Exploring Visual Depth with TLS Vega Lenses in MC Stan’s Music Video ‘Farrey'

Pic of Swaraj Sriwastav on the set of xxxx

Pic of Swaraj Sriwastav on his other production

In this insightful Q&A, we speak with Swaraj Sriwastav, a Mumbai-based cinematographer who has quickly made a name for himself in the industry. With a background spanning from short-form documentaries, commercials, and music videos to long-format narrative work, Swaraj has been working as a Director of Photography since 2022, after gaining valuable experience as a 1st and 2nd assistant starting in 2020. His recent projects include the widely acclaimed "Paraloka" commercial for Bhavya Ramesh Jewelry, featured on Good Ads Matter, and the celebrated music video "Go To Sleep" by Hanumankind, which earned recognition from Rolling Stone India.

We dive deeper into Swaraj’s creative process, exploring his choice of lenses, particularly the TLS Vega lenses, in his recent work for MC Stan’s music video ‘Farrey', a commercial music video for Indian Hindi-language heist thriller movie. He shares his experience shooting the promotional music video, highlighting how the Vega lenses enhanced the production's visual style and mood, delivering a striking contrast to the anamorphic format used for the film.

Could you tell us about your journey in cinematography?

I am a Mumbai-based cinematographer and filmmaker with experience across multiple genres and formats, ranging from short-form documentaries, music videos, and commercials to long-format narrative work in the fiction space. I’ve been operating as a Director of Photography since 2022, after working as a 1st and 2nd assistant starting in 2020.

My recent credits include a commercial, Paraloka, for Bhavya Ramesh Jewelry’s new campaign (2024), which is listed on Good Ads Matter, an ad-film watchdog collective celebrating work in the marketing space. Earlier projects, like the music video Go To Sleep for hip-hop sensation Hanumankind, were voted best music video of 2023 by Rolling Stone India. Additionally, two of my short films (Goodbye Hello, Vinchu) premiered at the Jio MAMI Film Festival in 2023. With clients like Vice Asia, Apple, Google, Netflix, Meta, Microsoft, Red Bull, and Tinder, I am currently developing other short-format content as well as a feature-length documentary.

What drew you to the TLS Vega lenses for your work on Farrey? How did they fit into the vision you had for the project?

I was approached to shoot a promotional music video for Farrey, an Indian Hindi-language heist thriller film directed by Soumendra Padhi. Commissioned by Jugaad Motion Pictures (the producers of Pan Nalin’s acclaimed Last Film Show), with director and producer Dheer Momaya on board, it felt like an interesting project from the start. The track, by MC Stan (Altaf Tadavi, an Indian hip-hop artist), was high-energy, while the subject and theme of the film being promoted were inherently dark and immersive. The film follows students attempting to rig a college admission test.

While the film itself was shot in anamorphic format by DP Keiko Nakahara, I chose to step away from that aesthetic, as the music video needed a more commercial look to appeal to a mass audience. I wanted a cleaner image with more color value within production design and lighting, but something that could still emulate a wider anamorphic look. I was looking for clean, crisp large-format spherical lenses that offered depth, even on a 2:35:1 cropped frame. We were shooting in a school with tall classrooms and library spaces, and I wanted these locations to feel larger than life. My focus-puller, Rupesh Shinde, recommended I try out the TLS Vega lenses, and I decided to take the plunge.

Pic of Camera & Lens Setup

Pic of Rupesh Shinde (Focus Puller) setting up the camera on jib

What stood out to you about the Vega lenses, and how did they enhance the visual storytelling of Farrey?

I was pleasantly surprised by the Vega lenses when I used them. They were lightweight and easy to balance on the Sony Venice body, which was operated on a steadicam by Ravish Jaiswal. Their compact design allowed us to manage our tracks in tighter spaces, such as narrow corridors.

I primarily alternated between focal lengths of 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm, and I found the focus roll-off quite pleasing—maintaining crisp detail and contrast at the center with a nice edge fall-off and minimal distortion at the widest magnification.

The wider iris openings of T1.5 to T2 really helped on this job, as the subjects we explored were darker in context and mood. I often exposed a couple of stops under on the Venice’s dual ISO sensor. Using the slightly tighter 35mm lens enabled me to isolate my subject’s psyche with shallow depth of field while providing enough context for the world around.

We aimed for deep, clean blacks and even contrast throughout the image, and these lenses truly delivered. A parallel second unit operated with DP Aman Choudhury, who used the same lens kit on a Sony FX6 body. The closer magnifications of 20mm and 24mm were also helpful for capturing additional wide shots from different angles.

We worked in various settings, including stark, hard-lit spaces with HMI lights that needed to feel clean with minimal flare, as well as some hazy environments for depth. For these, I wanted a slightly bleached-bypass film emulation look in post-production, and we achieved a smooth, pleasing roll-off while capturing all the highlight information we needed in-camera.

"We aimed for deep, clean blacks and even contrast throughout the image, and TLS Vega lenses truly delivered."

- Swaraj Sriwastav DoP

We also shot in darker library spaces, utilizing a mix of warm and softer Kino-LED sources. My long-time collaborator and friend, colorist Yash Soni, helped me push where necessary, adding texture and halation to light sources to enhance the overall mood on the DI table.

I was able to fully test the lenses' abilities and performance across multiple setups and lighting conditions, thanks to the support from my team—AC Sridhar Kakileti and gaffer Sajid Shaikh along with their crew at All Film Equipment (India)—who enabled us to maximize our 14-hour shoot days and extract the most from the locations.

Pic of Sridhar Kakileti (AC) and Sajid Shaikh (Gaffer) engaged in discussion.

You can find out more about Swaraj's productions on his vimeo (https://vimeo.com/swarajsriwastav) or his Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/swaraj_sriwastav/).