UPDATED: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016 at 12.15 a.m. EST with comment from a Beyoncé representative.
Beyoncé's video for her new song "Formation" may have lit up the Internet Saturday, but perhaps all is not well in the Beyhive.
Not long after it went live, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Chris Black posted on Twitter that the video used clips from a short film he had produced without credit -- a documentary about New Orleans bounce music, That B.E.A.T.. Beyoncé's team have since stated the material was properly licensed.
New Beyonce video used hella clips from the doc I produced and directed by @abteen ...but why?!?! https://t.co/RgWTUr1rtd— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
He also called out Melina Matsoukas, who directed the video, for the lack of proper acknowledgment.
Why Melina gotta use clips from our doc?!? Was the budget not big enough to spend a week in New Orleans and actually build with the people.— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
The funny thing is that our doc is lowkey iconic so the audacity to rip and pass it off like we not gonna notice. You outta touch b!— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
Black told Mashable he was contacted by Lily Keber of Mairzy Doats Productions one week ago, who inquired about the use of their footage in an undisclosed artist's music video. The filmmakers don't own the footage, however, as it was commissioned by Nokia and Sundance. Sundance and Keber have been contacted for comment.
As an artist, Black said the lack of credit was upsetting. "We don't mind our work being shared or celebrated, but we put a lot of work into it and we just wanted credit," Black explained.
In a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly, a Beyoncé representative said the footage was used with permission and licensed from the owner of the footage. "They were given proper compensation. The footage was provided to us by the filmmaker’s production company. The filmmaker is listed in the credits for additional photography direction. We are thankful that they granted us permission."
Matsoukas made a rare appearance on Twitter hours after Black called her out, tweeting her thanks to the film's director, Abteen Bagheri, for making the video "whole."
Must give much love to the beautiful NOLA footage shot and directed by @abteen and @lkeber to make #FORMATION whole.— melina matsoukas (@melinamatsoukas) February 7, 2016
Black said Matsoukas' attribution, which came after his tweets and Bagheri's began attracting attention, rang hollow. "It feels a little too late and slightly insincere. Would she have given us the credit had I not said anything?"
Lol, your 500k budget wasn't enough to make your video "whole".— chris black (@TheBlack) February 7, 2016
if you're an artist, always protect your work. They don't know what you had to sacrifice to create.— chris black (@TheBlack) February 7, 2016
Matsoukas has run into other issues with her work. In 2011, photographer David LaChapelle sued after accusing Rihanna's "S&M" music video, which was directed by Matsoukas, of stealing concepts from his images. The case was later settled for an undisclosed amount.
Black has received a lot of attention from Beyoncé fans following his tweets, and not all of it good, with many suggesting he should just be grateful she even noticed his work. "Whenever you go against the Beyhive, that's expected," he suggested. "But a lot of those people haven't made anything. They're not artists. My art means everything to me."
I'm not mad. It's the sad reality of the music business. Doesn't affect my friends' and my work, but not cool.— abteen bagheri (@abteen) February 6, 2016
He suggested a credit at the end of the video would have been an appropriate acknowledgement. "If you respect the filmmaker and if you respect the source material, you'd let people know where this powerful work came from."
Black, who is currently working on a short documentary about the language of gang signs in Los Angeles, said he was surprised that despite the video's big budget, Beyoncé's team couldn't have found similar footage themselves. "The parts of the video that weren't our's were great," he went on. "I don't think you needed our work to complete your vision."
Despite the situation, Black said he still loves Beyoncé. "I don't blame her directly. It's just hard when you're trying to make a name for yourself as a filmmaker," he said. "Just because it's Beyoncé or whoever, you can't let that stop you from speaking your mind."
Beyoncé's team have been contacted for further comment.