Most videos start with a treatment, which is essentially an idea put on paper. Some treatments are incredibly detailed, some are simple. Some videos wind up looking exactly as described in the treatment, and sometimes videos morph during the production process into something much different.
IN TREATMENT will look at those treatments and feature conversations between treatment writer Doug Stern and directors.
First up is director Dave Meyers discussing OutKast's "B.O.B." video, which Doug also worked on...
IN TREATMENT: OutKast "B.O.B." — Dave Meyers, director
In 2000 Outkast released "B.O.B." as the first single off their Stankonia album including a jaw-dropping clip that ended up being celebrated as one of the best videos of the decade. Director Dave Meyers answers some questions and then gives us a look at the treatment.
Videostatic: The story is, that on Bombs Over Baghdad, you
were set to direct Outkast's other single 'Ms. Jackson' and then you and F. Gary
Gray switched jobs at the last minute. How did that come about?
Dave Meyers: Well, big dog ate little dog there. Gary heard 'Ms. Jackson' and loved it and switched his interest to that song. Combined with the fact that Gary, as it was told to me, didn't want to travel out of town, and at the time, the first single off every Outkast album needed to be shot in Atlanta. A superstition that was upheld by Big Boi and Dre. That said, the job was already awarded to Gary at a "Gary budget" and so when it switched, the budget stayed the same on BOB, despite the switcheroo of directors. As a result, I got my first break at doing a million dollar music video. Thanks Gary!!!
VS: BOB is such a wild and unexpected video. How much of that was Dre and Big Boi wanting to be 'out there'?
DM: The content of the video - waking up in the
projects, running down the street, catching a caravan to the club, and then
partying in the club with church folks - a great deal of that originated from
Andre and Big Boi. The psyc
hedelic look was actually developed after I
edited the piece and felt like I needed to construct something to signify how
big the video was. Something that would visually stand out and be different.
And that's where I landed. I had it shipped to India for individual
painting of each frame in the early days of accessible online effects. So
it was quite special at the time. No push back from the label at all, as
it was all bonus to them, and Big Boi in particular was blown away when I
presented the final colorized version. They had already "signed
off" on it prior to seeing the colorized version, and were content at that
point. So the additional colorized world was a win-win for all parties.
VS: Which was more challenging – the car/truck stunts or getting the monkey to hit his mark?
DM: Monkey was easy. He just did shit. We let the camera roll. And my editor found a monkey moment that sync'd up with a part of the song and it presented an "intention" that the monkey was actually performing moves to the song. The car thing was a nightmare (but still fun).
--> watch "B.O.B." and check below for the original treatment
ORIGINAL TREATMENT
Outkast "B. O. B." Dave Meyers, director - 2000
We open on the interior of a basement bedroom art directed like a teenager’s room in the early 1980s. There are posters everywhere: Run-DMC, Jimi Hendrix (plus other influential figures based on Dre’s input) filling the walls and even ceiling. The colors are super-rich and vibrant almost to the point of being trippy - heightened to the extreme. As the track kicks in ...
DRE pops up into frame - blasting right into the opening lyrics. He bolts out the door and up a flight of stairs, our camera keeping up with him as he delivers his rapid fire verse. Dre’s movements have an accelerated dream-like quality - almost as if he is leaving trails of color behind him as he moves. Dre runs through the colorful kitchen, past his Moms and out the door ...
Onto the street. This neighborhood is like none we’ve ever seen before. Every color is different than it should be - the sky is orange, the trees are blues and the houses are impossibly rich yellows and reds. Despite the amazing colors this undeniably a typical Atlanta hood with authentic Down South flava. Dre runs down the street (colored a wild shade of green) rapping directly into our lens. People begin to run after Dre, feeling the vibe of the pulsing track. We catch neighborhood kids, regular Atlanta folks as well as all-star celebrity cameos like Goodie Mob and Slim as they join the chase.
