Poland, January 6, 2022: HDnG Interview Number Seven
KPOPLIVEPOLSKA [2NE1 Minzy, Pink Fantasy, MCND]
4SHADOWS MV
1. What do the symbols mean shown in the video?
Staff: Thank you for this question - there are many symbols in the video, which are a combinationΒ of hangul or hanja, and the writing from Ri. A lot of the text has explanations in the Lore HDnG wiki:Β https://hidngem.miraheze.org/wiki/DEBUT, and the biggest symbol that is not a language is the "eclipse symbol". The eclipse symbol on its own is just a beautiful symbol that we like, which we think can create the "eclipse" in a more interesting one. Instead of just an orb slowly coming to light (which is from the concept of PRYSMA's light shining on HDnG so the world knows that the 4 members exist), or a regular eclipse, the mystery member below and staff together created this symbol for a more visually-interesting eclipse. This eclipse happens 4 times, once before the "angel scene", then it happens 4 times for each member in the second half of the video. Each eclipse is a different angle, speed, and rotation of 2 overlapping patterns for the 4 members.
HDnG mystery member: I don't know what to say, staff say everything. Maybe I say....staff, you do good job keke. I remember one thing, eclipse symbol, not like the moon's surface, just small circle small circle. Eclipse symbol is like word GLYPTIC, "carving in gem". If PRYSMA search on internet for GLYPTIC, many many beautiful picture. So, we choose this symbol, not very like moon, but, like carve. Oh! Also, each member have official "gem" from company profile, we try to match color, but it is difficult. Roars is black diamond, if use black, everything too black....In picture, it is GoldenAge gem, gold and amethyst.Β
(ps. these 2 photos are from the internet, no copyright infringement intended, copyright remains with original owners!)
2. Are the places shown in the video linked to the history of Ri's world, if so yes, what do they represent?
HDnG mystery member: KEKE staff say I answer first, so, have more thing to say. It is hard, to create MV look like Ri, because, Ri is ugly place. Ri is world, almost destroy by "Wild", so, maybe Ri is not beautiful. And, if we make MV all not beautiful....we think people will hate MV more KEKEKE. But MV 2:26, have picture, it is "Pinnacle of Man-Kings", many many tall build people live in Ri.
Staff: The member is right, if we made everything look like Ri, it will be nice, but it will also look very similar to an urban aesthetic that does not really showcaseΒ everything in Ri. In the MV, the Airson/Ea scene could be similar to what Yemog is like, which the part of the Lore world with nature, completely unpolluted. Overall, we had to take some interesting places or buildings that have a feeling "from another world". The overall theme, however, is that the 4 boys are in the sky, always guarding the people they love. This is a concept that was mentioned in HDnG interview 3, which is an old concept of HDnG being "dead boys" in the original Korean promotions. Any where, at any point in life, when life gets hard, the 4 boys are standing somewhere in the sky watching over you when you hold their 4 cards in your hand.
The Airson/Ea scene is a good comparison with the scene below, which is what we believe Ri actually looks like in a dystopian world full of slum skyscrapers:
This is one of the least popular scenes, but one of the scenes we like the most with a lot of meaning. However, just from a perspective of beauty, it is horrible, so we have to minimize the truthful depictions of Ri.
3. Do the characters' shadows shown in both the cards and the music video actually match the band members or are they symbols of the shadow people in Ri?
HDnG mystery member: KEKEKE! This is cool question, and easy question, yes, it is 4 boys! In MV, when 4 member watch, we can also see, all small mistake we make, in dancing. GoldenAge almost fall. But, GoldenAge is main dancer.Β
Staff: Yes, the only thing that was challenging, was that we needed the 4 shadows to look different enough. So, staff had to prepare very different hairstyles and different clothes. Also, during the predebutΒ era, a lot of PRYSMA were asking hairstyles and hair colors that the members want to try. Unfortunately, to make sure people do not confuse the shadows, we believe the 4 members will keep their silhouettes for some time, until more people come to know HDnG and will not be confused who is who.
4. What does the huge statue in which we see the shadows of the figures show?
HDnG mystery member: KEKEKEKE. Ok, sorry, maybe staff answer this one.
