NAPPY HEAD CLUB
TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS COMMERCIAL
FASHION DIRECTION:
BLUE WAVERLY
- Leather Moto or Denim Cropped jacket
- Plaid or Printed Pleated Skirt
- Ruffle Socks
- Samba sneakers or a low top platform dress shoe/loafer
Always Black, Never Sorry TEE
Nappy Bucket Hat
- Trainer sneakers
- Basic, quality long or sleeve shirt
- Puffer vest
- Shoe: Timbs (buttas), Clarks, or Vans
- Pants: Chocolate corduroy, Brown Carhart/Dickie, or a statement pant
In creme
Good Hair Scarf
- UO Alexa Layered Skirt Cargo Pant SKU #85466332 Or Alternative CARGO PANT
- LAYERED TEXTURED TOP OVER BLACK HOODIE
- ROUND TOE BOOT
- HARDWARE JEWLERY
Always Black, Never Sorry CREWNECK
- Graphic tote (or Nappy Tote)
- Track pants, or velour sweatpants
- Neutral Sneaker
VIDEO TREATMENT
always enough
Dir by naa adei
nappy head club spec commercial
i love being Black
Everytime I see somebody rockin some NAPPY HEAD CLUB apparel on the street, my mood is instantly boosted because I finally. feel. seen. I cherish those moments, however fleeting they may be, because I’m able to experience that rare euphoria that happens when person goes from being a distant stranger, to becoming someone who I am now in community with simply because of our shared love and expression of Blackness.
And, that kind of impact, the kind of impact that NAPPY HEAD CLUB has, is important to me. This is more than an online apparel brand. This is a celebration of the pride that we should feel about Blackness, all while still being authentic and fashionable.
I truly respect how NAPPY HEAD CLUB uplifts members of the Black community, all with consciously curated slogans that unite us to a power higher than ourselves. So, I am eager to make a commercial that will not only be a representation of what this brand embodies, but will also serve as an affirmation to the many Black millennials who need to be reminded of their greatness, and celebrated daily.
I want this commercial to be a vibrant reminder that
WE ARE ALWAYS ENOUGH.
approach
Healing Your Inner Child from the wounds of anti-Blackness
Anti-Blackness is real. And it leaves damaging effects on your mental health and psyche. But that messaging is not a representation of who we are. So the visuals in this spec will counter that.
I want to capture the beauty of Everyday Blackness in this 60 second spec commercial. Simply by highlighting the levity and freedom that comes with Black Joy in New York City!
approach
A narrated voiceover will be a poetic exploration of the anti-Black messages that we’ve been fed constantly in America.
But, the visuals, of three young Black millennials enjoying a carefree day in New York City, will be in direct contrast to that messaging. Their actions and activities throughout the city will all be tied together by the central theme of doing nostalgic activities that heal your inner child.
Ultimately, this contrast, between the harsh VO and the spirited visuals, will build to a rallying cry that reminds us that
we are always enough.
look & feel
ethereal fun
empowering rebellious
We’ll film in all exterior locations throughout New York City, letting the spaces feel like they are authentic, present, and nice to embrace. We will rely on natural sunlight and a colored photography backdrop to compliment the character’s skintones.
The camera will be a curious observer. The characters will interact with each other as if the camera isn’t there. But they will also break the 4th wall and speak directly to camera to emphasize key points of narration.
look & feel
captured on
35 mm film
The grainy texture of 35mm will accentuate the contrast between the cityscape and the characters!
Greens look great on film, so that will be the primary color, but yellows, blues, and purples will round out the palette.
We will transition from regular speed to slow motion in a natural way. Subtle light flares will leak onto the image, which will heighten the look.
wardrobe
Statement piece jackets
and colorful outerwear
The NAPPY HEAD CLUB apparel will always serve as a nice accent to the outfit, and stick out in the frame in a bold and vibrant way.
as seen on the brand website
casting
Three Friends - Black - 24-37
will roam the city together
Four Background Extras - Black - 21+
Three Children - Black - 12+
will represent their younger selves
the story
QueensBridge Park - Friends Race on Bikes
We open on a wide shot of a beautiful grassy area in Queensbridge Park in Long Island City, with a bridge to Manhattan in the background
Tight shot on bicycle wheels as they roll down the pavement
Medium tracking shot of two friends, LANCE (Black Male), NIA(Black Female), on a bike, and one friend, RYAN (Black Female) on a scooter riding down this same path
As the friends pass the bridge, the camera stays and lingers on the Manhattan skyline
Emphasize the NAPPY HEAD CLUB arm sleeves and the details on the sweatshirts
VOICEOVER
Somewhere along the way
someone made you feel less than
Like you AREN’T the magic that occurs
when the sun and the Earth make love
Or LIKE the stars don’t align from a higher power to be in your favor
LIKE you aren’t divine
They made you feel like you
Aren’t good enough
SCRIPT
QueensBridge Park- Last One Up
Overhead shot of their three heads together in a circle as they lay on the ground, exhausted after playing.
Their eyes/faces are covered with different apparel.
They count to three, but Nia cheats and gets up first, while Lance and Ryan chase her
Emphasize the NAPPY HEAD CLUB bucket hat and scarves
VOICEOVER
Like you Aren’t special enough
Or you aren’t God’s gift to this precious Earth
SCRIPT
Brick Wall - Susan Smith McKinney Park
A red brick wall. NYC cityscape with large buildings in the back
In a medium close up, one of the friends blows a large bubble into the city scape.
