Top 3 Music Videos

Last second blog... let's do this.

#3:

I love Michel Gonry's work from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to his music videos with The White Stripes. I thought that the premise to this video was interesting. It's so simple and somewhat surreal yet very effective in keeping the attention of the view as they try and decipher the video. 

#2:

The Shins are one of my favorite bands, so I was excited to see a music video set to one of their songs. The gothic character design was amazing and the upbeat music created a wonder dichotomy between sound and sight.

#1:

I think that it's interesting that this song was originally written by Trent Reznor in his early 30s and then completely repurposed but made wholly more effective by Johnny Cash. The lyrics are very powerful for a man who's reached the end of an incredible career.

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My Three Music Videos

#1- War Photographer:

This had to be my favorite music video shown in class as it had a very unique style and was pretty cool going along with music. The animation was very fun and it threw a lot of things at you that were unexpected especially towards the end with the giant robots. It is also one of my favorites because of the fact that it was done by one guy, that is just so cool and inspirational to me. Plus I enjoyed the music and comedy of the music with the band and such.

#2- Dumb Ways To Die:

First off the tune is super catchy and I love that but I know after hearing it way to much I wouldn’t even like it at all which is funny to me. I really like the simplicity of the animation but also how important it was to do it in that way were it is very kid friendly. The message is in a way serious but played out so playful, I love it. Just overall a fun and informative video.

#3- Sometimes The Stars:

The Animation in this video is so fluid and beautiful. I love the music and its’ meaningful lyrics by themselves. The world that this animation lives in is very interesting and symbolic to the lyrics. The atmosphere was immersive and really made you wonder about the meaning in it all. I just absolutely loved it. 

3 Favorite Music Videos

It was hard to choose just three music videos out of the ones we watched in class.  There were a lot of really good ones.  I finally choose three of them, I’ve included each video and a description of why they made the top 3.

3.”Everything Changes”-Eytan and the Embassy

            The reason I chose this video is because I simply just love the idea for it.  I think it is brilliant.  As the singer, Eytan I assume, sings about changing who you are some people off camera change him into famous musicians. He changes into legends like Elvis and Lennon, and current artists like Nikki Minaj and Deadmau5.  I wonder how the idea for this came into being.  It is a genius idea, and whoever came up with it needs to be praised.

2.”Valentino”-Diane Birch

This video is just downright impressive.  I’m not a huge fan o the song itself, although it’s not bad, but the choreography for this video is really cool.  Watching the behind the scenes practice run may be even better than the video itself.  It must have been difficult to do.

1.”Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared”

This video features a bunch of puppets singing a cheesy song about creativity, but the ending takes a sadistic turn.  The final line of the song makes this video, it’s hilarious.

Music Videos

Get creative! The first music video I would like to talk about that stuck out to me, was the video "don't hug me I'm Scared" I enjoyed this music video a lot. Not looking super deep into it, I thought that it was trying to say something along the lines of creative people shouldn't try and get people who are not creative to try and be creative, because then you will just have a mess on your hands. It was a catchy song and very interesting video.

The next music video I would like to talk about was The Shins: The Rifle's Spiral. It was an interesting music video. I really enjoy those kind of stop animation. Now I don't have any idea what it could have meant, that with all the magic and the 3 men in top hats, and what not. However if I had to guess, it would be that usually young kids have great imaginations, and we are the generation to take the lead next, and we show more potential than the previous generation, but that is just a guess. I still really like the animation with it though.

Clip Kaly Live Dub – Allaxis

The video starts with a man with an age around the 40’s maybe. He is driving a car alone on a road that seems endless. In the passenger seat appears a guy about 20 years old that grabs a cigar and starts to smoke.

The man continues driving as the character starts to change into many other characters. In one of the changes, it transforms into a similar guy to the man with a cigar, but he is younger. I believe that it is an illusion that brings his past to life for the man and we are viewing it from his point of view.  

 The illusion continues to change into many other characters, it even transforms into Goku from Dragon Ball. There are flashes of various characters as they play around the car. The man continues to drive very seriously. His conscience is torturing him with guilt for what he has done. But what is it? The illusion goes back to the passenger seat as a sheriff and starts to search for something in a bag. He is amused for what he finds, a gun.

Then we can hear that the gun can have 6 shoots, but it only has 5. Who did the man killed? As the video continues the Sheriff is different as he appears again. The next time he appears he is missing the left eye and he’s bleeding. The last time the sheriff appears, he has worms in the eye that he previously was shoot. As the video ends, on the left (the illusion) the man is smiling and aiming the gum to the man on the right (the real one) that is sad. The man is dealing with guilt for what he has done while his flashes of his past come alive in his mind. The man feels so terrible that commits suicide. I like how the illusion that recreates his past comes to life and it transforms into various monsters that try to kill him many times. I can sort of feel the pain he was living (even though he is not real).  Even with the many attempts of the illusion to kill the man, is the last illusion that kill him, himself made a smiling illusion.

