Earl Sweatshirt's Off Top music video combines chaotic animation and found footage
Music: found footage and animation come together to form provocative anti-establishment imagery in Earl Sweatshirt's Off Top music video, directed by Taylor Johnson (+ movie).
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_sq.gif)
The collaboration began when Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, AKA Earl Sweatshirt, saw a video that Johnson had directed for fellow rapper Isaiah Toothtaker.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Kgositsile and Johnson exchanged ideas before deciding on "an animated Ralph Bakshi-esque video" – referring to the style of the cult American director responsible for infamous 1970s adult animation Fritz the Cat, and a 1978 cartoon version of The Lord of the Rings.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
Spending about a month on the project, Johnson worked in partnership with animator Alex Barrella, sharing detailed storyboards and character ideas over email.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
The film opens on quintessential American imagery, with footage of the Stars and Stripes flag overlaid with an animated depiction of a police car in flames.
Hand-drawn type made of burning bricks introduces the track title, before Earl Sweatshirt in animated format falls through the frame.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
"I tried to convey how I felt about the song and its tone without it being a narrative storyline that follows what Earl was saying," Johnson told Dezeen. "That being said I did tie in little pieces that followed some lyrics, but I didn't want it to affect the loose, chaotic storyline."
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
The film continues to juxtapose found footage with animation, showing the rapper being swallowed by a disembodied lipsticked mouth before a subway train bursts through the background.
Sudden animated explosions are spliced with footage of flames, and the film's protagonist is shown being chased by a giant dog before taking part in a fist fight.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
The closing scene of the film shows the demonic pig-like face of a policeman laughing into the camera.
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
"The song and the whole album is pretty dark to me," Johnson said. "I wanted to match the tone and a surreal nightmarish landscape fit best to me."
"The story is very loose, dealing with feelings of depression, frustration and wanting to scream 'f*** the police' at the top of your lungs. I tried to express that with Earl trying to run out and escape this hellish animated world with hope of finding something better."
![Earl Sweatshirt Off Top music video animation](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/08/DMP-Earl-Sweatshirt-Off-Top_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
Off Top is taken from Earl Sweatshirt's album I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, which was released on 23 March 2015.