BTS: Streetcar (Official Music Video)

Streetcar (Official Music Video) is finally here!!

This music video is a personal project that became an exercise in combining two great passions of mine (video editing and music), and two years after the initial ideas popped into my head, it’s finally here. To give you some background, I have been a musician my whole life, and I frequently performed as a singer-songwriter in my teenage years. Even as my creative interests evolved and shifted towards video as I attended college and beyond, songwriting is something that I still do. And further, it’s something that truly nourishes the soul like nothing else can for me. I wrote this song back in 2016 or 2017 (it’s hard to remember at this point), and recorded it with Matt Molchany at Shards Studio in Bethlehem, PA back in 2018. And now —in 2025— its official video makes its debut.

So, why this video? Why now? Well, here’s a video response to that question…

Long story short, I’m a creative person and having some kind of creative project going on in the background is probably something I’ll always do :)

Keep reading for some more insights into how we created the images you see in this music video…

Studying Visual References with DP Isa Fernández

The DP on the project is my friend, Isa Fernández, a talented cinematographer and current Jr Associate at the commendable non-profit, GLAAD (a media advocacy organization for LGBTQIA+ representation in film and television). I’ve worked with Isa on my senior thesis film, “As It Was,” so coming into this project, I knew we would be able to have fun and create some great images along the way.

As mentioned in “Streetcar: Behind the Video,” one of the main visual references I had in mind going into the project was Sinéad O’Connor’s music video for “Troy.” There is something so interesting and visually stimulating about the circling shots of O’Connor paired with these ephemeral overlays, and I believe we achieved something really cool with our rendition of that style. While I had a clear reference for composing the images in color, many of my other thoughts when it came to creating the shot list were vague descriptions and sh*tty drawings. That’s where Isa came in and not only found inspiration from other music videos and films featured above, but put their own spin on it to bring my vision to life. See below for a peek at the vision boards we used to brainstorm the look for this project.

More about Isa: https://isafernandez.myportfolio.com/

P.S. Milanote is a great project organization/planning tool. Thanks Colorist Tyler and Producer John for getting me into this platform back in college!

Creating the Look with MUA Sara Pulling

I met Sara on a shoot with one of my production company clients, and it was super exciting to work with her on my own makeup for this music video. As I speak about in “Streetcar: Behind the Video,” the makeup and costuming is very intentional. The images above are what I first presented to Sara when I was explaining the vibe. And as you can see below, she did a wonderful job creating these looks on me. The idea is that the character is a revision of a 1950s woman; for the most part, she’s wearing the fashion of the time and even the makeup to an extent, but there’s an edge, a smidge of grunginess to it. Really, what that’s supposed to represent is that while many things have changed in the positive for women over the past 70 years —and without going on a diatribe— there’s also so much that hasn’t. Re-imagining the style of another era with a subtle twist calls attention to this rather sad realization.

That leaves us with the two looks I devised for this video: the Widow and the Old Hollywood Star. Perhaps the latter Great Gatsby-esque heroine is life during the relationship, and the former, life after. I’ll leave it up to your imagination to assume what happened to the “partner” in the music video …

More about Sara: https://srpullingmua.com/

Using the Grade to Create Meaning with Colorist Tyler Markovich

Another friend and collaborator, Tyler Markovich was the colorist on this project, and his expertise truly added nuance and polish to the final product.

Essentially, I had told Tyler, “Make this like how I made it, but better.” And of course, he delivered.

A LOT went on in post to make this video the way it is. In the editing room, I was scaling footage, creating overays out of footage, compositing shots … you name it. But one of the biggest differences in the raw footage from the final product is the color. Here’s some reasoning behind the choices:

The Widow look is always in black and white, and therefore serves as the “reality” of this story or the present moment. And much like the makeup and costuming, the black and white beckons a bygone era. However, it’s overall a very modern look (it’s black and white, but there’s no excessive grain or filmic feel) in order to link the past and present. On the other hand, the Old Hollywood Star sits in front of a black backdrop, and we specifically crushed the shadows to produce a highly dramatic image that emulates the feeling of being in a void. This visually and stylistically separates these images from the timeline of the Widow. As a result, we have this comparatively more surreal space through which to contemplate the lyrics, and consequently, the narrative of the piece.

More about Tyler: https://tylermarkovich.com/color

Final Thoughts

All these forces (and then some) combined to construct the story of Streetcar, and for five minutes, we get immersed in its’ world —and its’ mystery. In this blog post, I don’t divulge too much on the meaning behind the song or the video, but purposefully so. I hope you watch, ponder, and formulate your own analyses as art often intends us to do. Making this video was a labor of love on my part as director, editor and artist as well on the part of the wonderful crew involved. And with that, I’d like to end this post with an enormous thank you to all the friends, family and colleagues who made this low-budget passion project a reality for me. In accordance, here are the full credits and special thanks for Streetcar:

Directed and Edited by: Kayla Avitabile

Cinematography by: Isa Fernández

Produced by: John DiGiacomo (while not featured above, John is always the north star for any production we work on together and was instrumental in making all the logistics fall into place for this one)

PAs: Tim Leong, Danny Callahan

MUA: Sara Pulling

"Streetcar" from the EP Shadows & Fate (2018) | Written and performed by Kayla Avitabile | Produced by Matt Molchany at Shards Studio Bethlehem, PA

Thank you to Ragnorak Productions and Winchester Community Access & Media (WinCAM) for providing gear, the Sanborn House in Winchester, MA for allowing us to use their gorgeous space, and my wonderful parents Ann & Lou Avitabile for their endless support (and for providing lunch lol).

…Now it’s just time to figure out how to make the next one!

Cheers,

Kayla