Suddenly Dre stops on a dime and the crowd of people running after him stop as well - everyone staring straight ahead, but we don’t know what they’re looking at. Suddenly, from out of nowhere a convertible Cadillac skids to a stop next to Dre - tires squealing. Dre looks inside the car and sees and incredible girl with a banging body behind the wheel. She is dressed in short shorts and a barely there top as she smiles - revealing all gold teeth. Dre leaps into the passenger seat and the girl stomps on the gas, The car burns out as it pulls away from the crowd that had been chasing Dre and straight towards ...
A row of colorful Cadillacs rushing past on a cross street. The cars whip by, creating a wall of moving Caddies. The girl keeps driving and cranks the wheel and slides right into an open gap - joining the Outkast caravan. A wider shot shows us the convoy of cars with a pair of gleaming tour buses and a chromed out 18-wheel semi truck bringing up the rear.
As the chorus thumps we crane up over the line of vehicles streaming past - El Dorados, Fleetwoods, Devilles, coupes, and sedans. The drivers and passengers are feeling the Outkast vibe - hands high and grooving to the beat. They roll along the lemon yellow colored roadway through Atlanta, past buildings and fields - all done up in strange, almost hallucinogenic colors. The camera finds an open convertible with...
Big Boi chilling out in the back seat - a sexy young thing behind the wheel. Big Boi kicks into his verse as he gets up out of the convertible and walks back onto the trunk of the Caddy. Without missing a beat of his performance, Big Boi steps off the trunk and onto the hood of the Cadillac right behind him - all while the caravan is speeding down the roadway. Big Boi moves over the car and onto the next one continuing his flow right to our camera. he reaches the last car and leaps ...
Onto the front of the tour bus that is right behind the Caddy. He climbs up the side and onto the roof of the moving bus where he pulls open a sunroof. Big Boi sticks his head down inside the bus where he sees...
The custom interior of the tour bus is packed with sexy ladies - who react when they see Big Boi. The bikini-clad women groove and dance as Big Boi delivers his verse. The mouthwatering ladies are competing for his attention - rubbing their incredible bodies against him. Big Boi’s head shoulder and arms are upside down inside the bus and we catch his performance as the women grind and groove all around him. Breasts and amazing booties are literally in his face. Suddenly Big Boi gets up and ...
Moves back along the top of the bus and onto the 18-wheeler that follows close behind. Big Boi slips into the back of the truck where we see ... a top end chop shop with a mechanic finishing a gleaming, customized Cadillac. This car is off the hook - polished 20inch rims, custom paint, the whole nine. The mechanic hands the keys to Big Boi as he slips behind the wheel and the back gate of the truck drops down. Big Boi starts the Caddy and ...
Drops out the back of the truck. Big Boi is now on the road - accelerating to pass the length of the Outkast caravan. Big Boi’s custom Caddy flies past the other vehicles as the sun is setting and leads the whole group off the road and right to ...
An amazing looking old school Down South blues-style club. The place is a funky mix of classic ATL and a hip-hop jook joint. The vehicles circle the old wooden building as we cut to ...
The interior of the club where an amazing party is in high gear. Smoke and haze highlight the trippy feel with colored lights pulsing and flashing. Big Boi is pimping and Dre is grooving on a drum machine - taking the party to a higher level. All the sexy women from the bus are here plus even more unbelievable girls.
Dre and Big Boi perform amongst the crowd as well as framed against a wall of the old jook joint. Light seeps through the gaps between the wooden slat boards - creating a cool effect that filters through the club’s haze. Dre’s movements are even trippier, with more color and light streaming behind his body as he grooves.
On the “rag-head” line we see rows of Stankonia residents doing the amazing Stankonia dance - known only to the funkiest of the funky. Outkast is out front - leading the wild energy even higher. These unique dance moves are amazing - guaranteeing that the funky dance will spread all across the country.
As the track fades we cut to the exterior of the Outkast jook joint. The caravan is on the move again - rushing past the edge of the frame at hyper-speed, one after the other like a funky freight train. We crane up higher as the caravan disappears into the night. We now see an illuminated highway sign next to the road - “Stankonia, 7 light years.” Outkast’s tail-lights fade over the horizon as they continue their journey and we ... FADE TO BLACK
Doug Stern also writes music video treatments when not dancing a funky dance that is sweeping the country.
