Sir Lenny Henry’s The Cops Don’t Know

Hard Hitting animated blues video

5/5

Preface

The Cops Don’t Know is my third official animated music video. It is based on the same titled song by celebrated British artist, Sir Lenny Henry. The video took me five months and a half to make, from storyboard to characters and backgrounds, animation, visual effects, editing and synchronization. I would like to thank my family for all their help and encouragement, Linde for her great advices along the way and Laleh for her presence and kind support. This video is dedicated to everyone who has fought for diversity and a better world. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it. 

Sam Chegini

Hamshahri Javan Magazine
Hamshahri Javan Magazine's Article on the Cops Don't Know and Sam
The Cops Don't Know in the Making
The Storyboard
From director's notes to the final concept
Filming the source footages
Rotoscoping
Photographing the frames
The Comics
Animating & Compositing
Editing & Sound design
Design and Packaging
The First Premiere
July 20, 2016
Festival screenings & Awards
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Introduction

As it comes from its name, Music Video is a combination of both music and video. The fact that visuals add a lot to the music and unveil the hidden images inside the beautiful pieces you hear is undeniable. From the very beginning, music videos had a clear identity and slogan. They were meant to advertise the music in a new form and to a wider range of audiences. “Illustrated music” as its very first versions were called, attempts to visualize a piece of music by means of images that were designed and being synced to the song to convey the story or message behind it. It did not take long since the first music videos were born that they started spreading beyond the closed doors of the halls and soon they became the most popular genre in the entertainment industry. Many artists are now presenting their music pieces with the help of Visual arts. Music videos are being produced nowadays in various genres, from documentary to animation, video arts and short films. Many well-known directors have shown interest in this modern field of art. Also, thanks to the advanced technology and equipment in this field, the young generation are very much into music videos these days and it has even led to producing home-made videos. In my opinion, as a visual artist who is always concerned about the content and the quality of the work, what makes the great difference between a good and a bad music video is where its most difficult challenge lies: the connection between the music and the video, both in the story and in the rhythm. A music video artist must be aware of the rhythm, scale (gamme) and notes of the music and be able to transfer it into communicative images with the same rhythm, and it is, by no means, an easy task. Being loyal to the music and having all the rhythms in your mind during the production of the video is the vital principle, which unfortunately less attention is being paid to it nowadays, in this high demanding world of entertainment. For me, though, this is what makes working on music videos so fascinating and enjoyable.

Story

After decades racism is still an issue and Police brutality is among the top trending news in the world today. Every single day African-Americans may lose their lives in the hands of the Police for no reason… Sir Lenny Henry takes you to a sad, but true world of injustice that we are facing today. Keep your eyes open, listen to the story and judge for yourself, what’s going on…

THE COPS DON'T KNOW MUSIC VIDEO

Festivals and Awards

The Making of

TRIVIA

Facts you may have missed at first glance, while watching “The Cops Don’t Know”

Nina Simone
A tribute to Nina Simone in a scene of "The Cops Don't Know"
Marvin Gaye
A tribute to Marvin Gaye in a scene of "The Cops Don't Know"
Martin Luther King
A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. in a scene of "The Cops Don't Know"
Abraham Lincoln
A tribute to Abraham Lincoln in a scene of "The Cops Don't Know"
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full shot