 

▲Top Three Music Videos ▲

▲Top Three Music Videos ▲

(counting down from least favorite to favorite)

#3 // Diane Birch - Valentino

I was very impressed with this video due to the sheer amount of work that went in to making it. It was all one shot, and had a very clever trick with a projection screen. They had to do so many takes on this video it's astonishing. The fact that they must have had to run through it over and over again is really impressive and admirable. It was enjoyable, although I didn't like the music at all, but that is expected.



#2 // Kaly Live Dub - Allaxis

The animation style was extremely interesting and fascinating. I was always looking to try and figure out what was 3D and what was 2D. It was visually pleasing, but the story was great too. It seemed to me that it was about a man who was haunted by his conscious after killing a police officer. It also appeared that he was being haunted by past mistakes and victims too, although some of them didn't seem to be related. The ending was chilling, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole video.

#1 // Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

I really don't need any explanation. This is just gold.

But for the sake of length I guess I'll talk about it a little bit. At first it had me fooled that it was just a horrible children's song to teach kids to be creative. However, it slowly dropped hints that something was off, and I started picking up that the crappiness was purposeful…And then everything went to hell, in the best way possible. Love, love, love, love, love it!

~Josiah▲

Late to the party

             On the special day with visiting professor Ballinger, we saw some amazing music videos. I believe that music videos speak more truly to an era, a snapshot of the culture in a certain day in age. The day began with the first music video aired on mtv. The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was an iconic song that ushered the era of video entertainment. It set the framework for many music videos to come.  It consisted of shots with dressed up musicians playing their instruments accompanied by artistic, interpretive dancing shots. Giving the video a feel of a long montage.

Another memorable piece was Carpark North’s “Human.” This video was still pieced together much like a montage although there was more of a narrative aspect to it. Even though the shots seem entirely disparate, as the video progresses we are able to piece together their character and their struggles to truly understand what it means to be Human.

Lastly, “Sometimes the Stars” by Adelaide is a wonderful song that is accompanied by an animation as its music video. It follows a girl in a fantasy world as she travels on a trolley. It is very much a narrative. Without dialogue we understand the girl through the song. Even though this genre of music is not my favorite, the music video brought it up to the top of my favorites list. Definitely one of the most memorable days of DM 101.

My 3 Favourite Music Videos

We were asked to post about our three most favorite music videos, so here are mine.

The first music video that I liked the most was Valentino by Diane Birch. I thought the video was made in a very creative way. The way she transitioned onto the projection screen with timing and precision was great. The way she changed her attire during the transitions and made it in and out at the right time was very precise. It was also very interesting to see Diane Birch synchronize her feet with the movement of the projection.

The second video that I liked was Cibo Matto's Sugar Water. To be honest, the song did not make sense to me and I did not know what was going on. However, the video was very creative. I thought it was a great idea to run two videos simultaneously, one in reverse and the other in a normal shot, and create a point where both of the videos meet at the exact same shot. Even though I didn't understand the song or the concept, I think the idea of video was fantastic. 

The third video that I like was Dumb Ways to Die that was made for the Metro Trains. I think the characters in that animated music video were very simple and interesting. Everyone has a very brutal experience but the way the blood comes out and their flesh is exposed is hilarious. I think just the idea of portraying way in which people can die in a hilarious way is profound in itself.

Music Videos

I really enjoyed the music video selection in class. I liked a lot of the music videos for different reasons. My top three music video picks were Diana Burch –Valentino, Eytan and the Embassy – Everything Changes, and Higher Ground – Playing for Change.

1. Diana Burch – Valentino

I really enjoyed this music video a lot more after watching the making of the video. I thought the set up was interesting. I also found it really intriguing to see how they filmed the video and then how the final product ended up.

2. Higher Ground – Playing for Change

I thought this music video was incredible! I loved how they took all these talented people from all over the world and had everyone play individually and then combine all their styles together and it sounds amazing.

3. Eytan and the Embassy – Everything Changes

I thought this was a really clever music video. Eighteen costume changes in one shot are pretty impressive. I went on to watch the behind the scenes video for this music video and they said it took 34 takes. It was cool to see how much chaos was going on in the background that you don’t see in the final music video.

Music, so much music

The music video section was so neat, even if I found some of them a little odd (but that more or less deals with music preference). It was a little difficult trying to pick three (something could be said for each of them).

     1)   Valentino

the legs are on the move

I thought that this video was amazing. The set up was very clever, with the switching of costumes like the projection was another room. Before seeing the making of the video I was already impressed (there was obviously two separate films –projection and legs – because the legs were in sync with the body but not perfectly). However, afterwards my mind was blown. I know how hard it is to get stuff to sync and their dedication shows through the number of takes they went through.

