Zion T.'s "No Make Up" was the perfect song to cover because it best suited our interests and abilities. We all felt connected with the song and thought that the production was definitely doable with the resources we had. We had access to a studio, instruments, recording equipment, as well as filming equipment. I feel like the diversity within our group could have been more widespread in…
As the main videographer and editor of the project, I studied as many K-pop cover videos as I can to find common visual patterns. The most relevant detail to our song selection – “No Make Up” by Zion T. – is the visual focus on the “star” in the music video.
As a solo artist, Zion T. is always at the center of focus, even when his accompanying band members are playing in the background. In the original music video, Zion T. stands out by singing and dancing in an empty and spacious warehouse. The monochrome filter further draws the audience’s attention towards the idol, who is dressed in dark colors in a bright interior. With only a small and…
One of the main reasons I took this course was to examine and learn about the musicality of K-pop. Coming from a musician’s background, I was curious to learn more about this worldwide phenomenon. For this reason, I let it be known to my group that I’d be interested in covering a song where I can contribute musically.
While I would've liked to add my own spin to the production of this song, I intentionally tried to replicate the original song’s sounds and melodies as true as I could. This was so that I can deeply understand what specific things make a K-pop song, K-pop. The process of recreating this song, along with Dr. Saeji's lectures made me realize the…
The experience from filming and producing a Korean pop music video was definitely eye opening and challenging for myself. I was very fortunate to have amazing team members that contributed their abilities into filming this video. I believe that without the immense pressure that actual idols would receive, it allowed more creativity flow and laughter for us.
Further, my involvement in this video reinforces professor Saeji’s message that the trainees and idol’s life is a continuous cycle until perfection is reached. The intense practice that they do to master their performances, and the ability to take constructive criticism must be physically and mentally exhausting. My experience was just a glimpse of what a portion of their day is, as I…
Initially, we wanted to go for a more upbeat song and was considering 2pm’s “Hands up” before deciding to go for Zion T’s “No Makeup”. The reason was because “No Makeup” made me realize how modern K-pop today very intensely utilizes electro beats with little usage of actual band instruments. When viewing Zion T’s “No Makeup”, it contained actual band instruments, which would be beneficial for us to cover the song. We later decided to add some drama scenes to the music video by using the lyrics to the song as our guide to the actions being filmed. I then analyzed the lyrics and came up with what our group could do to accurately capture what is being sung by…