After Effects overload

         

Wow. This is much better than I was expecting. Props to Syndrome for taking the "wanting to show every lyric" genre to the next level.

I'm sure others will enjoying breaking down the FX pixel by pixel or pointing out that some of the looks are created with built-in filters (which means they must suck, right?) - but I thought the video was fun. This thing will run and run and run on BET.

My favorite part? "Wiscansin."

         

Absolutely insane, but in all the right ways. This is what every video featuring Wayne should look like.

         

Ehhh. Maybe it's just me but it was too much. Like a nightmare of a bad after effects garage sale.

Not to say the motion work was very well done. Perhaps the song being corny did it in for me

         

Hmm.

First comment only a Brit could make: 'condo' doesn't really rhyme with 'Murcielago'.

Second coaBcm: Lil Wayne is becoming the Wayne Rooney of hip hop - constantly being played out of position, he's in danger of not fulfilling his potential.

I didn't really go for this. The comic strip/2nd Life style animation doesn't meet the hip hop vibe.

         

This approach in the vfx work has more or less made this video instantly dated.

         

Wildly great. Sheer amount of visual ideas involved is staggering.

         

this reflects the lousy northamerican (hip hop-)video standart

         

right now there is some alternate reality where every rapper is trying to make their own version of 99 Problems.

There's some weird stuff in here - like the Kiss fan emerging from mouths. Did T-Pain see that and think "yeah, that's hip-hop right there."

         

Cap'n, I like to think that T-Pain is the latest in a long line of R&B/Funk performers who have a penchant for psychedelic weirdness. Parliament Funkadelic, Rick James, and even R. Kelly have all dabbled in it, and Lil Wayne's latest album is full of references to aliens, space-ships, and acid trips.

99 Problems would have looked absolutely ridiculous as the backdrop to this song. Is that the only type of hip hop video that over-educated white people can agree on?

         

Some very nice visual transitions. Not what I would typically expect for this kind of track. BTW what in gods name is this song? Cher wants over-used auto-tune/vocoder trick back.

Lastly, can anybody really be "over educated"?

         

99 problems was a real film. it was shot on location and featured real people. It was artistic. You would look at shots and imagine the stories behind them.

I'm not implying that 99 Problems should have been the backdrop for this song. I could give a shit about this song, it blows. I'm saying that 99 Problems showed that with a talented director, and an artist willing to take a risk, you could make something really special.

There are a lot of rock musicians out there who are always trying to push the envelope and do something different. It doesn't always work, but when it does- you get some seminal clip.

This is soulless. This is 2 rappers in a green screen studio for a couple of hours, and some after effects artists who really have no story to tell, they just want to make cool animated stuff.

Again, the song blows, so it doesn't really matter. But I would love to see some of these rap budgets given to indie directors to make unique clips.

In theory - rap should have the BEST videos. Almost all of these rappers are charismatic. There's no cheesy rock performance to film. A lot of the songs are visceral, and big on wordplay and humor. So many rappers take pride in being distinct or the best - but they keep making the same video over and over.

Ah well, we'll always have Kanye West videos.

         

Cap'n, I'll agree that 99 problems is a great video and a great song. But I have a problem with the idea that it's somehow the gold standard for hip hop videos. The thing that bothers me, is that 99 Problems is one of the most ROCKcentric hip hop videos of all time.

It plunks Jay-Z down in the middle of an artsy-looking rock video (Romanek's specialty) and spends the duration of the video trying to remold Jay into Romanek's visual definition of an "authentic" artist. A definition that looks a whole lot like a rock video.

Did Jay really dogfight as a youngster? Hang out with Leonard Cohen or a gospel choir? Did he ever have anything to do with a step team or a group of daredevil motorcyclists? Does he even know what the costumed dancer in the subway is supposed to represent? The most mind-boggling shot is of Jay performing in front of a sweaty mob (mosh pit?) in a dank basement- I can't say for certain that Jay never booked a show for his friends at CBGB's, but the likelihood of that scene taking place anywhere outside of Romanek's anamorphic lens seems unlikely.

