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shey baba 'Born Sick', 'Vertigo', 'Requiem', 'I Want It All' by David M. Helman

David Knight - 16th May 2019

David M. Helman's ambitious four-part video for new artist shey baba reflects upon the ages of one man, his memories, transcending the past, and finding love.

Shot in Kiev, with cinematography by James Laxton (who also shot Moonlight), Helman creates a powerful interconnected vehicle for Requiem, the LA singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist's debut album.

In each part, Helman focusses on the individual at different ages of his life - he's a boy in Born Sick, a young man in Vertigo, the older man looking back in Requiem; and then we return to the young man, with his partner, for the uplifting I Want It All. And throughout, baba himself is a mysterious additional presence, performing each song.

This four video project also was executive produced by Claire Stubbs - her last as EP before becoming full-time directors' representative of the rosters of Partizan and the new division Darkroom, under the title of ’New Business Music Videos & Creative Content’. Mayling Wong, staff producer of numerous Partizan videos over the past couple of years, is now Executive Producer Of Music Videos at Partizan and Darkroom.

DAVID M. HELMAN:

"The concept for Requiem was rooted in the question - what if a dream you had as a child can reverberate through your life and drive you onto a path you will ultimately regret? Across the four films Shey and I wanted to portray a lucid dream-like narrative that explored this theme and moved through different chapters of one's life. Capturing a surreal portrait of the ripple effect of greed and the toll it takes on a person. 

"We filmed the series in three days across Kiev with an incredible international cast and local crew. The entire project was deeply collaborative and throughout the process we allowed the narrative to evolve. Our cinematographer James Laxton contributed massively as well as our choreographer Anatolii Sachivko." 

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David Knight - 16th May 2019

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
David M. Helman
Producer
Richard Wilson
Production Company
Production Company
Executive Producer
Claire Stubbs
Production Manager
Joe Browne

Camera

Director of Photography
James Laxton

Editorial

Editor
Jojo King
Editing company

Grading

Colourist
Aubrey Woodiwiss

Agent

Director's Representation

Commission

Commissioner
James Hackett
Label
Virgin EMI

Other credits

Cast

Abdourahman Njie, Omarion Hunte, Nikkita Chadha, Ray Adedeji

David Knight - 16th May 2019

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