Reference is conceived as a narrative extension that moves fluidly between music, cinema and memory.
Set inside a living room steeped in 1980s atmosphere, the story follows a group of friends watching a film, until the boundary between screen and reality begins to dissolve. When the frontman steps closer to the screen, he is drawn into a fantastic, animated world — a symbolic passage that speaks to escapism, curiosity and the power of storytelling.
The music video acts as a visual counterpart to the short film Reference by emerging director Elisabetta Cancelli, echoing its themes of longing, disappearance and romantic fragility set against a nostalgic 80s–90s Trieste.
Editing and color grading play a central role in shaping the emotional rhythm of the video.
The edit guides the viewer through shifts in tone, balancing moments of lightness with dreamlike transitions that mark the passage between different narrative worlds.
Color grading draws inspiration from analog cinema and television aesthetics, with warm, slightly faded tones that evoke the visual language of the era. Animated sequences are treated as a deliberate visual deviation — brighter, more surreal, and emotionally heightened. Together, these technical choices become expressive tools, reinforcing the poetic and immersive quality of the experience.
