Shot in Al Qudra, Dubai, AKA Media’s latest music video production received more than 4m views online within 48 hours of launch.
Dubai-headquartered AKA Media has created a music video for Russian superstar singer and model, Zivert and Ukrainian popstar Max Barskih. AKA Media planned the four-minute film over two weeks, and took a 60-strong crew to Al Qudra desert to shoot the video in just two days.
Directed by Russian movie director and producer Alan Badoev, the futuristic love story has been a hit with fans of both artists, with more than 15m YouTube views at the time of writing.
Zivert – Moscow-born 30-year-old Julia Sievert – released her first single, Чак (Chuck), in 2017, shooting to international fame in 2018 with her single Life. Zivert has since taken nine national music awards for her creativity, songwriting and vocal talent.
In this latest piece, written by Zivert and Max, the artists explore what it means to digitise our emotions, exchanging real human interaction and contact for likes and hits – in a cyberpunk-themed video.
Speaking about the music video, Yasser Obeid, founder and CEO of AKA Media, said: “This was a complex project, involving a lot of people and a lot of technical issues. Shooting a music video is very different from shooting any other type of film. One reason is that your imagination can have no limits – as long as it looks cool and cinematic.”
AKA Media had to work hard ahead of the shoot to get permissions to use pyrotechnics and mirrors in the unspoilt desert.
Yasser added: “So people flying (the artists were rigged on heights of 5-6 meters at some point), exploding mirrors, surfing on a futuristic surfboard across the desert, laser beams and lighting drones in the desert seem almost normal!”
The international crew included the hand-picked AKA Media team, alongside Russian and Ukrainian artists and support crew – some 60 people in total.
Yasser commented: “A big ‘hats off’ to both artists, as the two filming days were very difficult and exhausting for them in particular – and they were very professional about the whole thing. Being rigged for hours every day, the incredible dance moves in the desert in the heat and all the other activity and demands for 12-14 hours a day is exhausting.
“We are experienced in this most creative form, and the popularity of Max and Zivert’s film is fantastic news for our hard-working team – nothing gives us greater pleasure than seeing our films achieve great success in the wild.”
Yasser and his crew ensured full compliance with Covid-19 health and safety measures throughout proceedings.
AKA Media is currently working on pre-production for a music video with another major star.
