A music video produced by two Bryan students is making its mark on YouTube even as the song climbs to the top of national and international Christian country music charts.
The Corey Brooks Band “I Beg You,” was recorded by the Corey Brooks Band and distributed to radio stations in November, band member and lyricist T.K. King said. “When we sent it to the radio stations we wanted to do a video,” he said. “The first place people go when they hear is song is to YouTube.”
Over the next weeks he enlisted Justin Kelly, a fellow music major who also is minoring in film and media studies, to develop the video. They came up with a plan to show in vignettes from everyday life the message of the song: “How much do you hate me if you are not telling me about God?”
The band – with Bryan student Christian Ferguson sitting in for the regular drummer – was filmed at Fort Bluff Camp near Dayton, with the story scenes shot at Harmony House, a coffee shop, and in a home.
The challenge filmmakers faced was to tell the story in pictures without resorting to stereotypes. “If the song is telling a story you just have to add pictures. But with this song, the visuals had to tell the story. The audience had to see what’s happening rather than falling back on the song’s lyrics,” Mr. Kelly said.
Chris Clark, director of Bryan’s film program, said, “These guys have done a great job in the program. They are taking what the program does and building on it.”
Mr. Kelly returned the compliment. “The great thing the film program has done is to give us hands-on experience.”