SHAELA MILLER ‘After the Masquerade’
Creative, Director, Producer.

Prod Co: Ramble Films

Dancer: Nali Richards

Director of Photography: Grant Cooper

Post-Production and Titles: James Barry

Art: Alexis Killam and Myth Borecky

I was the Creative Director, Director, and Producer on Shaela Miller’s single “After the Masquerade.” Shaela came to me with the idea of exploring the song’s themes through interpretive dance. The track deals with heavy, important subject matter, misinterpreted consent and the feelings of shame and helplessness that can follow, but also captures moments of positivity in the night before those emotions take hold. She wanted the video to reflect that journey in a way that resonates with people without hitting them over the head with something literal.

The challenge was to translate this emotionally charged material into a visual experience that felt both abstract and heartfelt. Drawing from the song’s imagery and tone, we created a world that was simultaneously simple and fantastical. Shaela inhabits a space where she is cleaning up the aftermath of a night gone wrong while a dancer interprets the intense emotions she experienced, including shame, confusion, and helplessness, through movement. The arc of the piece moves from fleeting joy through the weight of the night’s fallout and ultimately toward a sense of healing and release.

The result is a cinematic, interpretive piece that honours the song’s story while creating a visual language of emotion, giving viewers space to feel the journey but ending on a note of hope and recovery.