Longing for Something - ID# 204

Maine East
Music Video
Entry Description

"Longing for Something" is an original Shoegaze piece written by film student and musician Ashur Khoshaba. Khoshaba conceived of the piece while his guitar was tuned in open F#, which created unusual sonic landscapes. This conceptual video features elements of lonliness and longing.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/29 1:15 pm - Excellent experimental music video! Camera work is gorgeous and the choice to have it in black and white work really well. The overlay of the face with the guitar playing is also very well done.
  • 3/3 12:09 pm - This music video creates a consistently dark and foreboding atmosphere that immediately establishes the tone of the piece. The visual style feels intentional and cohesive, reinforcing the mood of the music and drawing the viewer into the emotional weight of the performance. The lighting, color palette, and pacing all contribute to that sense of tension and intensity. The shots featuring the overlay of the face intermixed with the guitar solos were particularly striking. That layered visual approach added depth and artistic texture to the edit. It helped elevate the performance moments by blending emotion and musicianship in a way that felt expressive rather than literal. The connection between the visuals and the guitar solos was strong, and those sequences stood out as some of the most memorable parts of the video. Overall, this was a stylistically bold piece with a clear creative vision. The moody tone and thoughtful visual layering made for an engaging and visually compelling music video.
Judge 1

Positives: The scenes that went half transparent and then showed your face with a silouette of you playing guitar was really creative. Really liked those a lot. The decision to go black and white here to add some grit to the overall look at feel I think was very appropriate and made this really unique and easy to remember.

Improvements: Not sure what the story was on this. Nothing to really grab onto in terms of that. Some of the transparency scenes lasted too long. I would have liked to see more. Maybe even close ups of the guitar and of course other shots to go along with the story. The music didnt have any lyrics, and for a music video that is pretty important.

Judge 2

Positives: First and foremost... this song is so heavy. It's awesome. It's so thick with shoegazy goodness and that is a vibe all unto itself. The video matches the same energy. It's dark and slow but also powerful and vibrant in it's own way. This is the most stylized and unique video I've seen so far this year. The black and white was the right choice. Some fantastic composition in your shots. Especially 0:53 and 1:54

Improvements: Could have used more visuals. The guitarist in the bedsheet shot got reused a few too many times. It's a great visual but it loses it's power once you've seen it too much. Video lost steam in the second half. Would have liked a bit more plot or at least some sort of goal or journey. But I really really liked it! The song is great. Keep it up! Try more video ideas with your music. Get creative. Anything you can think of, you can find a way to shoot!

Judge 3

Positives: The cinematography was what stood out the most to me on the first watch - very strong use of light/dark and harsh contrast to echo and build upon the protagonist's despondency. The variety in shot choice makes things feel pretty fresh and interesting throughout. Especially love the composition of the double exposure shot at 1.11, specifically the shadow of the guitar player. Makes it feel like the guitar is being played inside the guy's head which is really cool!

Improvements: I'm torn as to whether the extremely long-held double exposure closeups at 1.11 and 2.41 help or hurt the piece. On a positive note I think the sheer duration of these shots does reinforce the protagonist's hopelessness and almost creates an interestingly dissociative state for the viewer; on the other hand, I think just a bit of evolution rather than a pure static shot would've made that point even stronger. Maybe a very slow push or pull toward/away from him? Just something to give it some variety. Minor thing, but especially when trying to curate a pretty "anonymous" or dour type vibe I'd try to avoid showing too many identifiable brand logos. For instance at 46 sec I wasn't thinking he's longing for something, I was thinking, "A2 Whole Milk." Hmm. He has a Costco membership. So minor, but the little details add up!

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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