The video for the new David Guetta track Hey Mama is a ton of fun, and incorporates more than the average video. Its definitely got the cameos of David and Nicki Minaj, but its also got some sci-fi narrative and epic eye candy thrown in to get the attention of the less-easily enchanted. It really couldnt have come at a better time, either, with the recent box office blowout of Mad Max: Fury Road; this vid definitely has the same road movie feel, and makes a vast desert landscape feel like a dance party.
The scale of this project is pretty wide - toying around with a lot of production design and costume elements from fur bikini clad models dancing in upright bathtubs, to a Burning Man-style convoy roaring through the desert. The narrative is actually pretty cohesive, and NIcki Minaj functions as a genie summoned by David Guetta! The cinematography is also really epic and fun - working with such a vast space and moving clouds makes the camera movement and wide angles increasingly stunning. I also have to drop a line for the background performers - they really made this video, and I can only imagine the increased pressure to perform out in the desert heat. Theyre hanging off the truck, doing crazy flips, and just making for a crazy, other worldly environment.
Director Hannah Lux Davis has been working solid as a music video director for the last 5 years or so, and has definitely made a name for herself working with the biggest artists, but still enduring as a multi-faceted director, also doing commercials, and mostly cutting her own projects. Her style has taken a few forms, working with pop, rap, and rock artists. I've watched a lot of her stuff, and it blends a few different styles. Shes experimented a lot with mansions, pool parties and the like, but this new on-location desert shoot has a great cinematic feel. However, you can see how this has the same kind of fun party vibes as her other Paris Hilton and Mike WILL Made It vids. This one felt like a new level, and I hope she is able to incorporate the same kind of cinematic ambition in future projects. It seems like this year is doing well for her as her new video for Snoop Dogg is pretty visual effects heavy as well.
