Culture
Watch Billy Ray Cyrus as a Nug of Weed in His New Music Video
Billy Ray Cyrus has found new life as an ass-kicking nug of weed in his latest video, “Angel in My Pocket.”
The one-time mullet king’s newest single and accompanying music video for the song is an ode to something every cannabis aficionado can recognize: an emergency joint.
The video brings Cyrus, aka Doobie Ray, to life as an animated cannabis bud, complete with the artists signature cowboy hat, boots, and beard. Cyrus voices the character who works at The Nug Nation gas station and breaks into jokes and street fights throughout the blues and country-based song.
Early stage storyboard cells by artist Jake Fairly.
The single comes off Cyrus’ latest album, The Snakedoctor Circus, out May 24. “Angel in My Pocket” is written by Don Von Tress, also responsible for the country star’s first chart-topping 1992 hit, “Achy Breaky Heart.”
The music video was co-directed by Potsy Ponciroli of Hideout Pictures and Mikey Peterson of The Nug Nation.
We spoke to Peterson about the process of creating the animation for the music video, and some of his favorite moments from it.
Peterson explained that “Angel in My Pocket” took two straight weeks to complete.
“The team got the green light to create the video on Easter Sunday and delivered it just four days before it premiered on Youtube on May 9,” said Peterson.
The process required “all hands on deck,” said Peterson, adding that The Nug Nation’s team of eight worked every day and night — sometimes for 40 hours straight hours — to create the animated enlivened nugs and storyline.
The hardest scenes to shot were the rocket landing, and the car jumping scenes. Peterson explained that maneuvering the smoke, and the weight and positioning of the car, made it a difficult undertaking.
Billy Ray’s car smashing through the Salt Creek Hemp sign was tricky to shoot.
One of Peterson’s favorites scene is the car’s landing in the hemp field, he explained, “there’s an abrupt stop to the song [and an ensuing joke] which makes it impactful.”
Animation projects like these — and the ones found on The Nug Nation’s website — are shot frame-by-frame, Peterson explained. One second of animated footages takes an average of 24 frames.“A lot of those images are then doubled depending on the scene and if any rigging is needed,” he said. “Rigging is the process of deleting stands and supports that hold up characters or props within a scene.”
The process took around than 10,000 still frames in total to complete the video, which is just over four minutes long.
“Animation is the most tedious form of production you can possibly do,” Peterson said. “Everything is done frame-by-frame.” All materials are hand-built, including the set and characters. After design and filming are done, it goes into post-production, where it’s turned into video and edited, “so the process is more extensive than anyone could ever imagine for one second of video,” he added.
Creator and Director Mikey Peterson gives the girl nug a salon-worthy cut.
All of the nugs in “Angel in My Pocket” and other Nug Nation creations are made from real cannabis. The cannabis is provided by Whole Meds Dispensary in Denver, Colorado, who select each for its photogenic color and texture.
Not to worry, though, no top-shelf buds were harmed in the making of the video.
“It’s not top-shelf, it’s only used for visuals. No need to waste the good stuff,” he laughed.
Billy Ray Cyrus and his new love take to the stars.
The Nug Nation’s collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus was rather serendipitous.
The company produces a series of stop-motion animated comedy clips. The Nug Nation is part of BurnTV’s original programming lineup. BurnTV is a lifestyle and entertainment network set to launch this summer1.
Each episode of The Nug Nation series takes place in Nugville, a fictional Colorado town. One of its main characters Diesel (named after the famous strain Sour Diesel) works at The Nug Nation Gas Station, which also appears at the beginning of “Angel in My Pocket.”
Billy Ray Cyrus gets fired from the Nugville petrol station.
When asked if Cyrus’ song — whose lyrics include “I lost my job at the station” — was in homage to the comedy series, Peterson said it was a coincidence, one that started a conversation and a collaboration between the video’s co-directors and Cyrus’ management team.
Part of the enjoyment of this project, and animation in general, said Peterson, is the ability to go off script, and “throw in some funny gags.” One example of this is in the video’s fight scene.
Lead Animator Jamey Jorgensen works to move the Billy Ray Cyrus nug frame by frame.
