TURF FEINZ "RIP Rich D" | YAK FILMS | DANCING in the RAIN, DANSE SOUS LA...

Turf Feinz

This is one of the best dance styles that I think has come out over the years. It’s called turf-dancing which was originated in Oakland, CA. The music in this video is almost too perfect for the trance-like dance move on a rainy day. These four guys truly capture the essence of this dance style. Another dance style that’s native to Oakland is called Hyphy. This is more of a jump around, shake your dreads type of dance, which is the complete opposite of the “Turf” dance. The editing of this video also seemed to be tweaked to the beat of the song, with the video slowing down at some parts, and speeding up at others. The video is entitled “RIP RichD” – and the dancing mixed with the music really gives you the impression that they are connecting with their lost friend.

A Girl Like Me

This film was shot in a documentary format capturing the essence of how young African American girls view themselves and how they are viewed/ portrayed by the media/ public. The sequence of girls that were chosen for this film all seemed to have a strong sense of heritage and who they are inside and out. The darker toned ones spoke on the downplay that society has had on them because of their skin, and the lighter ones spoke on the fact that they get verbally abuse from both ends – being referred to as “conceited” or “house nigga”. The most interesting part of this film was the re-conducting of Dr. Kenneth Clark’s “Doll Baby Test”. Most of the children chose the white to be the “nice” or “good” doll vs. the black which is the same color as their own skin. Pernounced

The Foreign Exchange – Maybe She’ll Dream of Me

The Foreign Exchange – Maybe She’ll Dream of Me

The first couple of times I watched this video I couldn’t grasp it’s concept. After watching it for the last time, I realize that the video is made up of a series dreams by this female. However, the video may confuse the viewer in the beginning, causing one to think that the dreams are the man’s dreams. He sings that he wonders if the she dreams about him, when in actuality, the entire video is a dream about him. From the opening scene on the beach, through the woods, in an elevator, and ending in the backseat of a car, this guy is pursuing a girl that he likes. Another aspect of this video that I noticed is the use of moving back and forward as opposed to zooming in and out.

The Foreign Exchange – Daykeeper

The video titled “Daykeeper” was shot in a bluish lighting tone. The shot’s seemed to be all in one room. All the shots reflected blue lighting on the subject with a pitch-black background. There were also only a few subjects in this video – the man, the woman, a door, and a teacup.

YahZarrah – Cry Over You

This was a very positive and upbeat video. The message was about a young lady who refuses to let the hardships of relationships get her down. This is yet another video that was shot without using a tripod, which seems to be the preferred way to shoot nowadays. It contains several scenes beginning with Yah in the house, preparing herself for an outing with her girls. The next scene is all four girls in a red convertible cruising through the city of Washington, D.C. The camera angles in this scene are shot from the backseat of the car, and the passenger side-view mirror (maybe mounted?). The video ends at a barbecue, in which a rapper makes a guest appearance. The use of the “unsteady” camera made the cookout seem very live and happening. The cameraman also use the technique of manually moving towards his subject (the rapper) instead of using the zoom-in zoom-out.

Erica Badu ft. Rick Ross– Window Seat

The first thing I noticed about this video, is that it is shot without a tripod. The shakiness of the camera gives this video more of a raw feel, which fits the vibe of “the city”. The video starts off in the daytime for the song “Window Seat” with, what seems to be an innocent Erica Badu, riding shotgun in Rick Ross’ class 4-door Porsche. They then switch from the Porsche to an old school Cadillac. Erica changes clothes, the song switches to Lil’ Kim’s “Get Money,” and the two ride off in the night to pull an unexpected caper. The video transitioned smoothly from “classy” to “gutter”, both accompanied by the appropriate theme music.