Music Video DirectorHype Williams

By Larelle Benjamin-Forrester

Hype Williams

•Name: Harold ‘Hype’ Williams

•Born: 1970•Also known as HYPE•He is an American

music video, film director and screenwriter and has been active since 1991

Signature StyleThroughout majority of Hype Williams music videos, he

uses Fisheye lens which distorts the camera view around the central focus. This has been shot mostly with

cinematographer John Perez. He also places camera shots in regular widescreen ratio while splitting a second shot and placing it in the upper and lower bars. In order for

Williams videos to be multi-dimensional, atmospheric and dynamic rather than having static camera angles he uses a particular method. This method is regularly developing

tracking and aerial shots which repeatedly move backwards and forwards. His last signature style since

2003 is combining a solid colour background with a soft different colour light being shown in the centre of the

background and a centre camera focus on the artists/actors upper body. The effect of this is to create a sense of illumination of the background by the forefront

subject.

Signature Style 1

Videos that use this style:•Busta Rhymes – Gimme

Some More•Missy Elliot – The Rain

(Supa Dupa Fly)

Fisheye lens

Signature Style 2

Videos that use this style:• Smitty - Diamonds on My Neck• Slim Thug - I Ain't Heard of That• Ne-Yo - So Sick• Young Jeezy - My Hood• t.A.T.u. - Gomenasai• Beyoncé - Check on It• LL Cool J - Freeze• Lil Jon - Snap Yo Fingers• And many others.

Splitting shots

Signature Style 3

Videos that use this style:•Aaliyah - Rock the Boat• Missy Elliott - She's a Bitch• Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight• Ashanti - Only U

Developing Tracking and aerial shoTs

Signature Style 4

Videos that use this style•Kanye West - Gold Digger• Jamie Foxx - Digital Girl (Remix) • Beyoncé - Video Phone

Creating an illumination

Other Music Videos create by Hype Williams

• 2Pac - California Love• The Notorious B.I.G -

Warning & One More Chance

• Craig Mack - Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)

• LL Cool J - Doin It• Nas - If I Ruled the World

(Imagine That)• Street Dreams - Hate Me

Now• Missy Elliott - She's a

Bitch• Busta Rhymes - Put Your

Hands Where My Eyes Could See

• TLC - No Scrubs• Kelis - Caught Out There

• Jay-Z - Big Pimpin• Kanye West – Heartless,

All of the Lights, Diamonds from Sierra Leone

• Aaliyah - Rock the Boat• ColdPlay - Viva la vida• Ne-Yo - So Sick• Hoobastank - If I Were You• Left Eye - The Block Party• Ke$ha - We R Who We R• Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe,

Massive attack, Hello good morning (remix)

• Jack White - Freedom at 21

• Willow smith - Fireball

After researching into Hype Williams work, I found that he mostly directs videos of a R’n’B and Hip-Hop genre which is why we

see such clear repetition. He is very creative and uses different camera shots to

his advantage by developing them in a number of ways in order to produce a good video. Over the years, he has worked with

many different artist and has produced such good music videos that not only send out a clear message to the audience but engages

them also.