“Our lead animator, Jamey Jorgensen, thought it would be funny if the joint just pops up in someone’s mouth [during the fight],” Peterson said. “It’s fun to add little surprises or scenes within a scene that were not originally written. Animators are actors themselves in the sense that they become these characters during the animation process and are given the freedom of improving when they feel the need to.”
Keep an eye out for more Nug Nation collaborations in the near future. While Peterson remains tight-lipped about details, he hinted at an upcoming project which will feature an Instagram series and a well-known artist.
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Green Street Festival: The World’s Best Cannabis, Food & Music All In One Place
On May 13-14, Green Street Festival will bring the city’s top restaurants, the state’s leading cannabis brands, and the world’s top entertainers to celebrate the cannabis community. The event marks a historic moment: Los Angeles opening its doors to consumer cannabis events.
This year, the event is partnering with the Emerald Cup to bring the 18th annual cannabis competition to Downtown LA. Industry thought leaders and a roll call of who’s who of the cannabis industry and culture will judge the very best from a list of categories.
Rama Mayo, founder and creator of Green Street Festival says the partnership is a convergence of two massive powerhouse entities in the culture of cannabism and the heritage and community of the Emerald Cup will enhance the Green Street experience.
“Cannabis will always be the headliner,” Mayo said in a press release. “There is no greater recognized symbol of excellence in the weed nation than the Emerald Cup Awards and we are thrilled to share the stage at our inaugural event with them in this partnership. Gary, our team, and I could not be more proud to partner with their organization as we bring the best cannabis, food, and music to one place.”
Emerald Cup founder and author, Tim Blake is absolutely thrilled to join the Green Street Festival and lift the awards to the stage of the largest cannabis market in the world, and be a part of this historic moment for Los Angeles.
“This triumphant return of our annual live awards show is our first entrance to Los Angeles and we could not have chosen better partners for this debut,” Blake said. “Rama and his team at Green Street have created a powerful ecosystem and they’ve done a wonderful job in creating a platform of engagement for us to shine. We’re eager to unify our northern and southern communities as we raise the Cup and recognize the best of California Cannabis.”
The ‘Academy Awards of Cannabis’
The California cannabis market is stronger when united and the 2022 Emerald Cup Awards will bridge the gap between the NorCal and SoCal markets, providing more opportunities for farmers and brands and new options for consumers.
The panels include a diverse cast of leading experts, journalists, scientists, activists, celebrities, and cannabis aficionados. Globally recognized as the “Academy Awards of Cannabis,” judges are exclusively hand-selected to test out a variety of cannabis products created by California’s best cultivators, extractors, and movers and shakers, looking to be crowned best in class in their respective categories. This years’ categories include flower, pre-rolls, solventless concentrates, hydrocarbon, cartridges, edibles, alternative cannabinoids, tinctures, and topicals. Additionally, the judges will be looking for winners for other categories including the most innovative product, eco-conscious packaging, and cannabis photography.
The competition entry window is currently open and the application deadline has been extended to Friday, February 11, 2022, at 4:00 pm PST. A full spectrum of cannabis excellence will be chosen based on specific criteria including the smell, taste, look, and the high, carefully judged under strict discretion.
Green Street Festival Lineup
The brainchild of Gary Vaynerchuk & Rama Mayo, Green Street Festival expects over 7,000 attendees with special performances by Juicy J & Friends, Gary Vaynerchuk, Harry Mack (Live) and many more to be announced.
Day one of the fest is a VIP event at the Green Street Building, a 67,000 sq ft cannabis business epicenter complete with a once-in-a-lifetime performance with Harry Mack and Gary Vaynerchuk.
Day two of the festival is at a historic outdoor venue in Downtown Los Angeles featuring a Keynote from Gary Vaynerchuk, plus an incredibly special performance lead by Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist Juicy J. Exclusive food offerings will be available from the city’s best restaurants & chefs including Yeastie Boys, Afters Ice Cream, Gusto Green, Petite Peso, Broad Street Oyster Co., Shrimp Daddy, and Uncle Paulie’s Deli. Contemporary artist Cody Hudson created and established the visual identity of the festival.
Tickets for this inaugural event on May 13th & 14th are available now at GreenStreetFest.com.