The video is laced with a rockist's list of presuppositions about authentic artistry. Jay is pulled off of Hype's Big Pimpin' yacht, stripped of his usual gaudy entourage, and surrounded by rock music's most basic visual symbols of authenticity: High contrast black and white photography, urban mean streets, disillusioned and marginalized characters staring meaningfully into the camera, "fighting the power" etc. The video uses all of the same tricks that rock artists employ when they want to re-enforce their blue-collar status. Romanek may have adjusted them slightly to fit elements of Jay's persona, but 99 Problems still exists in the world of rock music. To be fair, the song samples rock guitar and drums, is produced by a beardo, and is one of the few Jay-Z songs that steers clear of materialism and macho boasting. The video should reflect that. But 99 Problems is an exception to most current hip hop singles.

Most current hip -hop singles have more in common with Can't Believe It, which is in stark contrast to just about everything in Romanek's video. It's completely inauthentic by rock video standards, from it's themes (rampant materialism, excessive machismo) to it's production (green screen, use of off-the-shelf filters) to the song itself (created with loops and synths, utilizes a vocoder effect that drives some people insane).

My real question is: are mainstream hip hop videos routinely dismissed on this site because they don't properly align with the traditional standards by which rock videos are judged (I guess it's not so much a question as a theory)? I'm not going to defend this video as anything more than just a good hip hop video with some interesting twists (can we appreciate the fact that such a mainstream artist went with such bizarre visuals?), but I wonder sometimes if the lukewarm response that hip-hop videos get is sometimes the result of conflicting standards and expectations.

         

I should add really quickly that this last comment is me sort of working out some ideas I've been kicking around recently and not just a response to Captainmarc's comment. I really like Mark Romanek, Jay-Z, Rick Rubin, Leonard Cohen, captainmarc22, and rock music videos, and I don't mean to call anyone out or accuse people on the site of racism or any of that nonsense. I'm genuinely interested in the subject, and I'm not trying to just push buttons or troll or anything (which I realize might seem like the intention when you critique a video by Mark Romanek). I love you all very much.

         

I don't think that a big pimping yacht is what a hip hop video SHOULD be. I don't think that Romanek is imposing indie-ness onto Jay-Z. It's more to do with quality... for example...

Really- good artists borrow from all over- not the expected places. Bad artists settle for regurgitating the same old within a genre.

         

budget -

I am with you, sir. Hip hop videos are dismissed out of hand on the 'ville. If directed by someone within the indie-rock galaxy of acceptably-cool directors (Spike, Mark R, Milk) then they have a shot at acceptance. This issue has been covered (to death) before but you did a good job of putting at least part of what the issue is into words. The other part might involve lots of Europeans and a basketball team not *quite * getting why the slanty eye pose is not so good.

The "Kiss fan" is actually a krump dancer. Kids do their faces up like that and dance. See LaChapelle's documentary film "Rize."

         

How bout we just realize that hip hop has become one of the most conservative industries in general. Why do not see interesting videos from hiphop? Cause god forbid anyone even dare to break form.

         

Some cool thoughts and insights posted above.

In my opinion the video is just alright. The song does nothing for me (which really hurts the video) and the whole thing gets kinda boring towards the end.

However, to a guy that shoots almost exclusively live-action with only ever bits and pieces of F/X, it's endlessly impressive interesting to watch effects dudes go to town.

I'm just rarely moved by things that are heavy on the post side...this video is no exception.

K

         

Directed by Tim and Eric

         

To compare this video to "99 Problems" is, er, problematic. Even on the completely base genre level, one is rap and the other is R&B. Also, "99 Problems" is an autobiographical song -- it's pumping up reality because it's based on experiences Jay-Z actually had. These are cool experiences that reference dealing drugs. T-Pain's song is a love song fantasy. It all takes place in the mind of the artist while he sees a woman and imagines running away with that woman (comically, to Wisconsin of all places). So all the zaniness and negative space makes total sense here. Think of it as one hugely imaginative thought bubble. It's not traditionally authentic because it's not based in real life -- it's the type thing a person would think only to think "wow, that was silly" later on. Who hasn't let their mind wander every once and a while? Here, reality is fantasy. And the circle goes on.

         

Budget, your dilemma is a masterstroke in it's own agenda, but I don't see how it applies to this video as a comparison.

