This Documentary will always be a classic to me, it’s elite in regards to music documentaries. The way it was filmed and edited was just a perfect reflection of the theme of the documentary itself: this focus on creativity and art is exactly how the documentary portrayed itself.
I tried to screen-capture certain techniques that I loved the most, but it wasn’t working, so these pictures are from google.
What techniques I loved most:
1. Mixed Footage- there was SO much content and so much footage for the filmmakers to work with. From live action original B-Roll of New York city in the present ( Ariel Shots of the QueensBridge Project, shots of kids playing in the sprinklers in the projects, shots of people playing basketball in the projects etc.) , live action original footage of them following Nas as he prepares for a performance in the present, live action original interview footage, Photos from their childhood, photos of their family and friends, archival footage from Nas’ journey, archival news footage (present signing off a bill or giving a speech, or journalist coverage of the crack epidemic, etc)
2. How the interviews were film- the voices were so prominent in this film, they only really showed actual footage of the interviews from time to time, but the voices carried through all throughout. The way they blended the interviews/ stories from Nas, to his father to his brother with such perfect cohesion was brilliant. They were all telling different perspectives, but the same exact story. Also, the interviews were shot at different times, but all merge together precisely; for instance, Nas was speaking in a car at one point, then he was on a couch, then he was in his hood, but all interviews were expanding on the same story and the sound design was the exact same, so without even seeing the interviews you would've easily thought it was just one interview alone; and this same technique was used with his father and his brother’s interviews.
3. The transition from interview to B-Roll- every topic that was being discussed had Broll that reflected it perfectly wether it was pictures or videos etc. I really loved the scene where Jungle was discussing his father’s love for books and begins listing the kinds of books he used to read and as they were being listed it went from just jungle listing them, to his father listing them also and back and forth and the images were of the exact books being referenced. I thought that was cool.
There’s so much more to speak about this documentary, but those were techniques that I really loved. The film created an excellent timeline and showed the real transition from Nas as a youth to where he is today.
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