sonicspectre, January 1, 2010 11:44:46 AM CET
Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beatz "On To The Next One" Dir Sam Brown


Now THIS is a classy hip-hop video.

www.youtube.com
         
drop it like it's hot
         
Hello 2010 nice to meet you. Sam Brown + Jay Z = Visual Orgasm!
         
Wow. That sets the bar pretty high for the year. So much in there, not a frame wasted.
         
way to kickstart the next decade, messrs. z & brown.
         
I'm not sure what's going on, but I like it.
         
yeah i thought "drop it like its hot" as well. But this is pretty damn amazing. excellent, fresh visuals, great edit.
         
Yes. Love the full frame open gate. Nothing wasted here at all. Hats off to all. And the edit is just brilliant. I'm going to watch it again.
         
that was great. Man, it's not hard to take chances in rap videos! Wish more artists would try stuff like this.
         
anyone know production credits on this?
particularly editor, dp, and prod. design?

         
Prod co: Flynn/DNA
dop: Chris Probst (someone else shot second unit I heard?)
Post: The Mill London
Edit: Amanda James, Final Cut London
         
Great, ambitious and impressive!!
         
hot shit! let's not forget this one at the next awards! ;)
         
thanks 451!
         
Seemingly influenced by "DILIH".
Dig the 4:3 and the inserts.
Nice editing too.
I like!
         
As a director who works a lot in Hip-Hop I want to say thank you Jay-Z and Sam Brown. Maybe after seeing this younger artists will be more willing to experiment visually.

K
         
Maybe after seeing this younger artists will be more willing to experiment visually make videos that appeal to white bloggers.
         
poor comment, budget. poor.

i agree with others here: this is an editors video. serious props to whoever did.
         
Nice! Those flaming basketballs have made my day.

Only criticism is that it gets a little monotonous after a while. Obviously because the same images are reused continuously.

That said definitely the best Hip Hop video I have seen in a long while and that has nothing to do with what color my skin is.
         
???
???
???

fresh? Its like watching the last Schoflied Video... but this one sucks.

Cables:
interpol-obstacle 1
www.youtube.com

No comment on "stupid liquid mirror" footage.

Damien Hirst Skull... why?

Dressed Clown... seen before in tha Bravia Commercial from Jonathan Glazer. A bit different.

A horse, some shiny balls, a car, liquid.
A horse, some shiny balls, a car, liquid.

again and again. imho one of the worst videos ever. Silly random images that looks good in black and white. thats it.

         
geez luk so much hating. i love the vid, really great edits.
         
Great edit and imagery on this on.
I'm glad Jay finally did something different but I do think there is a bit of a catch 22 in a vid like this.

People who watched stations that play "Hype Williams Award" worthy videos are not going to be into this video. Check out the comments on a site like Nah Right and they are mostly negative.
         
The video is great, but i think the dangerous thing about using it as an example of what "good" hip hop videos should be (or as a better alternative to "normal" raps videos) is that it basically suggests that hip-hop videos would be better if they looked more like indie/rock videos.

For instance, the accompanying blurb on this post ("now THIS is a classy hip-hop video") drives me nuts. It seems innocent enough, and it goes completely unquestioned on this site, but it assumes that 1) the majority of hip-hop videos aren't "classy" (why? by who's standard? are they supposed to be classy?), and that 2) that this video is superior because it adheres to some sort of imaginary standard.

I've always had the same problem with people who put 99 Problems on a pedestal as something that other rap videos should strive to emulate.
         
Oh man, budget and I agree on something again :(
         
this video looks great
@budget - i have a problem with the indie-lovin' white bloggers as well, but i dont have a problem with some artists trying something different for a change, regardless of how far-fetched that could turn out to be www.youtube.com
         
Verrrrry nice edit.
'Classy' is in the eye of the beholder, I find the ominous chorus in the background along with some of the stark imagery to give an 'epic' vibe, specially the dancer over the boxes and the anime-y robed character with the fighting poles. The milky drops, the horse, the juggalo? Now those are a bit clichéd. As for Hirst's skull getting paint-bukkaked... perhaps a nod to classic rap videos' displays of overkill luxury?
         