Non dismissal in your theory though, I think it's very intelligent. Here's the thing about it all, 99 problems is regarded as the high standard because that clip contextualized the artist's entire framework into Romanek's aesthetic. By subverting the steterotypes and instead approaching it like a visual anthropologist (Romanek does this well) the iconography in 99 problems lends a potent cultural focus otherwise missing in videos of it's kind. I had a very heated discussion with a predominant hip hop video director (who shall remain nameless) who I took to town for taking the essence and iconography of 99 problems and applied it to a video by one of the major rappers. The results was not it's own thing, because watching it one can't think of the latter video. To go back to the topic, I don't think 99 problems adheres to rock video posturing at all. Since when are ghetto streets a staple of rock video? expand on your bringings.

I think the point is that Jay Z doesn't need to be fitted into the mold of authenticity, because myth and street cred are hallmarks of being a hip hop legend. Mark Romanek understood this, and took us to the belly of the underground through loosely connected vignetes showing the other side of urban life. Church with leonard cohen? it's not a literal interpretation, it's a contextual base. It's what Romanek does best. The persona dies along with the rest, and that's the video's ultimate statement and an example of why Romanek does it best. The rock video parallels are not seen, I don't know what you mean.

This site has alot of critics who add their two cents a step above the quality of youtube users. However, dismissals are the norm, and I think you hit it: it has something to do with expectations. Hip hop videos are routinely critiqued more harshly because they're a bigger target than artsy fancy electro dance clips. I just finished a video that i'm dying to post here, i'm prepared for it to endure all kinds of comments good or bad. Everyone's a critic, but my thing is this: unless you're a practitioner of music videos or visual arts, in depth discussions are non applicable. Good theory, budget i'm with you. Just wanted to also add my two cents.

         

I truly don't care to touch this hip hop video discussion with a ten foot pole. However, I'd like to point out that while I see people complain that hip hop videos are often judged harder and garner less applause, I believe thats more symomatic of what the small group of people who post on here tend to lean towards. Its true that people here like to debate. Its true that people here also believe that unless one is a working professional, their opinion is less valid. Its true post heavy videos set to electronic hip tracks seem to get more love. I'm consistently amazed at how many lovely videos end up on this site with no comments. Just look below this posting. The White Denim video is quite nice. But nothing from anyone. Go figure. I always blown away when the comments I do see are like this "boring" or "didn't keep me interested" "needed more". There seems to be a very short attention span theater angle in which everyone wants to be blown the fuck away, and I just don't know that videos should work that way. Isn't it lovely when you see that special out of the box video for any genre. Thats what 99 problems was all about.

         

Hey Alan, to be honest a lot of what you said went over my head. I'm not sure what a "potent cultural focus" is, for instance. However, I think that it's pretty clear that Romanek's video tries to enforce classic ROCK standards of authenticity on Jay-Z. Every time I watch it, I can't help the feeling that Mark is about two seconds away from having the words "and he really writes his own songs too!" crawl across the bottom of the screen.

And I don't think Romanek completely "subverts the stereotypes" either- after all, we're taking about a rap video that not only features a prison scene, but a gospel choir, chained pitbulls, and a step team (seriously). I think where Romanek succeeds is his craft. He knows how to make everything look as believable and dramatic as possible without evoking a single eye-roll from his audience. In the hands of other directors, these same cliches can be laughable.

The part that I still have a difficult time ignoring is the way Romanek organizes these visuals in a way that recasts Jay as authentic by playing within rock music's guidelines. 99 Problems seeks to convince us that Jay is authentic for the same reasons we're supposed to believe Bruce Springsteen is authentic. But my real problem isn't with the video, its when people who proclaim that they don't like rap music say that more hip hop videos should look like 99 Problems (which seems to happen every time a mainstream rap video is posted here). In essence, they're saying that they'd like more rap videos if they played by rock video rules. This seems like a silly way to judge an entire genre's output. We'd all easily dismiss a hip-hop lover's youtube comment on a No Age video if the poster said "I hate videos like this, why can't it have more swagger?" So why shouldn't the same rules apply to the way fans of rock/indie rock/electronic music judge hip hop videos?

         

Budget,

How do you suppose over educated (yes) Black folks judge hip hop videos?

K

         

You got me K, I really shouldn't have made it a race thing, cause its not (although under some circumstances it could be). I edited my post accordingly.

         

Can someone please define "over educated" for me. I just didn't know that one could be over educated.