New York-based post boutique Northern Lights editor Glenn Conte teams up with director Nathan Crooker to break through the white noise of young hip hop artists in the catchy 3:05 music video “Blow Up” for Sammy Adams out of RCA Records. The video, shot in Boston, Massachusetts, shows Sammy walking the streets of his city with his entourage and hosting an epic underground house party. A single off the 24 year-old’s upcoming major-label debut, the video has had massive viral success, taking in over 600,000 views since posting on December 23, 2011. He made his nationwide television debut on January 18th performing the track on Conan on TBS.
Conte worked closely with Crooker to align with his vision for the video. He notes, “Nathan’s idea to attach a camera rig to the artist as he travels through scenes gave the video an interesting look and style. I used an editorial style that complemented Nathan’s vision—I didn’t want it to be gimmicky, just wanted to keep it real.”
“Blow Up” opens on an angry chef barking orders at Sammy in the kitchen at his burger-flipping job. We cut to Sammy walking away, waving the chef away with a casual delivery of his middle finger as he begins the track. He saunters through the streets of Boston with the casual lyrics, “I’ve been workin’ all night man/ What’s a young kid gotta do to blow up/ This life’s becoming somethin’ I can’t stand/ Tell those people go home I don’t wanna grow up.” He joins up with a group of friends, picking up others as they move through the city, leading them all to an epic house party. The solo-cup driven fun mounts as he gets the crowd pumped with a live living room performance. The party rages on, friends joining in with the lyrics with the video ending on Sammy diving into the gathered crowd at the song’s ending.
About Northern Lights
Northern Lights is a thriving bi-coastal (NY/LA) post production boutique featuring filmmakers and visual artists with a passion for telling stories.
From Promax and Emmy-winning TV branding to commercials, film and Internet content, Northern Lights has been a destination for original ideas since 1995.
The company’s award-winning talent is continually creating new ways to interpret footage for all modern delivery platforms. Their unmatched ability to shape ideas into focused content for brands is fed by a creative environment that fosters trying new things and taking risks.
Northern Lights teams up with sister companies Mr. Wonderful for design, www.mrwonderful.tv, SuperExploder,www.superexploder.com, for composing and audio post, and Bodega, www.bodegastudios.com, for creative assignments and production. Working together, they’re a powerful one-stop resource that tailors their offerings to each individual client and filmmaker’s needs.
Credits:
Record Label: RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Artist: Sammy Adams
Title: “Blow Up”
Director: Nathan Crooker
Production Company: Crooker Enterprises (Repped by Tangerine Films)
Producer: Jeremy Sullivan
Post Production: Northern Lights
Editor: Glenn Conte
EP: Robin Hall
Color Correction: Katabatic Digital
Colorist: Emory Wells