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Nathan Barlow Jafaris, Rushes Nathan Barlow’s vid
eography is perhaps the most cinematic of any director featured on this list. The Irish/Zimbabwean directors’ work with hip-hop label Diffusion Lab, particularly with Jafaris, retains a high-res sheen that flatters some of the shoestring budgets associated with the shoots. “In different chapters, I’ve learned each aspect of it,” explains Barlow. Though none of those chapters involved a formal education in film. Qualifying for a film course, Barlow took the advice of a college staff member and opted to head out into the field solo to make his own way. “Groups like Odd Future and Pro Era started popping up, and they’re all my age. I was 17/18 in school watching all these guys. So, obviously it sparked a bit of inspiration with the DIY attitude, which is always the way I’ve done things.” Barlow hints at the creative essence behind his vision early in our discussion. “Guerilla. If someone gives me a fifty grand budget, I’ll try my best to make it look like a two-hundred grand budget. All the Jafaris videos were done with pretty much nothing; it was mainly just rubbing sticks together.” It’s a characteristically humble downplaying of what has been a prolific shared body of work between the director and MC over the past few years. If you’ve seen a Jafaris video, from the Go-Pro shot No Hook to the L.A set Time, you’ve seen Barlow’s work. There is nothing about the slick, high-fidelity finished product of the latter that would lead you to believe it was the product of a three-day, unscripted shoot – but so it was. “He resonated a lot of the same ideas and mindsets that I was inspired by growing up. The day that we met we shot a music video on my phone.” Thus began a working relationship that has seen two artists evolve and grow, step by step. Curiosity, alongside passion, has fuelled much of Barlow’s videography. “These past two years of videos have more been on that Jafaris’s Time side of filmmaking, which is still the technical. How can we this? That’s why they were such ridiculous extravagant things. I was just using a small camera and an electric skateboard to track things. So, it’s only now, once I feel comfortable enough to make a production look how I want it to look, that I’m diving into the tools, the writing tools and the creative tools to actually tell a story.” Barlow cites his creative vision for his own work going forward on the viral explosion of Childish Gambino’s This Is America, an emphasis placed further away from posteffects magic and on to the material in the raw footage. “The next sequence of videos are definitely going to be a lot more stripped back, just packing it with visual storytelling through the actor’s motions and stuff like that.” “As much as industry is pulling away from music videos and the budgets are getting smaller, seemingly the production value is only getting bigger, which is ridiculous.” A smile lingers over his face with the last three words of the sentence. It’s the thrill of an obstacle yet to be hurdled. IG: @nathan.ivor.scott.barlow It’s only now, once I feel comfortable enough to make a production look how I want it to look, that I’m diving into the tools, the writing tools and the creative tools to actually tell a story. Jafaris’s Time 30