    2)   Johnny Cash Project

I really liked this video just for the numerous displays of artistic styles. When I first heard the idea behind the video I was skeptical. I thought that the differences would be distracting and look odd and amateurish together. Oh ye of little faith. The pieces went together well and the constant change didn’t distract but added to the piece.

3)   Higher Ground – Playing for Change

left from Paris, France and right from Amsterdam, Netherlands

I was amazed again by the blending of different artists, though through music this time. Though all of the instruments and voices varied from place to place, all was blended together in harmony. And it sounded like an actual song that was planned that way.

My Favorite Music Videos from Class

     Out of all the various forms of media that I watch, I must confess, music videos are not really something I've seen a lot of. I generally don't like the mainstream types of music, or any type of music with lyrics as lyrics just don't resonate with me. Even if I may not have cared about the songs though, the videos shown in class I thought were mostly pretty awesome. Here is my personal top three list.

     Number 3: "Sometimes the Stars"

What I liked most about this video was its animation quality and style. The simple, kind of of cute, character designs coupled with the gloomy atmosphere created a bittersweet vibe throughout the piece, and made for a near instant connection with me. The animation was also butter smooth.

     Number 2: "Simple Math"

 The song in this film was OK, but what was really compelling to me was the way that this video visually represents the story unfolding; the way that the memory scenes were presented as fragmented and skewed by the crash unfolding, like using the deer head, the image of the liquid in the glass tilting, and the foreboding rumbling as kind of a reality check,  was great. The transitions between memory and reality were even better, but out of all the shots in this piece, I think my favorite is when the man flies out of the car and rolls along the street with the camera tumbling beside him. That was an excellent camera choice. My one critique of this video is that I don't think the lip-syncing to the song was necessary.

     Number 1: "Allaxis"

This music video kind of has the same general theme as the previous, however the way in which the theme is visually presented is completely different and equally awesome. Both shorts involve persons having flashbacks while driving cars, but this piece represents the story in a more abstract way, the memory is represented as a passenger in the car morphing into different people, but blurring the details in an onslaught of pop-culture like images. This piece also has a tragic end as opposed to the previous's redemptive end.  Probably the only thing that puts this video above the other is my personal preference for music without words, and my bias to animation.

Top 3 Music Videos

   I immensely enjoyed both of the music video classes and found it hard to narrow them down to three. One of the following videos I had seen a head of time, but it still deserves the acclaim. Without further ado, here they are.

    #3) Hurt by Johnny Cash

 Johnny Cash's outstanding final song is a masterpiece. Who would have thought that a cover would be one of his best? Despite it's perfection, I always have a hard time listening to the song. It truly is haunting given the lyrics and it's job of depicting Cash's empire as nothing. It's understandable though, what's truly important in the final years of one's life? To Cash, it clearly wasn't fame or fortune, and the music video does a fantastic job of displaying this. For instance, when the woman, his wife, is watching over him, she is saddened by what she sees. She realizes that Cash is in a dark place and there is no changing that. It's reassurance that Cash is afraid of death and nothing will alter that. On top of that is the abundance of darkness in the video pushes it even farther. A simple effect that adds so much. Cash's Hurt may be too dark for some, but it's essential viewing for anyone interested in DMA.

#2) First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes' wonderful song is just great in every way. It's such a happy song about love that anyone can enjoy, or perhaps I just enjoyed it because I have a girlfriend back home in Maine that I'm dying to see. Either way, the music video is just delightful. So many different kinds of people are brought together and almost all of them display the same result, happiness through love. It's so simple, but it hits home for so many because everyone can relate. No matter if straight, gay, black, white, young, old, or even maternal love, it's all the same. It's something that people argue about all the time, but this video allows them to just take a moment and realize that we're all the same, nothing more, nothing less. Bright Eyes did it in about three minutes, who else can do that?

#1) Allaxis by Kaly Live Dub

Best incorporation of Dirty Harry in any song. Wow, this video was stunning. I'm not gonna lie, I wished I had minored in Animation. The style of this animation was astounding. The animators on this project took a whole new take on the song, a practically wordless song I may add. That's difficult, especially when it's something as huge as a path to suicide. The way I look at the video is that the driver tried to see himself as everyone but himself and/or tried to fit in with anyone, but nothing did the job of fixing his problems. As things, or his personas, got bigger, he couldn't handle it, hence why it didn't fit in his car, but he keeps trying these personas in hopes of finding the right one. Think of the car as his body, and even when he committed suicide he still didn't want to be himself, hence again why his arm changed personas at the very end. That's my take on the video, and because of it and the animators' incredible job, it was my favorite music video that we watched.