Damn can't stop rewatching it..! A really seductive dark undercurrent in there. Track is killer.
         
let's recast the ballots - it's absolutely beautiful

puts gaga into a corner
         
I wish there was an 'ignore' function on this board.
         
i love all of the comments on youtube suggesting jay z is illuminati and freemason and all that shit. what the hell is up with kids these days? yes, there's a head of baphomet at 2:12. who gives a shit? that vigilantcitizen website is going to eat this up.
         
image "borrowed" from Seattle design studio Invisible Creature

twitpic.com
         
Nice clip though the style reminds me of Gareth Pugh/Nick Knight and blogger Dirtyflaws.
         
Although it is a great piece of work, this feels like it was a "made for antville" video. Everyone is excited cause this is the first big video for the decade which is setting the bar high, but this video is not a game changer like "99 Problems" was. 99 Problems took traditional rap video cliches and twist it on your head showing you its not glamourous. This video is just putting images just to call atttention to itself. This is Jay-z's best video since 99, but it will never attain that level.
         
Usually avoid rap videos, just not my thing at all.
But THIS is BEAUTIFUL!

CHOMP,CHOMP,CHOMP...(sounds of hat being chewed)
         
You know what else would be awesome? If they had cut the shots of the cars and champagne, too gaudy for my tastes! They should have cut some of those ridiculous parts where the performers were mugging for the camera too- the best bands are humble and quietly quirky, not boastful goons. And those baggy clothes have GOT to go, no one even dresses like that in my neighborhood! The song could use a little more melody, i don't like how simplistic and repetitive it is! And the lyrics are ok, but i wish it were more timeless and introspective, and inspirational, something that would make me feel like I'm totally alive and in the moment, just being myself and living life. And would it kill these guys to use REAL instruments? Hello?! I mean, if hip hop videos would just get some of these things right, all of their videos would be awesome enough for me to consider posting to my tumblr!

I love you guys, really. Just saying.
         
Hilarious!

Wonder what Dale 'Rage' Resteghini has to say about this vid?

You know what's interesting is that 'indie directors' seem to be able to cross over and are asked to make Hip Hop videos but 'hip hop directors' don't seem to be able to cross over and don't seem to be asked to make indie videos.

Just an observation.
         
Like if Little X and Kris Moyes had a baby.

This was 'ok'
Nicely made but quite derivative.
         
jay-z's recent videos "forever young" "empire state of mind" and this one all seem like the director only had jay-z for a few hours on one day.
         
Very overrated. Well photographed, doesn't set the world on fire. But I'll settle for the basketballs.
         
re: "this video is for white bloggers"

Frankly, it's more racist to assume that the only kind of music video black hip-hop fans want to see is one with half-naked girls, fists full of money and party scenes. Your insistence on the stupidity of your audience is what makes up the 99% of everything that sucks.
         
agree fungible. i think audiences can be underrated.
         
James Blunt, Foo Fighters, Jay Z... Sam does everything brilliantly. A real artist in the music video genre I think. His work is all about great images and this one delivers massively on that front. The edit is killer too. Big fan.

C'mon 2010, show us what you got.
         
It's an identical concept to The Verve "Love Is Noise" video where you have a single set-up of the artist (time/location restraints probably) mixed in with epic, surreal, and highly visual set-ups that don't always link in with the tracks lyrics and concepts but just look good.

Tough thing to pull off and both the verve and jay-z videos work a treat.

         
The images are most definately not random.
         
2nd unit DP on this...
Matthias Koenigswieser

www.lspagency.net

www.lspagency.net

www.lspagency.net
         
dig it. a nice cross between a hiphop vid and old school video art.

does the "joker" character connotate "death" for anyone else? maybe it's cause I saw "Dr. Parnassus" last week and Heath Ledger is on my mind...I dunno.
         
mov here.
         
Some info on the making of here:

www.shots.net

Apparently Jay-Z was only on set for 2 hours...makes sense.
         
UK MVA's 010

Best Urban Video in association with Aimimage
Jay Z ft. Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One (Atlantic Records)
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Jeremy Sullivan
Prod co: Flynn Productions/DNA
Commissioner: David Saslow

+

Best Editing in a Video
Jay-Z ft Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One (Atlantic Records)
Editor: Amanda James
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Jeremy Sullivan
Prod co: Flynn/DNA