Putting the teaser video together was one of the biggest stumbling blocks of this entire process. After all, we're gathering ourselves to begin filming the series. We haven't shot the necessary footage yet. So we're drawing from the footage I grabbed in October 2024, before I realised this project was getting the green light.
But it turns out getting the right music is even harder!
Sounds crazy, but it's true. The music really matters. One of Cam Barnett's most direct pieces of advice at the beginning of this project was to settle on a music composer before you start editing the series. Have an original score to work with. I've gotten great value from my Artlist subscription for my clients, and my YouTube channel... But a ten part TV series set in the Himalayas is something quite different.
Japanese funk and Tennesee blues isn't going to cut it for this project. This became really apparent once I tried to pull together the teaser video. Lee and myself went back and forth trying to find the right tone for the teaser, unable to settle into a mood without the right music.
Sitting on my phone was a recording I made of a blessing, which turned out to have a lot of the essential mood that I was looking for. That solved my immediate 30 seconds, but looking ahead we're going to need a little more depth!
Chanting monks will feature heavily in this production. It's a beautiful experience to sit in a room while a puja is taking place, and the monks are reciting parables. It's musical. It's joyous. It's an experience you feel in your chest. It's very special. We want as much of that feeling to come into our final edits.
We have a plan to work with some local musicians and record some music for this series. Mostly it will be traditional chants, but there's room for a little individual colour as well. That's one of the great joys of this process, to kick off a process that leads to the unexpected. I love being part of creating something that is unique, and something that is beautiful.
That's what the Tashi TV project is all about!
– Ewen
Joy of Tashi
The story of a young monk in Nepal, on a journey to discover where photography and Buddhism come together.
Meet Tashi
