On the other hand, it's the right of the director to hear the band out if they wants to convey something, anything it all. There should be no stiffness. I stress more on underground bands because they need the projection and help in anyway possible. So it's not just me helping them out in getting their videos to different channels. I figure its more important to just take some time out, do a meeting or do and be a part of an integral force that decides what should be done alongside the video, how do we push it forward and etc. So I find it best that I make them feel responsible in the whole scenario as well. It has to be a double sided effort, otherwise it doesn't work at all. I thank God that till now I haven't come across a single person (who has worked with me) who wasn't cooperative.

Instep: You're one of the first people who introduced animated music video to the music scene. Tell us something about that.

ZP: Well, it was more like a solid decision that I took after I tried experimentations with how I would be able to rotoscope pre-shot images and treat them as layers of art. I had no knowledge whatsoever about photoshop nor any animation programme at that time, so you can pretty much figure out that most of the artwork done on the video is quite raw, pixilated at times and unpolished. This kept bugging me for sometime, because I wanted to do better but I couldn't. It was taking a lot of my time. Imagine a 9 to 5 job, music production responsibilities on the side, throw in some family time there too and then this. I was a wreck, I had a kidney problem by the time I was over with this. But then I said to myself, that maybe my satisfaction lies inside the fact that I stop being a perfectionist and leave it the way it is. If there are flaws, let them be. That, for me, became a thing of beauty, to let go of things sometimes and just constructing whatever came to you, even though you were limited in terms of execution at that point.

Instep: Is it easier to direct performance videos than ones with a storyboard?

ZP: Performance based videos are sometimes really hard to execute and post-producion is difficult as well. First of all, a lot of hard work is put in from the director's side to make sure that all the necessary dynamics of musicians are captured and understood properly. Then, you make sure that you avoid repetition as much as possible while designing takes and in the editing process. You give what is needed necessary to add a bit of punch to the final product. By nature, performance based videos are usually suitable for songs that contain either a lot of energy or they're unusually slow. As an example, MHB's 'Jhok Ranjhan' had more than three dozen full length takes of all the band members and about 15 minor takes. In that small recording room, all things (lights, reflectors, tracks, dolly grips) would be changing positions after each take was done. And the edit alone was done, in about 40 days.

Instep: How has your experience been of working with Sajid Ghafoor?

ZP: Sajid is the first ever person I collaborated with. In a word, it is phenomenal. I can give you loads of reasons why I love working with the guy. Sajid is a whiz at structure and song writing, he gives me the kind of space I want in designing tracks for both of us, he makes the best tea (even in the Teabag category), I love his corny jokes and the most important of all, we understand each other completely, they way we want to work, the way we should deal with things and etc.

Instep: How did your music evolve into the electronic style that we hear today?

ZP: The sound of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers always fascinated me. My parents saw my fascination for keyboards. My family got me different keyboards on an occasion. My elder brother Salman was very much into music in those days, so watching him work at nights was amazing. I wanted to have that sort of dedication as well. I was about to embark on a journey of synthesis but got held up because of my father's death in the middle. So for quite a few years I gave up on music and sketching. That was a dark period, till a moment came that I realized that it's high time I get back. There was a lot of time wasted. You see, with electronica, you have to be tuned with the latest technology, the gear and also, I must confess what other people are doing, so you get inspired and proceed on in your own direction. So I started learning production work, the internet was introduced at that time, it opened up a lot of doors for me. Slowly and gradually, I started setting up a small studio for myself. Now I'm grateful to God I have a setup that lets me experiment and produce sounds the way I would want in a track.

Instep: On a final note, what is cooking in your studio these days?

ZP: Well, nowadays what's keeping me busy is our (mine and Sajid's) sophomore album, we're just a couple of tracks away and I'm excited about it even more than before. On the videos, I've wrapped Ali Azmat's 'Gallan' and Mekaal Hasan Band's 'Warish Shah'. There's one for Mauj that I'm supposed to be working one and our Sajid and Zeeshan videos from the new album.