Almost a year to the date of “Life of the Troubadour,” and Sterling and I were back at it, working on the video for T-West “T-Dot State of Mind.” However, this time the inspiration for making the video was kicked off by a discussion that Sterling and I had after returning from Paris and London (ha ha ha, actually, that’s my last posting). Paris, a city dripping with art, creativity and passion. The difference? They have artists...we have artists...they have talented performers...we have talented performers…you can’t help but make the comparisons. Are Canadians not as talent as Parisians or any other artists from around the world? Of course not, but we don’t have as much push, support and encouragement. A few weeks after this discussion, it became clear that our goal with the next video we made was to push and support the talent of our own country/nation, or shall we say the united nations of Canada. We are in a city, a country where talent is bountiful, yet not celebrated to it’s full extent. Not in the least.
Here We Go
So, for this video, through a little work, determination and many e-mails (thanks to Sterling!) we were able to collaborate with T-West, to create a video for his song “T-Dot State of Mind,”
“The song title “T Dot State of Mind” was inspired from the Nas song “N.Y. State of Mind”, which was in turn taken from the original Billy Joel song “New York State of Mind”. The Nas song rests as a classic hip hop anthem that an entire generation of hip hop enthusiasts can relate to.”
While the song may be unfamiliar to some, it is familiar to fans of Flow 93.5 where it had climbed to the top of the charts in 2008. To read more on this please see the Romantic Child Studios press release.
Style…Style…Style
Style, image and essence were very important when developing this video, as we wanted to portray to the viewer the true experience of what it is like going through the “day in the life of.” Of course with a camera, the senses are limited to seeing and hearing, that’s why it was very important to incorporate many sensory cues, images of the ceilings, lights, buildings to give the viewer a richer experience of what it is like being in this lyricists shoes.
As for visual style, both Sterling and I both are drawn to darker art, constantly looking to bring all it’s beauty to light. So the overall mood of the video was easy to decide upon, a grittier/darker Toronto.
You will notice, that what we challenged ourselves with this video as we wanted to ensure we avoided any icons shots of Toronto, as again it was a “day in the life of” video.
Locations…
Did this video keep us busy?
Yes. Our ‘kicks’ kept us running around the city.
Where did we go?
Well, you may recognize some of the train stations, as we hit up 4+ stations… and the Queens Quay Community Centre, the surrounds of my apartment building, plus 2 parking lots, and several other spots in Toronto. I know…So why so many locations? Well, we wanted to capture as many elements of the city as possible.
What’s next?
Well, at this point, I leave it up to view and enjoy. What you will see below are pictures from behind the scenes, a behind the scenes video, and finally the video itself.
For more information on T-West, go to http://www.thisiswestmusic.com/
Artist: T-West
Photos by: Koray Salih
Video Directors: Koray Salih and Sterling Pache
Studio: Romantic Child Studios
