In an attempt to promote the beauty of Hue nature and people in an unusual way, Nguyen Chi Hieu and collaborators have made “Di mo rua?” (‘Where are you going?’), which is a series of music videos (MVs) with settings at well-known landmarks in Hue.
Kien ravine, the first landmark in the series “Di mo rua?”
The language of music
Nguyen Chi Hieu’s plans and programs were postponed when the Covid-19 pandemic became more severe in late June, 2021. “I and my collaborators did plan a new musical product for entertainment to motivate people to overcome the hard time, as well as for promotion of Hue landscapes,” he said.
“Di mo rua?” was created under this circumstance. The first MV was officially on air on social networking platforms YouTube, Tiktok and Facebook in early August, 2021. The setting of this first MV was at a beautiful wild place in A Luoi district. It was used as a means to convey positive messages and transmit images of beautiful scenes to viewers.
Nguyen Dang Nhat Quang, designer of the MV, said: “We put up the tent, decorated and lighted it together at Kien ravine. The most challenging is the movement and transport of the tools as this is a wild craggy place.”
The team had to walk about a kilometer from the parking place to Kien ravine. They had even more difficulty in moving when they climbed the craggy slope and an underneath fast-running stream with loads of cameras and picnic gears.
He said: “We were determined that we could get soaked but the cameras had to be dry. With those tools, we had basic instruments to complete the MV as it had been planned in terms of contents and intents.”
Through the voice of singers, the team would like to get across to the viewers the message about the magnificent beauty of a wild peaceful place of a mountainous area.
Hieu said: “We hope that the music with its own language and the realistic art of filming will help bring the entire beauty of nature (which is also a new cozy artistic space) and the optimism to MV viewers amid the pandemic.
The meeting point of music, humans and nature
Love for scenery and people
During the course of the first MV, viewers could also enjoy the majestic beauty of A Luoi mountains through scenes of preparations, including traveling and tent-building.
Interleaved with these scenes were the images of A Luoi people’s ordinary life such as wading streams and crossing the forest. All these combined with the beautiful voices of singers have created great vivid MVs.
Covering the songs “Ngay chua giong bao” (‘Before we were apart’), “Thanh xuan cua chung ta” (‘Our youth’), “Always remember us this way” and “Dem lao xao” (‘A busy night’) in the gentle acoustic style, young singers Lac Thu, Hoang Linh and Zesty brought a special nuance to “Di mo rua?”
The singer Lac Thu said: Although I’ve been singing for years, I had a very special feeling when I sang at the site. It was different from singing on stage. I just naturally integrated myself in the coziness of the mountain and the streams while singing, instead of performing with the assistance of light and sound effects.”
The MV series “Di mo rua?” with its simplicity and delicacy has brought beautiful experiences to those who have never been to Kien ravine. In the future, attractive tourist destinations in the ancient capital area will be promoted in MVs as this A Luoi mountainous site was.
Working towards the plans for new scenery-promoting music projects, Nguyen Chi Hieu said: “Our team targets more creativity in contents, connecting music and landmarks to make Hue beauty widely known. We hope that the lyrics and images will bring joy and optimism to everyone.”
Story: Mai Hue
Photo credit: a singer in story