Askia Ft Skidi Boy video shot analysis
Whatever thing a director puts on set during a video shoot or a TV commercial, he or she puts for a purpose. The way he composes his images, tilts and pans the camera, tells a story in every shot he decides on.
The welcome 4Kwat music video clip directed by Mysta Adrenaline; AFRIMMA 2016 nominee, was shot in the south west region of Cameroon. After watching the amazing shots and locations he fused together, we sat down to look at four important shots that helped in telling the story visually.
Take one: The opening shot
Kwata: stands for a neighborhood and mostly ghetto areas in the neighborhood. As the video begins, we are situated at the kind of place we are to be, the kind of lively hood in the “kwata” (ghetto); the kind of houses, how one lives the room for ropes outside to dress, not just dressing, but stilling.
This shot is a very important opening scene because; it interprets the song, its title and tells us the kind of life in the ghetto.
Take Two: The tarred road shot with Skidi Boy
Ronin: The Ronin machine has come and as well make every good video director to be able to tell a story with just a single shot. Skidi Boy runs out of the compound to a tar road, meets a girl eating, passes and meets his friends gambling (fap-fap).
The entire shot is well composed merely with the use of a Ronin. What enhances the beauty of this shot is; the movement from a full shot, mid shot to a close up shot – on one of the gamblers within the same frames.
The same shot continues where we see a girl’s bag snatched from her and nobody cares to help her, a life they consider and cherish very much in the ghetto – everyone for himself.
Still within the frame, we are told a different story how when others go to the cities to hustle and become rich, some stay back in the “kwatas” as robbers. This shot was taken for 28 seconds without a cut. Amazing!
Take Three: The drone shots
Other significant shots in the video are the drone shorts. The University of Buea is in a very clean environment, but if you aren’t keen enough, you won’t see the campus entrance in the video because of how distorted the director paints it. The cities are color graded with very stern and hard color correcting tools to enhance the wildness of the kwata.
Just watching at the video, you are already inspired to carry an iron bag with hard locks to Molyko, Mabanda, Mokolo, Deido and the other “KWATAS” because you might return with an “empty-heavy” bag.
Take four: Closing shot. Skidi boy’s scene
Skidi Boy is ruining during the last scene, why, what caused it? Could it be it was the continuation from the scene where the police invaded them on the street?
I guess not because Askia was already sitting behind the house with a different dress, same as Skidi, with a different outfit…
Well composed, set not as loose as the others, good movement and character attitude. This is how important this shot is:
A boy walking and browsing on his phone, sees a boy running toward him and even touching him probably because he was in trouble and needed his help but rather, he concentrates the more on his phone than to look at his brother – “any-man for himself”.
Again, a mother sitting, then sees a boy running and passing her but she prefers her vegetables than to check on what might be pursuing the boy – that is kwata life,”any-man for himself”.
Askia from her punch-lines rarely make mistakes in coming up with intriguing ideas, “KWATA”. Skidi Boy as always with attitude, plays his part well accompanied with a good song.
“Welcome for Kwata” is not just a song to mimic the lyrics with earpiece On, but a song that should be an alert to ignorant people about the hard life and hand-to-mouth life live in every “kwata”, ghetto anywhere in the world.
Watch the video and be inspired!!!