Staff: We are assuming the huge statue is the 'angel scene' - actually, the entire angel scene was added after August, by the mystery member. In August, HDnG's 4 members had the opportunity to do 3 "Ask me Anything" events with Brasil, Turkey, and USA. This was the first time HDnG received any positive response, and after the 3 meetings, the 4 members of HDnG said to staff: "these people are really looking forward to our MV, it is unbelievable. So, we have to make the MV better". The angel scene was created just a visually-interesting dance scene from our oldest promo tagline: "4SHALL RISE", which was also the original name of the song 4SHADOWS. Lore staff will end our comments with this: we want to say a big thank you to everyone who gave HDnG a chance in August. Your excitement really caused HDnG to want to work harder and make better things. If anyone in the world likes the "angel scene", it is thanks to you, PRYSMA.
HDnG mystery member: Dear PRYSMA from August, thank you! In dorm, we talk aboutΒ August many time.
Staff: Sorry, we actually forgot another thing. Another story that might be interesting: MCsL actually has no clue what the statue is depicting, we believe it is actually not an angel but Greek mythology. We were too rushed to note in our trip to Europe every single literary reference. A couple things we love about this particular statue is that first, the member named "X" is standing only on a finger, which makes the scene look more dangerous, and two, that the figure seems to be looking to the sky, anticipating something to come. This matches both the lyrics and the word "4SHADOWS / FORESHADOWS". Like the lyrics of 4SHADOWS, "all sorrow and barriers will end and break" - the song's lyrics are heavily inspired by the coming of a new world, where justice will reign and tears will be wiped away.Β
5. Will "4Shadows" and subsequent productions be maintained in a climate similar to the old Chinese dynasties?
Staff: When we received this question, lore staff and the member were smiling at each other, because this question is very relevant to the discussions we are having these two days: the MV style for the future comeback.
HDnG mystery member: WOW! This is very cool question! We think, we did try to make old Chinese dynasty style, but, we like very much. I think is very cool idea, if each video, is one different dynasty - Chinese or Korean, or two dynasty together in every MV!
Staff: Staff also thinks this is a very interesting questions, we did receive a comment about whether we are doing "cultural appropriation", and we think the comment might be about cathedrals, so we were extra careful approaching partners in specific countries. One thing we can comment on is, perhaps the text makes the MV look like it has a Chinese aesthetic - however, in this scene, all of the text is Korean hanja, and is arranged in a specific way that foreshadows what will come.
HDnG member: Many group do Korean traditional concept in good way, like comeback for Oneus, and boygroupΒ WITHUS. So, we afraid, if we use, Chinese or Korean concept, people say we copy. Also, we are afraid to say "Korea is like Ri", so, many thing, we are afraid people will be unhappy, so we change decision. So, if we don't use Chinese dynasty, it is not because HDnG do not like Chinese dynasty - only, it is because, HDnG afraid make some people unhappy. Maybe, this MV, already make some people unhappy - we hope say sorry, and make MV better in future.
We also have a little theory about the music video.
In our opinion, the members of Hdng may be something like the guardians of the historical world of Ri. The cards, however, correspond to their characters. Each of them is also a fighter who can have special skills, which is why the cards are different from each other. Individually they may not be powerful, but together as HDnG they are strong and unique. They protect something special that is most important to them.
HDnG Mystery member: We remember, in summer, when we use TikTok kekekeke...someone say, something like Avatar, Last Airbender. We like very much, but, maybe because we like it, people think we are fake group KEKEKEKEK. But, really, HDnG feel proud, every Korean person who make Avatar, Last Airbender TV show! In dorm, some times we think, who get which power, Airson, Air, is very easy, other 3, we did not decide yet.Β
Staff: Okay, the member is a little bit too excited about Avatar to actually answer the theory, but let's say the cards were designed as a game very early, and all the numbers are for playing. We have not specifically thought about special abilities, however, each member definitely represents a unique "element", in their Lore position - for example Airson is the Unseen Spirit for a reason, which will be revealed in the future. One quick story that is relevant to the "fighter" comment, is that the background image for HDnG's Tiktok videos where they choose their favorite underrated groups was originally going to be much more complicated - it was going to be like a video game loading screen where the cursor chooses different fighters between Roars, X, Airson, and GoldenAge. In fact, for some promotional partners, they might have seen the promotional image file name: 'fighter'. A final comment: in Ri, definitely, the most important thing each character wants to protect is their GLYPTIC. Protecting their hearts from changing, and always being dedicated to helping others, this is the biggest thing that is most important in the Lore. In the real world, however, staff will let the member answer what they want to protect the most.
HDnG Mystery member: PRYSMA, hope everyday, HDnG can protect you.
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