Oshane Junior brings ‘different eye’ to music videos

In-demand music video director Oshane Junior is making huge strides in video shoot production in Jamaica with his avant-garde shooting style, brilliant creativity and tireless work ethic.

He has racked up an impressive CV so far, having directed several videos, including Squash's Trending, Kartel's World Government, Daddy 1's Custom and Jahvillani's Clarks.

"I have a different eye, I use whatever resources I have and make it work. No matter the location, I just have a different perspective and I don't deal with ego, I think that's what sets me apart from other directors," he said.

He grew up in Grants Pen, and later attended Jamaica College, where he excelled at subjects like visual arts and technical drawing.

As a teenager, he became intrigued by the camera and began to borrow one from his friend to pursue his hobby.

"Sometimes his mom would tell me no. I ended up selling my BlackBerry phone, and my friend Chad Foreman sold his dad's ring and I bought my first camera. Respect Chavo," he said, laughing.

He began to research editing as well as film and video production.

"I take inspiration from Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Collin Tilley and Edgar Steves for my own shooting style," he said.

He started covering events, then hosting his own. But life threw him a curveball. His camera was damaged on a shoot, and with a pregnant girlfriend to support, he worked at a shopping outlet.

big break

Opportunity came again when one of his high-school friends, Hailen Chen, helped him to buy a second camera.

He began moonlighting on any video shoot gigs to earn extra money.

"I ended up getting a link with Chi Ching Ching through my brother Squiddy Trap. We met Ching at a party one night and I recorded footage while partying with him. I went home at 5 a.m. and instead of going to work I stayed up and edited an Instagram video and sent it to my brother, who sent it to Ching's manager, Squidel, who sent it to Ching. By that evening, I saw the video on Ching's IG page; that's where it started," he said.

He started shooting for Ching and was then introduced to Popcaan. Junior got his first big break when he directed a video called Unruly Camp with Popcaan, JaFrass and Quada.

The video racked up millions of views, and then he began to travel with the Unruly Boss all over the world.

Since that time, he has worked with Notnice Records.

"Increasingly, we're seeing the lines between film and music video being blurred. More artistes are placing a greater importance on enhancing their tracks with the format, and capturing audiences with longer and more compelling videos," he said.