They strut down the wall like it’s a fashion show, and take pictures into the camera.
Then another. And another. She looks directly to camera,
smiling, and changing her face for the moment.
Lance makes a camera with his hands. He snaps fake pics Nia
stands next to him and they both cheer on her newfound sense
of confidence.
Lance, Nia, and Ryan all take their turn at modeling. The three hit a pose and take a real selfie.
Nia kisses bubbles that float into the sky.
The trio rides in the lanes of a small track along on bikes and scooters and off towards the buildings, their hands touching the sky.
VOICEOVER
But, who said that?
Who said you don’t belong?
Who made you believe that you weren’t supposed to be here?
Who told you that you can’t. just. BE?
SCRIPT
Track - Star Spangled Banner Park
The camera ends on a backdrop of the Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School. On the exterior wall of the school, there is a colorful and an inspiring Jean Michel Basquiat quote “I don’t think about art when I’m working. I think about life.”
Close up shots of the quote and the colors throughout the school
Extreme close ups, but single shots of each adult character saying to camera ‘Who Told me that I can’t just be?’
Emphasize the NAPPY HEAD CLUB t shirts
SCRIPT
Murals - Bed Stuy
A mural of four Black woman rests against a wall. Their
piercing eyes cut into your soul when you look at it.
Lance, Nia, and Ryan stand with his back to the mural and
addresses the camera.
ADULT CHARACTERS to camera separately:
Who told me that I can’t just be?
SCRIPT
Fort Greene Park - Steps
An endless row of concrete steps work their way up to a tall
obelisk that pierces into the sky.
Trees with leaves caught between the freedom of Summer, yet
still gasping for the calmness of a quiet Fall sit stilly.
Nia, Lance, and Ryan sit looking into camera.
VOICEOVER
Because, ME, I’m here
And THIS is MY reminder to you,
SCRIPT
Fort Greene Park - Playground
The bars of a brown jungle gym explode onto the frame.
Ryan and Nia’s feet run past the bars, charging down a slide
onto the playground.
Lance traipses across a low hanging swinging bridge. They
walk across steady and calculated like he’s an explorer.
The three run over to the monkey bars, and swing across.
Their adult hands grip one bar, then the next.
They climb through again and again, with just the bars, their
hands, and the clouds in frame. Their hands past by, gripping
one bar, and then the next, and the next, until...
ADULT CHARACTERS TO CAMERA, SEPARATELY:
This is my reminder to you
That you are always enough
CHILD CHARACTERS TO CAMERA, SEPARATELY:
you are enough
Forever. And always.
SCRIPT
SCRIPT
Fort Greene Park Playground - Continuous
YOUNG NIA (Black, Early Teens) hands grab the bar, feeling
like her hands are about to reach the clouds. As Young Nia’s
hands move out, YOUNG RYAN’s (Black, Early Teens) climb into
frame, and then YOUNG LANCE’S (Black, Early Teens).
The three kids swing from the start to the end of the bars.
They have NAPPY HEAD CLUB apparel on their heads.
Each character, individually looks to camera and smiles.
to camera
all characters in single shots:
at my best or at my worst,
i am always enough
super:
you are always enough
super:
Nappy Head Club
voiceover:
Nappy Head Club is more than a lifestyle brand. We’re a community of people here to celebrate Blackness authentically.
Shop with us today.
super:
Nappyheadclub.com
childlike elements
childlike elements
locations
Queensbridge Park, LIC
Williamsburg
Bed-Stuy
Fort Greene
We will film in three locations
Each of which were historically Black,
but now have a changing population due to
Gentrification.
The goal is to show that
Black people can and should continue to enjoy life in a changing city.
We still belong here.
modeling at susan mckinney
riding round in
QUEENSBORO BRIDGE PARK
LONG ISLAND CITY
selfies at the
STAR SPANGLED BANNER PARK
in BEd stuy
black murals
in BED STUY
swingin
in fort greene
Naa Adei Mante is an aspiring Writer-Director currently based in New York City. Originally born to Ghanaian immigrants in Washington, DC, she leverages her multi-layered ethnicity to create bold stories that explore those internal, unspoken, and even unpleasant emotions that Black people, but primarily Black women, struggle with in a post-colonial era.
She is currently a thesis student pursuing a M.F.A. in Film at New York University’s (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts (TSOA), and is a TSOA Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship Awardee. Her film, Plan C, was one of four inaugural recipients of the USC Annenberg Reproductive Rights Accelerator Award. She short films have been official selections at several festivals throughout the US, including the Athena Film Festival, Baltimore International Black Festival, and the San Francisco Black FIlm Festival.
Prior to attending NYU, Naa Adei received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Southern California (USC). She was one of twenty initial recipients of the Mork Family Scholarship. Upon graduating, Naa Adei worked as a technical analyst for the Federal Government, and then became a technical specialist at the United States Department of State.
In her spare time, Naa Adei loves to explore the world and uses her travel experiences and exposure to dozens of cultures to motivate her storytelling. She has visited over forty five countries to date!
Naa Adei Mante
nah aday
For anyone who has ever been told they weren’t good enough.
We see you, and we celebrate you
-Nappy head club
thank you
Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate with your brand and pitch this concept to you.
I really respect Nappy Head Club, and I hope that we can make something impactful together.
link to full commercial: