Producer Dave Thompson has worked with artists Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Guns ‘n Roses, Jay Z, Nirvana, Pink, Puff Daddy, R Kelly, Toni Braxton, Usher, Whitney Houston and most recently Coopay, a South African artist who has just released the music video for their debut single ‘Trigger Happy Chappy’. Thompson is the co-owner of Boom Studios, a South African record label breaking the mould and nurturing up-and-coming talent. During his 41-year music career he has conceptualised and coordinated promotional and marketing campaigns for the aforementioned artists.
“It’s common practice for the artists themselves to pitch ideas which invariably are either way too expensive or impractical – the trick is trying to find an effective compromise – having an artist deliver a convincing performance for a video concept that they’re not convinced about in the first place is a recipe for disaster,” explains Thompson. So effectively the brief for this music video started with him outlining that he wanted to stay away from the usual hip hop video clichés about expensive cars, clubs, mansion swimming pools and girls in bikinis. “In addition I asked if they could find a way to incorporate the re-cycling and scrap metal collectors that drag their trolleys across the city each day – in other words some imagery far removed from the world of bling.”
The video was produced by Johannesburg based The Moving Billboard Picture Company. It was shot around the Johannesburg CBD: Faraday Taxi rank, Jeppestown, Newtown and the peripheral areas, a site near the old gas works, an area near a refuse dump in Doornfontein and a location near Malvern at the eastern end of Commissioner and Jules Street. DOP Dan Teffo shot the video on a Sony FS7.
“The idea was to use elements that weren’t part of the usual hip-hop culture, which were then refined into a workable storyboard by the director Noma Khumalo, Coopay and team,” says Thompson.
Director Khumalo says that Coopay too was looking for a video that would transcend the stereotype about hip hop musicians, one that would allow him to be portrayed as a guy on the streets. “I took the title and created contrasting images of the bling lifestyle – showing him as a beggar, a taxi driver, a vagrant recycler and shop owner,” she explains.
A passion project, Khumalo says the video was a play on the title ‘Trigger Happy’ and looks at people finding various triggers for their happiness despite their environment and circumstances.
She says budget was an obstacle, second to shooting in downtown Johannesburg. “Now, elitism aside, downtown is a nightmare if you aren’t prepared. So traffic, spectators and the works were an issue but as filmmakers we are by nature problem solvers. There is one scene we shot where the occupants refused to vacate the area and we ended up incorporating them into the sequence,” describes Khumalo.
Using an element of realism, Khumalo explains that they shot at specific times of day in selected locations to achieve the kind of light needed. “This gave us a more naturalistic feel that still allowed a fair amount of latitude in post. Joburg colour temps differ throughout the day, we started at 3h00 and shot into the afternoon,” says Khumalo. She says the locations further restricted their use of light and they used small fillers and poly bounces, using the natural ambient light as much as they could.
Edited by Bruce McLaren Lyall, the video certainly transcends all hip hop traditions. It furthermore makes the streets of Jozi stand out as cool parts of the hood. “Music is expressing life with all the boring parts cut out,” says Coopay, and his video certainly does turn the mundane into the mood.
