Alborosie - Kingston Town

This video didn't exactly have a "treatment" per say. It was more like an idea, and a vibe with my Director of Photography, Aaron Phillips. It just all came together well. The Panasonic Varicam certainly impressed me on this one. It was my first time working with that camera and we got some real good stuff out of it. The quality is right up there with film and the speed options are great.

So here were my "notes" around my ideas for the video going into the shoot.

Open with time lapse crack of dawn. Aerial shot bird eye view. Show tropical island waterfront vibe. Then punch into concrete city (jungle), then concrete Kingston streets. Shots of the city is slow motion or with time lapse and deep colours. Shot of police car on road side doing a variety of spot checks and issuing tickets in time lapse.

Then in studio with Alborosie... voicing dub plate. Start cutting to vignettes.
Aerial – police car chasing another car – throughout video...
Kids playing football inside colourful dilapidated building.

The opening scene with the brown guy with the Mohawk, well he's our caretaker at my office at 10A. He's great. That scene originated with a treatment I did for the Damian Marley track "Master Has Come Back". That opening got thrown around a bit. I even thought about using this for Collie Buddz 'Come Around'! Finally, it found its home with Alborosie and I actually like how it came off.

Maybe you will notice, the gate used for the opening with Alborosie and my caretaker - it's the same location used for the performance scene in Collie Buddz "Come Around". I like that spot. It has a lot of history and character - right in the heart of Downtown Kingston. The record store is right upstairs.

I edited the project myself and I'm really proud of the edit. First video I edited on Guru Films' new Mac Pro. The machine is sweet, especially with the 30" monitor, it all looks crystal clear. Final Cut Pro served me well again. Thanks Mac!

Hope you like the project as much as I do.

Ras Tafari Live!
Ras Kassa, the Guru