Archive for category: On-Location

The new [recent] comedic music vid from the laid back Memphis rapper shows the lighter side of his latest three song EP “Cut Up”. Cut Up features Youngsta as the local milk delivery man who’s delivery beat is spread to a 1950’s staged set in an upper middle class suburbinite cul-de-sac neighborhood full of curious suburban housewives ready for the milkman to umm, deliver.

Shot on the Disney owned 890 acre ‘Golden Oak Ranch’ in Newhall, CA, that serves as a filming location and backlot services for productions. And within all that ranch land that has served as backdrop to many notable nostalgic productions such as Old Yeller as well as parts of Back to the Future; does a suburban housing neighborhood cul-de-sac backdrop exist, perfect for and where this mv takes place. Production date: 4/23/19 Published to YouTube: May 9, 2019.

Now I just got wind that the vid was released back in May and also released 11 days later is a behind the scenes cut from the shoot. Check it out here:

..unfortunately I was not privy to the release until a week ago but I still feel it appropriate to pop out this post cause there were two things about this vid that stuck out to me:

1. This shoot was funny. A funny ass vid & a really chill crew.
2. It’s not often we get to see the All Star Stages portable poles completely in frame.

First, some productions get hairy. Some go smooth. Sometimes when you are working in certain genres that feature numerous artists, a set can get cramped and heated– literally and figuratively. This production had fun and Blac is, both on and off set, a hilarious entertainer. It was memorable. Your hip hop production miles may vary.

Two, especially in mv world; cameras cut and editors in post cut quicker. A place where there’s no reason for a cut to be longer than a second, with the average cut being less than 2 seconds. Closeups of talent and artists take center stage, as well as what they are doing on the pole. Those wide shots are limited in this niche– at least those that establish for longer than a second. Here we get a solid look repeatedly at the complete scene in play. I just like that for some reason– like those moving sets that create one long shot of a changing background. And a crew of theater professional stage hands perfecting a dance for the fluidity of the final product. Those things get my attention.

Although shorter than the standard, Youngsta wraps up the two minute song with a block party on the front lawn of a home complete with portable stripper poles and the block of housewives enjoying some R&R. Clearly having made an impact, Youngsta entertains while pole dancers bust out a twerk sesh as the sun goes down. Everyone appears to be enjoying themselves ~

The ceiling free dance poles that grace the front lawn are twin 5×5′ footprint acrylic stage models with 50mm 9’4″ pro poles provided by All Star Stages. This particular set was staged five houses down from the cul-de-sac that makes up the majority of the video. Originally production wanted to set the stages/poles further down or up at the house– but the lawn was soft from recent rains and moisture. Without severe shimming or plating underneath the stages, there was no way to guarantee that poles would stay vertically level with talent moving around and dancing. And the house was too far back.

The shot list called for the scene to play during golden hour which the natural light is picked up in the background. The portable stripper poles were lit using actinic 03 blue’s that were later color graded to a magenta to compliment the wide shot. From first glance you would have thought that Astera tubes were used to create the vibrant color effect but as you can see in the BTS vid above, magenta was not being used or is visible during those bts takes.

Ultimately it’s a cute colorful vid that will grace the All Star Stages media page for years to come. I congratulate production and to Blac himself for all the recent success and the future gold nuggets that life has to offer. It was a breath of fresh air to see a light-hearted vid such as Cut Up in this genre. A talented artist, professional crew and pretty cool location to boot. Shoots of this caliber are a rare find.

Stop what you’re doin for a couple min and check this catchy mv out:

Blac Youngsta
Published on May 9, 2019
“Cut Up” available at: http://smarturl.it/CutUp.BY

(C) 2019 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment