Last month, YouTube put out a list that claimed to show the "top trending" music videos of 2021. We're here to tell you that this list is a hoax. 

Not only does it omit several of the most watched videos of the year, it's not even ordered based on view count. Say what?! Yes.

Here is the actual list of the most watched music videos from 2021:

1. Save Your Tears

The Weeknd

Director: Cliqua

2. Yonaguni

Bad Bunny

Director: Stillz

3. Leave the Door Open

Silk Sonic

Director: Bruno Mars, Florent Dechard

4. Peaches

Justin Bieber

Director: Colin Tilley

5. La noche de anoche

Bad Bunny

Director: Stillz

6. Stay

The Kid LAROI

Director: Colin Tilley

7. Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

Lil Nas X

Director: Tanu Muino, Lil Nas X

8. Permission to Dance

BTS

Director: Yong Seok Choi, Woogie Kim

9. Build a B*tch

Bella Poarch

Director: Andrew Donoho

10. Drivers License

Olivia Rodrigo

Director: Matthew Dillon Cohen

And here is YouTube's bogus list:

1. Back In Blood

Pooh Shiesty

Director: Jerry PHD

2. Save Your Tears

The Weeknd

Director: Cliqua

3. Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

Lil Nas X

Director: Tanu Muino, Lil Nas X

4. RAPSTAR

Polo G

Director: Arrad

5. EVERY CHANCE I GET

DJ Khaled

Director: Joseph Kahn

6. Outside

Mo3

Director: Prophecy

7. Leave the Door Open

Silk Sonic

Director: Bruno Mars, Florent Dechard

8. Up

Cardi B

Director: Tanu Muino

9. Drivers License

Olivia Rodrigo

Director: Matthew Dillon Cohen

10. Street Runner

Rod Wave

Director: Rod Wave, Yawn Rico

We're not sure why more people aren't talking about this major conspiracy in the world of music video view counts, and we're damn not sure what YouTube is trying to pull, but either way we're blowing the lid off of the whole charade! 

YouTube tries to hide behind a loophole, claiming these are the "top trending" videos of the year and not the "most popular," but no one asked for a pretend metric that YouTube invented. It's undemocratic and unAmerican and we're calling on the music video community to publicly denounce this list as a lie. 

Send us a tip if you have a theory about why YouTube lied to the whole ass internet. And for anyone who is outranged, especially any musicians who were unfairly left off the YouTube list, we made you this very funny custom meme to share. 

Hello out there in music video land.  I don’t want you to think I’m getting lazy or that I’m sleeping on my responsibilities to the faithful followers of my annual blog.  But, I really had a hard time doing most things this year, let alone getting to ten videos on this list... and I’m not gonna start gerrymandering my standards so I present to you, my top FIVE of 2021.

Some people are gonna give me flack because this is technically a “live” performance video for an awards show.  But, it’s the coolest thing I’ve seen all year.  Year after year, my picks do seem to represent a greater body of work and I have to acknowledge Abel’s ability to continue push us into brand new worlds time and time again.  This one from Cliqua and this from Hajime Sorayama in particular deserve some praise.

A new Gavras video is always a global event. But, is this a global warming parable ala Waterworld? What happened to everyone’s eyes?!? Romain or Greta— please tell me what to do, I don’t want swirly marbles for eyes! And don’t tell me it was the mRNA! [Editor’s Note: Global warming is real and mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives]

Vania and Gal always leave me speechless. They can paint me like one of their French girls anytime. (and yes, the door was definitely big enough Rose)

I’m still mad that I didn’t personally come up with the punny scenario of having Phoebe Waller-Bridge do a Phoebe Bridgers video. So I’ll settle with Phoebe Waller-Bridge dancing with Harry Styles. When does Harry get knighted so we can call him Sir Styles?

Speaking of knights, Paul McCartney is an international treasure. Do yourself a favor and check out McCartney 3,2,1 or The Beatles: Get Back and tell me otherwise. Peter Jackson might have put us in the room with the fab four, but Andrew Donoho took us back to what Beatlemania felt like. Just chuffed to see Paul move like that in 2021. But for the end, it was really a missed opportunity for Tom Cruise to be underneath the Beck mask (like this, but also like this). Don’t tell other artists about deepfake tech or else they’ll never show up on set again!

Honorable Mention: All of 2020 and into 2021, I was looking for the perfect pop cultural milestone to sum up this time that we all want to forget. This film is that and I’d almost go as far to say it makes the pandemic worth it-- just so we can get this incredible piece of musical genius. [Editor’s Note: the pandemic will probably never have been “worth it”] Get your hands up and get on out of your seat!

Welp that’s 2021! I’m very much looking forward to 2022 as it’s the tenth anniversary of the best year for music videos since the turn of the millennium. Catch up on that here. It was like 1999 (party over, oops, out of time!)

What is left to be said about 2020? Literally nothing. I thought about bowing out this year, but I just needed you to know that despite all the frustrating heartbreaking chaos in the world, these videos exist and leave us all with something to aspire toward creating.

Much of my reluctance to participate was based on the fact that it still doesn’t seem like the best time to be making jokes. While I love sharing my favorite music videos of the year, the joy I get out of this list is thinking about the quips and witticisms that at least make me chuckle. I take this so seriously that I even had a dream one night about this year’s posting!

Speaking of nightmares— to sleep better, I have paired every music video on the list this year with a charity. It sounds pretty silly or trivializing, but I urge you to pick your favorite video on the list and donate to the charity I have chosen to complement it. Whatever amount you feel comfortable with. (Disclaimer: I promise that I did my best to research each charity here) Washing my hands and away we go...

Yoann sees his music like no one else can. Wear a mask because black lung can lead to hyperventilation in this case. [Donate]

I like to think of myself as a man of discerning taste. One of which a big pop video like this wouldn’t normally make the list. But, the ending was a real swift kick to the groin of my male privilege. [Donate]

I’ve been through the snow on a horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain… While I don’t think that mask is CDC approved, you gotta respect Orville for being one of those people that wear face coverings despite no one being around for 600,000 feet. No guts, no glory, with panDADmic jokes here. [Donate]

When the coronavirus reared its spike protein head, it seemed like the world could only expect the next genius stock footage masterpiece from Vania and Gal. However, they left that accolade to Stylewar and Keith Schofield (to an extent). Always one to awe visually and mind blow technologically, they delivered this socially distant piece of abstract weird poetry when we needed it most. [Donate]

Covid 19 continues to aerosolize this list. I don’t know very many directors that can be dealt a stay at home order and still make an amazing video. But, that’s what Erin Murray did. This isn’t an asterisk “Best Zoom Video” slot, it’s really one of the most impressive videos of the year. [Donate]

I don’t really know what is happening in this video and I’m perfectly fine with that. [Donate]

While this is similar to Zhang + Knight’s video for Eden last year, I feel like they took their James Turrell sherbet aesthetic one step deeper here. (side note: James Turrell sherbet really should be a flavor at Mashti Malone's) It's hard not to fawn over every gorgeous detail in this. But, maybe one day we all can be inside one of those Instagram pop up traps again and it could look like this? [Donate]

It really makes you think about the types of people you meet on Hollywood Blvd. [Donate]

If ICE saw this video, they probably would have said something to the effect of "mission accomplished". If that joke disturbed you and/or made you laugh, definitely go and… [Donate]

For the 10th spot, I am kinda awarding it to all of the Weeknd videos and live performances. He created such a distinct world and I loved every bit of it. So praise to Anton Tammi, Alex Lill, Cliqua, Arthell Isom, but I’m moving a-head with this jam [Donate]

We know this about Hiro Murai. He doesn’t create music videos, but expansive galaxies and universes. Hence why this is getting the honorable mention slot because I had a hard time defining this as a music video? However, you can’t deny it as one of the most visually arresting pieces on the list. [Donate]

Take care of yourself out there and 2021 please be kind to us all.

I wasn’t invited to contribute until 2014, but I wanted to share my top 10 from 2010 - 2013 because I’m a crazy obsessive. In alpha order as ranking them was just too hard.

Arcade Fire “The Suburbs” (Dir.: Spike Jonze)

James Blake “Limit To Your Love” (Dir.: Martin de Thurah) 

Kanye West “Runaway” (Dir: Kanye West)

Manchester Orchestra “Simple Math” (Dir.: Daniels) 

Mark Ronson “The Bike Song” (Dir.: Warren Fu) 

M.I.A. “Born Free” (Dir.: Romain Gavras) 

OK Go “The Suburbs” (Dir.: James Frost, OK Go, Syyn Labs) 

MGMT “Congratulations” (Dir.: Tom Kuntz) 

Primary 1 “Princess” (Dir.: Radical Friend)

Yeasayer “Madder Red” (Dir.: Andreas Nilsson)

Battles “My Machines” (Dir.: Daniels)

Calvin Harris “Bounce” (Dir.: Vincent Haycock & AG Rojas)

Chromeo “When The Night Falls” (Dir.: Daniels)

Cults “Go Outside” (Dir.: Isaiah Seret)

Duck Sauce “Big Bad Wolf” (Dir.: Keith Schofield)

James Blake “Lindisfarne” (Dir.: Martin de Thurah”

Jay-Z & Kanye West “Otis” (Dir.: Spike Jonze)

Kina Grannis “In Your Arms” (Dir.: Greg Jardin)

Raphael Saadiq “Good Man” (Dir.: Isaiah Seret)

TV On The Radio “Will Do” (Dir.: Dugan O’Neal)

(this year was epic and can’t be distilled into 10)

Alt-J “Breezeblocks” (Dir.: Ellis Bahl)

Delta Spirit “California” (Dir.: Abteen Bagheri)

Feist “The Bad In Each Other” (Dir.: Martin de Thurah)

Flying Lotus “Until The Quiet Comes” (Dir.: Kahlil Joseph)

Foster The People “Houdini” (Dir.: Daniels)

Frank Ocean “Pyramids” (Dir.: Nabil)

Grimes “Oblivion” (Dir.: Emily Kai Bock)

Health “Tears” (Dir.: David Altobelli)

Is Tropical “The Greeks” (Dir.: Megaforce)

Justice “New Lands” (Dir.: Canada)

Lana del Rey “Ride” (Dir.: Anthony Mandler)

Major Lazer “Get Free” (Dir.: So Me)

M.I.A. “Bad Girls” (Dir.: Romain Gavras)

Norah Jones “Happy Pills” (Dir.: Isaiah Seret)

Passion Pit “Take A Walk” (Dir.: David Wilson)

Rudimental “Feel The Love” (Dir. Bob Harlow)

The Shins “It’s Only Life” (Dir.: Hiro Murai)

The Shins “Simple Song” (Dir.: Daniels)

The Shoes “Time To Dance” (Dir.: Daniel Wolfe)

Sigur Rós “Fjögur píanó” (Dir.: Alma Har’el)

Solange “Losing You” (Dir.: Melina Matsoukas)

Spiritualized “Hey Jane” (Dir.: AG Rojas)

Toro y Moi “So Many Details” (Dir: Harrys)

Vitalic “Stamina” (Dir.: Saman Kesh)

Wild Belle “Keep You” (Dir.: Melina Matsoukas)

Arcade Fire “Afterlife” (Dir.: Emily Kai Bock)

Beach House “Wishes” (Dir.: Eric Wareheim)

Gesaffelstein “Hate Or Glory” (Dir.: Fleur & Manu)

Is Tropical “Dancing Anymore” (Dir.: Megaforce)

James Blake “Retrograde” (Dir.: Martin de Thurah)

MGMT “Cool Song No. 2” (Dir.: Isaiah Seret)

Portugal. The Man “Modern Jesus” (Dir. AG Rojas)

Rhye “Open” (Dir.: Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen)

Tame Impala “Mind Mischief” (Dir.: David Wilson)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Sacrilege” (Dir.: Megaforce)

Catch up to the rest of the years here:

2014

2015

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

If you follow my top ten lists every year, you might recall that I normally don’t include videos that I have worked on. However, given the celebration, I’d like to think I’ve made some pretty cool things. So indulge me as I share some stories on the videos that are most dear to my heart from the past decade. In alpha order…

I think you’ll always remember the first time you are nominated for a Grammy. But, I will always remember the little things about this shoot. Driving through the palm tree farms, knocking on trailer park doors and using Google Translate to explain to farmers that Spiderman is going to present as a female to tell a story written by a Canadian rock band all while the town has their yearly influx of boho chic influencers running around. Also, who else gets to “scout” Coachella?!

Sometimes the tiniest budgets are the most fun. (don’t quote me on that ever again) I think part of the reason why the entries on this list are here is because I truly don’t know how these videos could have been the same if they were produced by anyone else. My uncle runs a non-profit called Youth Mentoring Connection which helps inner city kids find a positive community and he helped me cast the real family for this video.

Ever get a treatment and they have references for a video you did? That was my year after this video came out. I’d like to think this was the first and possibly only 5D music video that ever actually looked good. And the road trip you see on screen was exactly how it felt everyday. Whomever said that starring in a music video together will doom your relationship is wrong! Because Jenny and Jason are now married, have a child, and are still very much in love. Kardashians take note.

If “Clapping for the Wrong Reasons” was a music video, it would be here instead. It quite honestly is my most favorite thing that I’ve ever made. But, how often do you get to take all your friends to your childhood home and shoot a video about a tropical alien romance? Damn, that was so cool too. Or alt classic Hiro collab: St. Vincent “Cheerleader” aka the time I almost lost a location at 5 PM the night before a shoot day.

Back to what’s it like to find out that you’ve been nominated for a Grammy? Well I was scouting a strip club for this video that morning. So success isn’t everything you or your parents might have imagined for yourself. What is the secret to that success you ask? Dedication. There wasn’t time to celebrate and I think we worked until 1 AM that night. Well we had to street cast a stripper and I wasn’t going to leave my director hanging. Can you imagine anything more awkward than attempting to hand over a business card to someone while they are working a pole?

This video didn’t win a Grammy, but it’s the most lauded video I’ve ever produced. (other than the one that did win a Grammy) To think a video made for less than $10k can end up on multiple year end top 10 lists, win Best Music Video at the MVPA Awards, and SXSW kinda blows my mind still. If you want another producing tip, be good to your friends because you never know when you need to call them all in to paint cardboard, learn choreography and stay up on a scaffold for 12 hours. And stay tuned for my top 10 list of videos filmed at The Escarpment!

I have spent most of this decade trying to make something with Isaac Ravishankara. That’s kinda an inside joke, but you know the Hollywood thing where you run into people and say loose promises about how you should work together sometime? Well, I was always serious with him. Then we finally did it, in one take, over two miles, at 40 miles an hour.

You always remember your first Vimeo Staff Pick. Well this was mine as a producer and I couldn’t have shared it with a better bunch of folks that I continue to get to work with to this day. The weird thing about looking back on all of these projects is I wouldn’t even do these ideas today for the budgets that we had. But, we did it? And they didn’t suck. So moral of the story-- we’re all old. Also, the best director is the one who stays with you in pitch black night as you jump start a cube truck in the middle of nowhere.

I almost put “Alive” on this list because I’ll probably always break up my autobiography as “Before Sia” and “After Sia.” Working with her and Dan really changed my life that much. However, this video is just a little more special to me. We shot it over my birthday, 49 kids sang to me, and it’s one of those videos that looks simple, yet required so much craft to pull off. You try to get 49 kids through make up, hair, wardrobe, and school at the same time.

Overall, I think what I’m getting at here is-- producing is the best and also the worst. You stress out for at least a week and you survive on some relative level. You can’t help to think why you’re doing this or why you would ever do it again. But, every so often everything lines up and you create something memorable. Like when a real fire truck drives past your permitted police lock up and attempts to pull your cast out of your fake low budget car accident. You live for that and stories you can tell afterward.

Thanks to all of these directors, the crews, the cast, the commissioners, the artists for the memories.

When Doug first hit me up to put together a list for the best of the decade, I was pretty excited and I basically scribbled this entire thing down in Notes within an hour at 11 PM.

It came so easy because I still think about all of these videos constantly. Every day I aspire to make something that can stand shoulder to shoulder with every video on this list. So I set out to make something all encompassing. No repeats of directors, no repeats of artists, at least one video from every year. Most importantly, I wanted to chronicle the people who provided us with the most awe inspiring visuals over an incredible time in my life.

And what a decade it has been. The rise of Vevo, the irrelevance of Antville, the coveted Vimeo Staff Pick. Remember the YouTube Music Awards? The birth of the Alexa, the death of the 5D or even better the Hot Rod 7D? Consumer drones! Ironic 4x3. RIP FCP 7. Visual albums! 1 billion views! Beats headphones! Vertical videos!?!

The crazy thing is that almost everyone here has at least another two or three videos that could have easily been on this list any other day. In fact, I would be making a Palm Pictures DVD for everyone here if YouTube didn’t make that series irrelevant.

Honestly though... making this list felt weirdly like a closing of a chapter for me. It’s the changing of the guard and I’m excited to think that there will be 30 completely undiscovered directors that will be on this list in 2030.

In chronological order…

Before you complain-- yes, this list is obviously flawed! I mean, I’m evidently nostalgic as 75% of this list is 2015 or earlier. My manifesto also has me overlooking modern classics like “Otis” and “The Suburbs.” And I get it, where’s any video from Arcade Fire, Frank Ocean, Kanye, Gaga, MIA, Solange… “Call Your Girlfriend,” “Chandelier,” “We Found Love,” “Hotline Bling”? Beach House “Wishes”?!I do regret that this list doesn’t have more diversity. Of ethnicity, of gender, of everything. So I hope we all do a better job of bringing those minority voices to the forefront as we all continue to aspire to include all people in the work we make. (check out Free The Work if you need some help)

I admit, I struggled to make a top ten this year. But, that doesn’t make the talent in this list any less dope. The truth of the matter, I had to do three other lists (here, here, and here) so let’s just get to it for once! At number one...

I’m going to call it a day at six this year. However, I’m never one to disappoint... check out these four music video-esque films because they are all phenomenal.

And be sure to check out my top 10 for all the previous years of this decade here.

Has it already been a year?  In the words of IMVDB editor Doug Klinger, "it really makes you think."

No long intro needed, let’s start at the top.

Anderson .Paak – “'Til It's Over” aka “Welcome Home” (Director: Spike Jonze) 

Arguably not a music video (hence why it isn’t on IMVDB).  But, it is the best thing I’ve seen all year.  Charming, breathtaking, technically impressive magic by VMA winning choreographer FKA Richard Koufey.

Childish Gambino "This Is America"

There’s nothing left to say about this video. Mainly Because The Internet has come up with a million ludicrous theories about it on its own.  But, I am most thankful for it bringing this meme into my life.

Beyonce, Jay-Z "APES**T"

Fast like a Lambo.  The Carters beat the record by running through the Louvre in six minutes, skrt skrt skrt.  Mona Lisa still playing it cool, not even breaking a smile for Beyonce.

Dua Lipa "IDGAF"

Duo Lipa.  Duel Lipa?  Sorry.  IDGAF that it was a 22 hour shoot because you made something for the ages.  Henry Schofield, Marion Motin and Stromae deserve some praise for the incredible chorégraphie of bodies and camera.

Prince “Mary Don’t You Weep”

Just gorgeous.  The perfect complement to this soul baring track.  Let’s shoot film instead of people from now on?

Benny Blanco f/ Halsey & Khalid "Eastside"

This easily could have been in the top three for me.  The simplicity.  The feels.  It could have been a cheesy video of a doomed romance between a Highland Park hipster in love with a Venice Beach type.  But, Jake Schreier knows better.  Lock a camera off and just watch.  It wouldn’t be his first or last time.

Vince Staples “FUN!”

Best use of Google Maps in a music video since The Wilderness Downtown.

Beck "Colors"

Edgar Wright and Ryan Heffington are back in the driver’s seat and it’s a trip.  Oh and how I adore Alison Brie.

Billie Eilish "When The Party's Over"

I had a bellyache on what Billie Eilish video to include here.  There were so many good offerings like this and this.  But, the howyahdothat factor of this was too good to ignore.  Maybe Carlos should go make a movie?

Florence + The Machine "Big God"

Last year I saw Florence Welch in the audience of a Pina Bausch performance in New York.  She obviously really soaked it up.  I’m Hungry for more.

Lil Dicky f/ Chris Brown "Freaky Friday"

I want to give an honorable mention to Chris Brown for an Oscar level acting performance as Lil Dicky stuck inside his own body.  Lindsay Lohan, who?  Beat.  And, now let’s go back to blacklisting Chris Brown like it’s 2009… because he hasn’t proven himself otherwise?

There you have it 2018.  I wish you Money + Love in 2019, maybe go start a Corporation, but most importantly, let me live My Life.  Until next time…

Hi IMVDB readers! I know this site has been a bit broken as of late, but it doesn’t mean you can’t rely on it for your annual recap of everything good in music video land for 2017 AD. (Anno Domini, not Assistant Director)

The internet was overwhelmingly exhausting this year so there might have been a video or two that you have missed. I don’t blame you! Or maybe a certain one deserves another tally on the ol’ YouTube dial. (that only requires about 30 seconds come to find out)

I truly enjoy this exercise every year ([2016] [2015] [2014]) as I spend a good part of the year crafting these puns and musings. So please take your time and scroll down as we begin at #1…..!

In the words of our holy God, Beyonce, when life gives you lemons, you turn it into this year’s Lemonade. I live in fear of shoots like the one depicted in this video. Ryan Staake has always been clever, but he really outdid himself here. What a tour de force of music video making! Thank you Young Thug for letting this exist and someone please let Ryan do his alternate pitch of just filming an entire music video budget on fire. I’ll produce that job for free in fact.

Irony is a common theme for my picks this year. But, man, do I love me a story of supernatural biblical proportions. It’s been four years since Isaiah Seret dropped a new music video and this was one for the ages. And he even licensed Stan Brakhage! I’ve watched this a dozen times and I find a new nuance with every view.

What else do I love? A good existential meandering. It’s these kind intellectual dead ends that keep me up all night when I have a 5 AM call time. I just don’t have a hot girl to mansplain to. (P.S. If that happens to sound like the perfect night to you, you can find me on Raya and every other dating app known to man) Minus the mansplaining though because that’s not cool, but you probably already knew that. Sorry. There I go mansplaining again, where were we? Dinosaurs? God? How this song reminds me of “Cat Person”?

I forced myself to choose only one Haim video for my list, and despite my adoration for all things PTA, I went with this one! Simple California Laurel Canyon Ventura Boulevard sisterly love. If only there was a car crash tho?

It’s hard living in your wife’s music video shadow. But, Jay-Z gave it a solid attempt in 2017. I was moved by Mark Romanek’s Merrie Melodies, and laughed at Lakeith Stanfield as Chandler?! There is also some wonderful dialogue and acting in Legacy. However, is that a music video? The song was the ending credits! But, not like this classic. Anyway, all said and done, I was in awe by this one from Miles Jay. Gorgeous intimate work for an epic period piece. I want a photo book of some of these frames!

There was another artist who went the Lemonade route this year. I always try to be HUMBLE and not include anything I work on in these lists. However, I truly think ELEMENT is the best video Kendrick has ever done. I always wanted him to have a video like this that can capture the poetry, honesty and intensity of his lyrics. It’s just a shame that it had to come as a Gordon Parks rip. But, apparently, it’s all good now?

Normally my list is mostly filled with little gems like this. I love a well executed gag and what a great song to add to your Apple Music playlist-- “Songs I first heard in an Apple Commercial” or “Elevator Music”

I’m glad someone finally figured out why it takes girls so long to get ready to go out at night! They are filming elaborate one takes with their iPhones! Although, I think Henry Schofield took it a little to the extreme here—they didn’t even go out and were like f it, let’s keep our make up on and just hop into our bikinis in the morning! I feel like this pitch was “what if there was a more polished version of 7/11?” Have to give props to Hyatt for not plastering their product placement over this. After all, we have the internet to figure that out on our own.

I mean, these two kids… If this doesn’t make you just giddy and smile uncontrollably, you must be the 45th President of the United States. And hate immigrants. And/or universal healthcare.

I hate watching videos on my phone. No director or DP deserves that. Even the crappiest cinematography deserves at least a Sony 17” monitor. But, I stand corrected-- this video belongs on your phone and nowhere else. It brings new meaning to “doin it for the gram.” I’d double tap this fo sho. #isanyonestillusingnashville

I really overused the word love in this post and I don’t care. I love love. So much that you should check out my latest release LOVE. Thanks for reading and see you around the crafty table in 2018!

Hello IMVDB land! It is I, Jason Baum, back to bring you my top ten list for 2016. (see 2015 / 2014) I’d like to think that my annual list is now a crucial staple of the music video community. Something certain in a world of uncertainty. Right there next to impossibly low budgets, Beats product placement, and Beyonce visual albums.

If you are new to the party, let’s restate the goals here—what music videos crossed the social feeds this year that really made my head turn. Kinda like a good Boomerang.

Man oh man. Where to even begin. First of all, you know you have a kick ass music video when your BTS is legitimately more amazing than your actual video. (aka Hearts of Darkness syndrome) I would have done anything to just sit and watch this shoot in person. It’s just spectacle in the purest form with the most delicate execution. I love it so much that I would have dressed up as these guys for Halloween if more than two people would have understood the joke.

They are the band that essentially founded the concept of a viral music video. So it’s kinda crazy to think that they are still making the most impressive videos ten years later. It truly is a testament to the genius that is Ok Go and Trish Sie. The Smithsonian even took notice! As much as I love this video, I wouldn’t have produced it if they asked me. I just don’t have the stomach for it. (their Netflix BTS is equally queasy) Gravity aside, I’ve watched this video so many times and am still amazed. It was easily the most monumental thing created by Russians in 2016… well until the US Presidential election. Sad!

Honestly, I almost put the end credits for “Mania” aka “I Feel It Coming” on my list, but I felt like I had to only pick one Weeknd video and this one had to be on it. xo

Massive Attack must have really wanted to make an indie feature length film in 2016 and somehow folded it into making a bunch of solid music videos instead. They had some of the biggest indie actors ready to bring the group’s inner demons to life-- Cate Blanchett, John Hawkes, Kate Moss, Arta Dobroshi and last, but not least, Gone Girl herself. When you realize how little actually happens in this video, you can’t help but bow down to the genius that is Rosamund Pike.

I know, I know. One person contemporary dancing in a room has become an embarrassing music video trope (frustrating dance fans everywhere). But, this is just a beauty, unless you’re trypophobic. It also stars Sonoya Mizuno who I have a huge crush on. You might remember her disco skills in Ex Machina? You should also check the behind the scenes for this too! (Trend Alert: BTS crews killed in 2016)

I’m actually kinda mad at Method Studios for this. I could have made at least 50 individual music videos with them if they didn’t put all these damn characters into this one project. And surprisingly—no BTS for this video!?! Also, for an entirely different vibe, make sure to check out Sam Pilling’s version of the same track—it’s pretty dope.

Well here is the obligatory Hiro Murai spot. As I say every year, all of his videos from this past year could easily have made the final list, but for the sake of spreading the love, I chose this one as my favorite. It’s crazy to think he has time to drop these gems on us when he is off creating great television.

Nez delivered two beautifully impressive, yet deceivingly simple videos this year (as did Michael Kiwanuka). This one and another for Flume. I chose this because it’s just so engaging. Not stilted at all.

I love the moment when you hear a song for the first time and you’re nodding your head… Thinking ok I could like this… Ok yeah this is getting good… Wait this is really good… Damn don’t screw it up now… Crying, dying, DEAD… If that makes no sense, basically it’s what happens in this video here. I love Maggie’s more famous song “Alaska” so much, but this video had a little more for me at the end of the day. In a dog eat dog world, it’s nice to see something pure just exist.

Gahd damn gawd damn. I’ve been in Kanye’s corner since the first time he was at Cedars for a car accident, but it’s hard out there for a Ye fan these days. I’m going to disregard the alternate dimension that he’s living in right now as I love this video for what it is. It’s that bold IDGAF attitude that made me love him in the first place. The video is kinda too long/repetitive to be honest, but there’s no way of denying it’s power. 21st century schizzzoooooo

Well there you have it friends. Looking forward to seeing all your post-apocalyptic videos in 2017!

I don't blame you much for wanting to be free

I just wanted you to knowwwwwwwwwww

One of the most underrated videos this year. This thorough look at violence throughout the course of history proves sobering and astounding in the same breath.

This video is done with so much style and intention, I couldn't take my eyes away. The way it is put together is connected in a careful fashion, from the costumes, to set design,to choreography- definitely want to see more like this from director Dugan O'Neal.

What can one say about 2016 that has not already been said through memes? It’s been turbulent year, but it has also produced some fantastic music videos (smooth transition, right?). 

 The following is a perfectly curated, indisputable, egomaniacal list of the best music videos from the past year. Our selection skews itself towards the surreal and features a plethora of puppets, copious amounts of cocaine, and healthy dose of homoeroticism. Apologies to Beyoncé and her fanatical fans in advance, please do not come after us with baseball bats and yellow sun dresses.

This was a great year for music videos, and as always it's hard to narrow down a top list in order, especially when dealing with different genres and criteria. We saw some bold voices this year from Nicolas Davenel and Miles Jay - really raising the bar with their cinematic visions. Nicolas and Miles have both been around for a minute, but it's nice to see them now get the recognition they deserve. Nikes was an immediate classic, and it felt like a natural step forward in the context of Tyrone's body of work. Much of a "great video" relies just as much on the artist, song, and context as much as it does the director's vision, and luckily Nikes had it all. And again, Miles and Tyrone remind us that Kodak is nowhere near dead. 

The top two were a tough choice. It's impossible to not love anything Keith Schofield makes, and I think his deconstruction of the music video and mv director (himself, us) in Bike Engine make it strong contender for video of the year. His ability to blend comedy, satire, and flow are second to none. Ultimately it boils down to personal choice (and legacy). For me, Gavras edges slightly in this category. It's hard to argue that anyone else made a bigger splash than Romain (at least in music video circles) with his Jamie XX video. It has all the hallmarks of a classic, iconic video, and of course it came from the guy that's done it again and again before. Maybe he'll share the secret formula with us one day.

In a year that absolutely sucked the life out of me, these videos kept me going. And I kept going back to them for inspiration, to relive the feelings they gave me, and for a few minutes of escape. Feel free to fight me on Looking Glass by Celia Rowlson-Hall not perfectly fitting into the music video category. Come at me bro. I'll just throw flowers in your face! 

Thanks to all the 2016 music video directors for sharing your art and ideas. I think you're cool.

Directing duo BRTHR did some real justice to the Japanese crime masterpiece that was the Weeknd's In the Night. The new video for Keith Ape ft. Jedi P's "Diamonds" plays to the same tune, though this one toys around with some more experimental visuals, including virtual reality simulation. While In the Night felt a lot more narrative driven, and similar to Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels, "Diamonds" feels much more ambient, and simply explores the world it creates. 

The camera loosely follows Keith Ape around a brightly lit fantasy city, dipping in and out of parties and pretty much anywhere it feels like taking you. There is some pretty serious Gaspar Noe influence in the way that the perspective and tone resembles that of Enter the Void; but this feels like a positive expansion of that theme, dipping into some VR fantasy that only excites the imagination for what could be possible for the art world. I'm really stoked on how DP Erik Henriksson captured this world- his experience in creating sweeping, rich shots really shines through here. (Also here)

Overall, I think that this video serves as a well realized piece of psychedelic art, and what it lacks in narrative, it makes up for in world building, and a concise amalgam of visual styles. I am interested in what BRTHR will create next- and perhaps what they will do with actual VR when the technology catches up!

The world needs more people celebrating music videos as an art form. It needs more people championing music video directors, and the rest of their crew all the way down the line. Basically, it needs more people doing what the UK Music Video Awards do.

Heading into their 9th year, the UKMVAs have positioned themselves as one of the most vocal champions of music video craft. Most folks expect a lot of flair, and very little acknowledgement of actual creators in their music video award ceremonies, but the UKMVAs have focused on video creativity, rather than artist popularity, allowing them to recognize the talent that goes into music videos. They’re not just showing love to UK creators either, but to all of the creative people behind the music video art form around the world.

Entries are open now through August 2nd, so if you’re a director, DP, producer, editor, animator, art director, or anyone else working in the music video industry, head over to ukmva.com to learn more and submit your work. The ceremony is October 20th in Camden, London at The Roundhouse.

3oh!3's “Mad At You” is the second single released from the album “Night Sports”, which released on May 13. This is also their first release after being signed to Fueled by Ramen Records. “Mad At You” is a huge exploration of what can be done with a few distinct physical elements, and they really made sure to explore them with a healthy curiosity of what’s possible. This vid is a really cool play on “traditional” rap videos where the performers are the focus of the content, and the setting seems to add to the atmosphere. Director Isaac Ravishankara's video sticks to those rules, but digs even deeper, by interchanging between several different versions of the same space by way of physical manipulation. 

The sets are very well put together, thanks to production designer Tyler Jensen. He’s designed some of my favorites, including but not limited to Thundercat’s Them Changes, and Miike Snow’s Heart is Full. The different setups are well developed and convincing, and make the copious amounts of environments feel relatable- the sheer amount is stunning, going from a simple fogged room to a McDonald’s play pit, to a green lawn BBQ, to to a raging party, to a sci-fi theme, complete with a scorched sky and chrome costumes.

The camerawork in this video is really interesting, in that it's not concerned with trying to make the video more professional by way of hiding the effects, or the cameraman for that matter. It just plays around, trying to milk as much out of the analog effects as possible. The camera captures a few subjects that multiply in the mirrors, but it just lets us enjoy the effect without laying an extra layer of believability on top of it. That said, it looks amazing, and the DP Frank Mobilio did a great job of letting the camera move constantly- it definitely sets the tone for the controlled chaos.

Ravishankara is one of my favorite directors, and he’s been on a roll lately. He dropped a tracking shot driven video for The Lumineers' Ophelia in February, with more collaborations with the Lumineers to come.  I really like his style in that he is very versatile in the kinds of projects he signs onto. He has made some of the most moving, sincere work out there- his video for Selah Sue's Fear Nothing stuck in my mind for days when I first saw it (And gave me the motivation I needed to re-evaluate Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color) But he has this other playful side that this 3oh!3 video comes from, as well as the video for Lazyboy Empire, featuring director Dugan O’Neal portraying a comically absurd idea of a vampire in the modern age. That all to say, I’m glad to see this side of him come out in this vid, and I hope he continues to maintain this awesome polarity of content.

Here at IMVDB, we love to watch videos that go above and beyond promoting the artist’s track by way of visual accompaniment. This new video for Pekko's Hunger really pushed the art form, and got us really excited for a groundbreaking year of quality work.

The narrative for Hunger takes place in Helsinki, the home of director Anton Tammi, and it seems obvious, in that he has an in-depth knowledge of the filming locations- the sheer amount contained in this project is amazing, but the conjunction with good cinematography and camera work made for such an incredible video. I loved that there was such a diversity of material, and the camera almost never stayed still. 

In addition to the quality camera work, locations, and wardrobe styling, the editing and visual effects drove the project forward- The opening shot really set the tone of the video by showing all of the characters climbing a ladder to a clocktower, set behind a bright sunset gradient. There were some really interesting effects applied to the shots, and were a welcome addition to the experience. The experimental effects lasted all the way until the end, and packed in a boatload of eye-candy, including the colorful textures that opened and closed the video. Those sequences of blue and red smoke respectively seemed to function as visual overture, and perhaps harkened to the art-crime masterpiece Blue Velvet.

In an interview with VOTD, Tammi describes the process of conceptualizing this project- he and Pekko had common interest in B movie trailers-The old school shock value marketing techniques really shine through to create a unique and intense feeling- I love the way this video uses those elements and mixes with those of  experimental short films. The finished product comes out lightning fast, giving scattered glimpses into the characters' interactions, still maintains a beginning, middle and end.

Anton Tammi only has a few videos out, but all of them are beyond amazing, and totally unique from each other. Admittedly, Hunger was my introduction into his catalog, but I was immediately interested in his style. He goes from a cerebral kung-fu video for a metal band, to a VFX driven 80’s goth performance video to an experimental project with scorpions and crabs, to this crime-art masterpiece.  I’m really watching this guy closely now, especially after he implied another collaboration with Pekko this year. (See interview above) I’m hoping they have a long winded relationship, similar to the one Aphex Twin had with Chris Cunningham

Phil Mucci is a filmmaker who has made a name for himself directing visual effects and animation based music videos for bands such as Disturbed, Pig Destroyer, and Torche, among other metal acts in recent years. His work is astoundingly innovative, and really pushes the limits of what can be done with a small amount of resources.

We recently caught up with Phil to chat about his most recent work, "Sorrow" by Huntress. We talked about why post production is more important than it's ever been before, and also got to discuss some of the filmmakers who influence him, and why they drove filmmaking to it's current state. Take a look!

IMVDb: You’re pretty influenced by older directors like Mario Bava and F.W Murnau, and more or less repurposed some of their effects that they used, but what directors are you influenced by in the modern sense? Who do you watch and who are you challenged by?

Phil: Guillermo Del Toro visually has been a definite influence. I don’t think he’s the greatest writer in the world, but he’s visually an interesting director. He’s along similar lines to me - but he’s much more a monster guy. And the Coen brothers, definitely were an influence in terms of the human elements in their stories. The fun characters, the zany camera work, and plot devices that they sort-of revel in. Sam Raimi was a big influence on me for a while, kind of in the same way as the Coen Brothers. I thought Evil Dead 2 was a fantastic movie when I was growing up. When I watch movies by Sam Raimi or The Coen Brothers, or Guillermo Del Toro, I can tell that these are filmmakers that love making film; that their joy is in the work, in a way that it’s not in a lot of other films. Those guys get their hands dirty on the films, and they just kind of reek of their involvement. That I find to be really inspiring. 

Soderbergh’s TV show [The Knick] he’s directing and shooting it all, under the name Peter Andrews. That’s his alias, but he’s the DP. If you watch the behind-the-scenes stuff about Soderbergh, and why he uses a fake name, he’s like “Eh, it think it looks dumb if you’re credited for everything” but it’s him. He likes to shoot like I like to shoot; to be right in the actor’s faces and be right there with them. I rarely use monitors when I shoot, unless I have to for some reason. I don’t get into that, I like to be in the action, I like shooting it. He does a lot of great stuff that reminds me of the Italians in the 70’s, where a lot of it’s handheld; they’re not gonna lay down the dolly track, but they do it in a way that’s not the shaky-cam. They’re trying to keep it relatively smooth, and I like that. It feels organic, and it feels real. I think that’s the kind of thing that us as filmmakers get off on. I think some of that translates to the general audience as well.

You kind of have a repertoire, and more or less an auteur status, as a music video director. In terms of your personal preference, how selective do you get to be with bands when taking on a project?

What I always say is you only get to pick the jobs you turn down, you don’t really get to pick the ones you get offered, other than to make work that draws those people in. But every time I’ve approached a band, which has only happened a few times, it’s like “Oh my God, we love your stuff! We have $2,000 for a video.” And then you’re like “UGHHH!!!!” because you love them and you wanna do it, but then you think to yourself, “I won’t eat, I won’t have any money, I won’t have enough money for rent if I take this job.” That’s kind of the catch-22, so when the jobs come in, it depends who they are. Five Finger Deathpunch approached me like 3 times to do a video, but I turned them down, because they wrote the projects themselves, and I wasn’t gonna get anything from it other than the money, so it wasn’t worth it for me. I don’t know why labels allow bands to write treatments, because they don’t know what it costs to make a video. You get handed this thing, and you’re like “Now I’m gonna develop your screenplay for you; What do I get paid for that? Nothing.” Or when they take the military and try to turn it into their song. I think it’s riding on patriotism, and it’s kind of bullshit. I get approached by bands that I love, but they just can’t come up with the money. 

Huntress is a great example: for "Sorrow," Huntress did a Pledgemusic campaign to raise money for the video, selling off old stuff, because they're smart. If there’s a band I want to work with, but they’re not well versed with how the system works, and the money’s not there, I’ll often say “You already know my work and your thing is definitely something I can get behind. You have $2,000 and I wanna work with you, but look at crowdsourcing, look at Kickstarter, look at Indiegogo, look at Pledgemusic.” Because they kind of have to do that now. A lot of them have to do that just to tour, because they’re not getting as much money from the label anymore either. It’s finding those people, and figuring out a way to make it work. That’s part of the job now. You can sit around waiting for the phone to ring all you want, but it is kind of a proactive thing right now. The rules are changing and we have to adapt. Because I do love working in music videos, I think it’s a great way to learn and you learn everything, I’ve learned everything on music videos. I learned a lot on two short films, but deadlines and budgets are what you need to crank something out. People talk about “pure creative freedom” but I think that’s kind of a joke. You need some parameters to work within focus your power and energy to get your shit done. I need a deadline, because otherwise my mind just wanders. I'll love this one thing, and then I get bored with that and go on to something else. I need that deadline to get it done. You gotta get it done and get that last piece of money.

Yeah I agree. Deadlines absolutely have to inform the project. And with [Adobe] After Effects, as with writing, the possibilities are endless. you can make anything you want, but if you have to make anything you want in 4 months, it’s like “Well I could put this extra space scene in there, but that’s gonna take me an extra week."

Yeah, you can’t be Kubrick, you can’t be Kurosawa, you can’t spend 5 years making one movie. I mean, I guess you can if you’re independently wealthy, but I also don't think that you would. I don't think you would bother. It’s hard, why would you?

Yeah, it’s kind of the “fine art” mentality that’s just not really practical.

That’s why I think filmmakers working in music videos is great training because you’re working on a project soup-to-nuts, which I don't think a lot of people really realize. They also think you’re rich, for some reason. You’re there from the beginning to the end. You’re writing it, you’re directing it. I don't know any directors who hire an editor right now. I know they’re out there, but who’s got money to hire an editor? I guess if you’re really busy and you’re really big-time, going from one set to the next, then you’d need to farm out some of that stuff. Part of it is it’s film school now. We’ve all got access to the digital media, and the Adobe Creative Suite. You can go from one program to another, and they understand each other. You can build in ways that it cost a fortune to pre-vis before, but now we can do pretty easily. We have the tools that were only exclusive to the studios, or projects with a much higher budget. That’s why I think that something smaller that you can make on your own could be unique, artistic and viable in the new VOD-streaming world. We can make things that were reserved to large budgets a long time ago. We can have more creative control without so many outside forces creating obstacles for us. The studios are more concerned with marketing, and commercially motivated, but they’re not about the work.

Something like Danger 5 is just Russo the writer/director just going brainstorm nuts on all this retro moviemaking stuff. Its all miniatures, and goofy stuff, like people wearing animal heads. That kind of stuff, I hope there’s gonna be more of that, more creative, imaginative stuff. And he’s not even using a lot of computer effects. I think that's where I wanna go, where my stepping stone is: to tell stories with dialogue in the style that I’ve already worked out through the music videos.

I wonder what it would be like for you to make a movie, because there’s so much packed into your stuff that it reads as “movie," but the format is “music video.” So if you’re able to take what you’re able to do with that and extend it three-fold or even ten-fold, then I think you could do something really amazing.

Thanks dude. I would love to work in longer form, maybe not so much in the animated style necessarily - maybe more like "Sorrow," because I don’t wanna be in post forever.

And there were still a lot of practical elements in "Sorrow," like the painting…

It was kind of a practical effect. I just shot the actors when they were getting their wardrobe fitting done on green screen in my apartment, and then just built the painting in Photoshop.

Well, for all intents and purposes, we’ll call that a practical effect, because you printed it and hung it on the wall. There's also the 3D printed model of Jill coming out of the blood, that was a practical element. And you shot in a real castle, right?

Yeah, we shot in the Hollywood Castle. It's this goofy castle that this guy built in the early 70’s. It sits up on the hill right across from the Hollywood sign. But in terms of the practical elements, we kind of had to. We had to shoot and deliver within a month. So there was not a ton of post. I mean, the castle landscape in the intro was built digitally before we even started shooting. The Hollywood Castle’s exterior is not good for shooting, because it looks like a theme park built by stoners. But inside, it was propped-out like a motherfucker. It was decked out with knights in armor and shields, and canopied beds, and it just had all this stuff that you’d never be able to afford to rent, and we didn’t have a budget for a production designer. We were like “we’ll just shoot all the interiors here, and build the exteriors digitally, with stock photography." I use Shutterstock and sometimes Pond5. I use Shutterstock a lot because they have a lot of epic European stuff, like abbeys and old castles. I love building this stuff in the computer, but it’s addictive. I love post for that reason, you’re like Dr. Frankenstein. When you put it all together, it’s like “It’s Alive!”

Do you have any advice for filmmakers who are trying to take the same route as you?

Learn Photoshop, even if you’re a filmmaker. A lot of the effects in [Adobe] After Effects are related to Photoshop. They’re brothers. It’s the same tools, and the same theories. The rotoscoping tool in After Effects is the same as in Photoshop - it’s the pen tool. And Photoshop’s got video going in it too now. You can build an entire matte painting in photoshop with layers, and get all that color correction stuff done. One problem that I ran into early-on doing animation that you don’t wanna fall into: Say you have a rough comp in Photoshop, and it’s got 10 layers but you have done color correction or adjusted them to match each other. If you bring them into After Effects, you're gonna load up each layer of your composition with filters to make it all look right, and thats just gonna slow down your playback, and you cant get a realtime preview of it in full-res if you do that. So it's better to get that visual worked out in Photoshop first, so when you bring it in maybe you gotta put one or two filters on a few things to get the blend right, but you’ve already done all the leg work in Photoshop, which is a much easier, faster way to do it in full-res, because you don’t have to wait for a preview.

Also, I think the obvious thing is to work with the newest machine with the most RAM as you can afford. Working with computers and the Adobe suite is a key to becoming a better visual artist in general. You get to see things immediately. You get to tone and tune an image to your eye in real time, right in front of you. I think that’s important for filmmakers, especially now. I think the luxury of just being a director who walks on set, picks up the bullhorn, and goes to work.. I don’t think that’s really pragmatic right now. The more you know, the more you can do, the better you're gonna be with the people you have to hire, and the more you can make out of your budget.

]]> calebjacksonmail@gmail.com (Caleb Jackson) Sat, 30 Jan 2016 11:43:00 +0000 https://imvdb.com/blog/phil-mucci-interview-61157 https://imvdb.com/blog/david-bowie-lazarus.-the-end-of-an-era-10955

I was quite sad and dismayed to find that my favorite singer and performer passed away last night. David Bowie was so influential to the art community, not only as a musician, but as a composer, actor, filmmaker, and painter. He passed away at 69, right after releasing his final music video from the Blackstar album, which was released 4 days before his death. As bummed as I am over the death of Mr. Stardust, it seems to give his recent videos more substance, in addition to the inherent metaphors and conspiracy theories for the world to run wild with.

"Blackstar" and "Lazarus" were the two videos that were released prior to the release of the Blackstar album on January 8th, both sharing the same director; Johan Renck. The two videos also share a few characters, but mostly the theme of impending death. It’s no secret that Bowie has reportedly released the content in a timely manner before his death, but I’m interested in what his purpose was in creating such spiritual and symbolic content. It would seem as though that through the allusions to Lazarus, the Biblical figure who rose from the grave 4 days after his death, seem to symbolize the legacy that Bowie is leaving. Will we perhaps see some sort of publicity stunt or posthumous media release?

The "Lazarus" video, while much simpler and shorter than the 10 minute "Blackstar" video, seems to have a more distinct purpose; to show Bowie in very personal states, that is, performing from a hospital bed, which has been where he has spent much time the previous 18 months battling cancer. The previous video relies more on ideas and ambition, while "Lazarus" feels more symbolic and intentional. It’s hard not to draw conclusions from the imagery, especially the final shot of Bowie returning to the closet he originally exited from.

Renck seems to have an affinity for creating abstract worlds without a sense of cohesion, and these two videos are no exception. According to an interview with Renck, the videos were simply a collaboration between the two artists, riffing on ideas, and just making something they both enjoyed, without relying on any intentional symbolism or narrative. It seems the perfect working relationship between two ambitious artists who could care less about perceived notions implied by onlookers. Renck’s other work for Lana Del Rey and Bat For Lashes shows his affinity for a drab color palette and ability to create a surreal world within a familiar environment. He’s also got this way of lighting people’s eyes- in the few shots where Bowie wasn’t wearing a button laden mask, his eyes are so black that you can’t help feel creeped out.

Overall, both videos rely on loose metaphor and blatant abstraction to create the experiences, but you can’t help but argue the intent of Bowie and Renck to give a sort of planned goodbye to those people who care enough to try and see something special in these pieces of fine art. However, I can’t help but think that Bowie’s relationship to music videos seemed to come in the wrong time, seeing that most of his efforts were put into this stage shows- seen clearly in the full length concert video Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars The Movie. Here you can see the amount of production that went into his costumes, set pieces, and makeup. Some of these aspects are reflected in a few of his early videos, such as "Life on Mars," but the reality is that the limitations of the time period constricted the exponentially creative efforts of Bowie. Basically, if the music video industry was as developed in the 1970's as it was in the 1990s we likely would have seen many more creative and groundbreaking videos from him. But fact of the matter is that at the very least, we got to see a new wave of Bowie videos over the last few years that undoubtedly redeemed his awkward period in the early 90’s.

"Everything suddenly slowed down.

I lost focus on reality.

I was no longer grounded to this earth.

For a single moment, I felt everything.

And in that moment…

I let go."

-Music Videos

DISCLAIMER: We love “Hotline Bling” and “Bad Blood,” just as much as any other flag-waving, hamburger-eating, vape-smoking American.

With that said, you probably won’t find our favorite music videos of 2015 on the lists of Billboard or Rolling Stone. However, all of the films we’ve selected are incredible works of art that elevate each song to an unforgettable audio-visual experience.

The following music videos are surreal, absurd, and outrageous. There is no room for gritty realism on our list. If you enjoy surfing zombies, singing memes, and a Venice Beach Jesus, then you’re in for a real treat. Sit back, relax, and “Netflix and chill” with us for a few of our favorite music videos from 2015.

As far as I'm concerned, 2015 broke some new ground for music videos, and more people are beginning to see what is possible to be done with the art form. Some of the younger directors are starting to take the place of the veterans of the 90's, gaining auteur status. I could be just seeing what I want to see, but there seems to be more opportunities opening up for music video directors, considering that more and more eyes are beginning to focus more on short form content - so much more can be done in a few minutes than with 90.

This has been a big year for really creative mainstream videos, notably "Bitch Better Have My Money," "Bad Blood," and "Hotline Bling." Many of the directors on my list have been able to take an idea that is bigger than its format, and just run with it; essentially producing a film disguised as a music video. Others take the best parts of one of those aspects, such as dance, costumes, or performance, and hone that one thing into a focused work of art that people gawk over. My hope for the industry is that the consumer's taste for quality continues to grow deeper, similar to the current golden age of TV that is going on. More money is being poured into better content. I can only wish the same upon the music video world.

Music videos are such a special thing to engage in and are commonly overlooked as a trend that started in the 80's and died in the 90's. But the music video world is not dead - it's alive and well, and is commanding the attention of many with less money, and even more creativity. This was a great year, guys. The mainstream had some really amazing releases, and the indie scene produced some realy groundbreaking stuff that will inevitably lead to more must-see picks in the years to come. Thanks for a great year!

Does it get any better than this? With a flashback narrative featuring Mads Mikkelsen acting, and Rihanna covered in blood, don’t think it does. I am really impressed with her for putting it out, although it seems a new direction for her.

By far my favorite dance video this year. Choreographed by Ryan Heffington, who had quite a year, doing all of Florence’s videos and another Sia video. This video is a boatload of fun (pun intended) and has a really great flow to it. I love the seeing Win Butler's talent being paired with other collaborators who create an incredibly enjoyable experience.

The guiltiest pleasure of my year. Ain’t even mad about it. Joseph Kahn is one of those directors who you know will go big, but you hope he does as many passion projects as possible, before he gets sucked into the Hollywood machine (But go watch Detention NOW).

The healthiest ratio of simplicity to amazing I can think of. The filmmakers at the Made Shop really pulled out the stops with this video to push the limits of stop motion filmmaking. There isn’t a narrative, but the symbolism transfers from the lyrics to the frame in such a perfect way.

Definitely the horror video of the year for me. The narrative is ambiguous, terrifying, and cohesive. Watching it multiple times helped me figure out how to connect the dots, because they are there. The character development is some of the most original I have seen.

A peek into a dystopian future where robots are sadists; but the humanity still shines bright. The narrative is well written, and has a lot of specific things to say about society through the characters. Among other things, the visual effects work is astounding, and pushes the limits of green screen based filmmaking.

The beauty of this video astounds me every time I watch it, and seems to stand as the most representative of the “How Big How Blue How Beautiful” video series. Though the other videos are similarly amazing, "St. Jude" seems to leave me with the most to consider after watching. It's beautifully shot, choreographed, and written with a perfect ratio of ambiguity to relatability.

Definitely the abstract pick of the year for me. This one hits from multiple angles but remains cohesive. There are three story vignettes - all different but are linked. This video has such a commanding pseudo-narrative, and really makes me want to know more about the two main characters. The setting is also extremely mysterious and visually engaging.

I loved the duality of tone in this vid. Such a huge juxtaposition of sadness and joy through music. This one really impressed me, and is critically underseen in my opinion. It takes place in the 1950’s and deals heavily with the current hot topics of police brutality and racism in a way that gets the point across without a heavy hand.

This video really blew me out of the water with the simple idea, engaging performance, and specific directing choices. There is a lot of subtle excellence packed into this video, but you have to pay close attention to get more out of it than is on the surface.

Choosing my top 10 music videos of 2015 was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The process was basically navigating through my Vimeo Likes and listening to my gut. When I'd come across a music video that I couldn't help but watch all the way through again, I added it to my top ten album. I'm the type of viewer that wants to watch a video again and again. These are the videos I want to watch forever.

Favorite of the year: “CLOSE YOUR EYES” | Run The Jewels directed by AG Rojas

So powerful and consistently surprising. You can enjoy it for the performances alone but it's much more satisfying to think about the social commentary. There are lots of ways artists can hold a mirror up to society, but AG puts on a masterclass with this video.

Runner Up: Sia - Elastic Heart directed by Daniel Askill

I was not a fan of Shia Leboeuf until this video turned me into one. The choreography is so emotive and enthralling and perfectly captures the struggle and synchrony between two aspects of a single personality. Something I think everyone can understand on a deeper level.

Special shout out to STROMAE / QUAND C’EST by Xavier Reye

The song is beautiful. The blur of reality and CG work is so effing on point.

Most fun - Boy Racers by David Wilson

ENJOY. NOW.

The rest are in no particular order, but are all worthy of a watch and a Like if you ask me!

Thanks to all the hardworking directors, crew, producers, and actors who make such beautiful, inspiring videos for us to enjoy. You make me super happy and motivated to keep working hard to make Vimeo the best home for your videos.

]]> (Andrea Allen) Wed, 30 Dec 2015 19:18:00 +0000 https://imvdb.com/blog/aas-top-10-music-vids-of-2015-93842 https://imvdb.com/blog/jason-baums-top-10-music-videos-of-2015-07991

Hello everyone in music video land! I am back to share my thoughts again on the past year— the year formerly known as 2015. Was a great one methinks. Hey, even the NYTimes felt compelled to chime in!

If you weren’t around last year, my criteria is simple and is as follows— what videos really stayed with me and were truly memorable? It was tough once again to narrow this down, but lets just start right at the top, with the #1 spot...

Don’t act like you forgot! Riri made this year’s video game her bitch, and has my money for the number one. No question— an instant classic, an epic to remember. Don’t just take my word for it, Katy Perry agrees! It’s a check list of #goals— celluloid, drones, boats, cars, mansions, drugs, cash, models, squad, Hollywood actors, Eric Roberts, blood, tattoos, piercings, guns, fashion, suitcases, 90’s Mann vibes. Brrap, brrap, brrap.

I hate Carlos Lopez Estrada. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard enough to make a great video when you have money. But, try doing that with less than $5k and I’d call you crazy and politely try to stop responding to your emails. So Carlos you suck and now I have to sheepishly admit that you can make a jaw dropping video with an iPhone, a few train tickets and After Effects. (for the record, I do actually love Carlos, he’s a great guy)

I can't think of a music video that has had such an effective political statement since Chris Milk's “The Saints Are Coming" video. I feel like someone is going to call me out on that lofty statement #sorrynotsorry. Back on topic— while this video is relatively simple, the message is strong and beautifully executed.

This was a surprising delight. Transcendently straight forward. Je t’aime.

Sometimes my criteria for video greatness is-- does this video make me want to learn how to make GIFs? will this inspire a great SNL parody? and will it be a meme that will last forever? bonus: does it also inspire Halloween costumes? In all seriousness, X was the perfect choice for this concept. Shout out to James Turrell! Now we can all stop ripping off your images in our treatments for the next year or two. Did everyone also catch Doug’s cameo?

This might be too specific of a reference even for the Los Angeles audience here, but I relate to the girl in this video sooooo hard. Everytime I'm at Zankou Chicken, I’m like "who are these crazy people here?” and "why does the wait have to be so damn long for a kebab plate!?!?!?"

Vince Haycock had me waiting with baited breath as The Odyssey series was dolled out. This one was by far my favorite. Steve Annis once again taking us to church.

You know what they say about hairy palms… What’s not to like here?! It’s CANADA at their finest. The colors, the movement, the set pieces, the cast, the sexiness… Also, can someone tell me how they aged Sissy Spacek to her 15 year old self? Am I right?

Young Replicant's work is just so sublime. Team him up with a cinematic maestro like Fly Lo and you get this beauty.

I always hate the tenth spot. The ones before are usually no brainers. Then this spot is like splitting hairs and there’s so much pressure to pick the absolutely right one. I’m going to go with this. It’s that classic Hollywood musical vibe with a captivating star. Ryan Heffington killing it as always.

There you have it. Ten for 2015. But, please oblige me as I have to shout out one more. I mean, you guys, TOM HANKS aka FORREST GUMP was in a music video?!?!

These are the ten videos of 2015 that stuck with me the most.

(It is actually just a list of shout-outs to my buddies.)

In no particular order:

I am embarrassed to admit how many times I've seen this one. It is so good, it makes me angry.

This reminds me of the videos I saw on MTV while growing up and initially got me excited about video-making. It gives me an early-2000's thrill that makes me very nostalgic.

The fact that this organization exists and allows kids to learn about film by making a music video for Brandon Flowers during summer camp is, I believe, a good enough reason to make this my favorite video of the year.

This is not a music video, but Andy is a brilliant artist and deserves all the recognition in the world.

This video has such striking, memorable images. It is also very thoughtfully designed around the music, and I appreciate that.

Ian is a good friend and a bottomless pit of creativity. I saw this video on a big screen at Cameraimage and it affected me more than most movies I've seen this year. It's better than Star Wars.

Such a good, fun, and concise idea.

I've had nightmares that look like this. More reasons to be angry at Hiro.

This is another one that really stuck with me. I think MIA is an artist who treats her work with a great sense of responsibility- and that should be celebrated.

Very pretty eye candy. They should make an interactive VR experience out of this. Imagine walking through those points and being able to push them around... Kickstarter!

Today the new Lance Drake video for Miike Snow’s “Heart is Full” dropped, and it’s jampacked with an original sci-fi narrative, and 90’s nostalgia eye-candy. “Heart is Full” premiered exclusively on Facebook, where Lance commented that his son was born during the production of this video, so it will always hold a special place in his heart. It's no coincidence that this is one of his most cohesive and story driven ideas yet.

We are first shown a wide shot of a pensive looking woman looking over a futuristic cityscape, and then shoots right into an intense action sequence, shot in the famous green-lighted underpass of Downtown LA. For all intents and purposes, they only shot in one location, and I think that’s all it needed. So much of the lighting was natural, and totally fit the sci-fi action aesthetic Lance and DP Todd Banzahl were going for. The video endures a revenge narrative packed with a handful of amazingly choreographed action sequences, thanks to Lance's frequent collaborator, stunt choreographer Mindy Kelly.

You can definitely catch the 90s and early 2000’s anime and action vibes in this video, so if you grew up in that time period, chances are, the references you are being reminded of are probably right-on; Lance himself admitting in a Facebook Q&A to many influences including, but not limited to, Spawn, Akira, and Ghost-In-The-Shell. There are more hidden references packed into the details, so if you care enough to figure them out, pay attention and try to connect the dots!

The cinematography is amazing as usual, Todd Banzahl utilizing a great combination of artistic static shots, and action driven motion. There’s a lot going on here, and I think the team captured and out it together in in a fun way, also thanks to editor Jeremiah Mayhew, a previous collaborator with Lance on his video for Middle Class Rut's Aunt Betty. The VFX were also very well executed, and served a narrative function within the video, star Braina Laviena wielding a chromed-out ball and chain weapon that seems to be alive, and uses it in her various action sequences, leading all the way up to the dramatic finishing moments. Fellow Doomsday director Roboshobo, known for his directing efforts on Brandon Flowers’ and Mastodon’s videos, totally knocked it out of the park with the visual effects. I really love seeing directors come together and help each other out, similar to director Zak Stoltz pitching in for VFX on DANIELS’ Turn Down for What.

I’m really stoked that the direction Lance is going continues to push the limits of narrative within music videos, and hopefully lead into features, God willing. If he got the money together, he could totally follow in the steps of music video turned feature directors like Jonathan Glazer or Joseph Kahn, because if he can pack this much into a few minutes with a small budget, imagine what he could do with a couple million!

The first night saw some well-established faces, including Daniels, Isaac Ravishankara, Eli Stonberg, and Hannah Lux Davis serving on the panel called the “Music Video Launchpad," followed by a screening of the “Student” and “Unofficial” category finalists for the festival.

Saturday held an amazing sequence of events, starting off with a panel entitled “Art and Commerce.” Sami and Colleen moderated the discussion, featuring a few label reps, commissioners, and producers. The discussion covered several topics, including the importance of product placement, social media, and how to break into the industry. One of the panelists, Devin Sarno, (a commissioner for Warner Brothers) admitted to sometimes finding the director of an artist’s video by scrolling Vimeo (Keep chasing those Staff Pick's, guys!). 

The night strolled into the finalists’ screening for the “Narrative” and “Non-Narrative” categories, including, but not limited to Thugli “Run This" directed by Amos LeBlanc, Benjamin Booker "The Future is Slow Coming” directed by James Lees, and Clipping “Summertime” directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada. Seeing these videos on the big screen was so enthralling; I had seen many of them before, but on the big screen, you can pick up so much more detail. I picked up on a lot more than I'd seen before in the Childish Gambino video for “Sober," directed by Hiro Murai. 

Following that section was the final event of the evening: pop artist Kimbra and two of her video directors held a small panel, following the viewing of 4 of their videos. I was blown away at the strength of the videos, especially “Come Into My Head” directed by Guy Franklin. Especially for pop videos, Kimbra’s content stood out to me for having a great combination between exciting performances and content that amplifies the tone of each song. Kimbra, Guy Franklin, and Adam Sager took the stage and discussed the videos from the conceptual side all the way into post-production. I was particularly amused at the way Kimbra pokes fun at her directors, she seems like a humble entertainer who would be easy to work with.

Night three wrapped up the festival with a “victory lap” of the winners in each aforementioned category. One that particularly stood out to me was the unofficial winner for Son Lux’s "Ransom" directed by Jing Shao and Jess Zo. It tells a tale of a female boxer who was abused as a child, and explores the conflicted relationship she has with her father. After the victory lap, we got a feature film length block of classic music videos, all in their original 35mm format, complete with film scratches, awkward 1980’s motion graphics, and Tim Curry’s expired music career. It was really awesome to experience these videos this way, because they would play before movies in earlier decades. I was not aware of this, as I’m sure most other millenials also were not.

Overall, it was a really fun event where I got to talk with a lot of music video creators, often ones who had pieces in the screenings at the festival - that alone was worth it. It was also really cool to see directors like NORTON attend the event, who got his start at LAMVF a few years earlier. This is a great event to submit to, it's a community effort put on by a lot of hard working individuals who are hustling to make the music video world truly awesome. Follow them on instagram, facebook, and/or twitter for updates! And see a full list of videos and winners here.

https://www.facebook.com/LAMVFhttps://twitter.com/LAMVFhttp://www.lamvf.com

The new video for California based metal act Huntress is a straight-up gorefest, playing to the tune of early Italian Giallo horror films penned most famously by Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci, with some influence from erotic vampire films such as Vampyros Lesbos. It’s a boatload of bloody fun, but only makes sense if you’re willing to play along with the campy aesthetic of horror films past. Director Phil Mucci really got this one right - "Sorrow" mixes the perfect amount of 70’s Italian horror and kickass metal imagery. 

Sorrow plays along with the image that Huntress has built up for themselves: a brand of metal that harkens back to bands like Iron Maiden, complete with old-school metal riffs, thrashy interludes, and operatic vocals, thanks to classically trained/former Playboy bunny turned lead vocalist Jill Janus. Their 80's metal throwback tendencies mix with their distinct sound, while also mixing in a self-aware sense of humor with songs like “I want to fuck you to death."

Phil Mucci is one of my favorite music video creators, and is utilizing some really amazing elements in his videos that fit the metal aesthetic, and simultaneously break ground in the music video scene, repurposing the motifs and visual effects of early horror filmmakers such as Jess Franco, and as far back as F.W. Murnau. In most of Mucci's videos, he utilizes a digital multiplane camera technique that is similar to the animated films of the past, moving the camera through multiple moving layers. He also combines a lot of practical effects, such as inkdrop textures, and 3d printed models (See photo below). In his commentary for Opeth’s “The Devil’s Orchard” he talks about how he started creating the visual effects himself to save money, but ended up creating a new style that he would continue to run with.

In "Sorrow," the aesthetic is more narrative based, and has more acting than in Mucci’s previous videos. That alone is impressive, not to mention the band members play most of the parts, along with executive producer Ian Mackay playing Professor Dario Bava. Mucci's videos for "Torche" and "High on Fire" have distinct narratives, but the videos are mostly driven by the imagery. However, “Sorrow” is more similar to a feature film with a beginning middle and end. Overall, it’s a lot of fun, and a new addition to Mucci’s repertoire of abilities.

Demi Lovato and Hannah Lux Davis have teamed up to do a really really awesome video in the revisionist 80’s vein, and its a power punch of fun and scandalous pop sensibilities. Based on the vibe of "Cool for the Summer," Lovato seems to be taking her career further down in the vein of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Rihanna; that is, trying to brand herself by creating edgier, bolder, and more entertaining media. Lovato has continually progressed further from her earnest beginnings, professing non-conformist individuality and progressive Christian faith in previous videos (See "La La Land" and "Really Don’t Care," respectively). All that said, the new image could just be a “summer fling” as some artists seem to have. 

The video is super fun and 80’s which seems to be slightly new for director Hannah - though most of her stuff is just as colorfully sultry. The tones in this video shine in the same way that Kung Fury does, maintaining the VHS dulled silvery texture, but the sharpness stays intact. The colors are bright and well blended, adding to the 80’s Miami character stereotypes they are drawing from. 

Hannah has continued to create more fantastic videos this year for David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and new Dutch singer sensation Natalie La Rose. She also just got an interview in this month’s issue of Status Magazine, where she divulges some elements of her workflow, and professes the desire to work with Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Selena Gomez, which doesn’t seem like a stretch, considering her strong portfolio.

If you care about music videos, you are probably still up in a tizzy about Joseph Kahn's Taylor Swift video taking video of the year at the VMA’s this weekend, but this is also the time of the year when another music video institution comes around the bend. That is, OMG! Cameras Everywhere. If you didn’t know, it’s a free summer camp for kids to come and make music videos with music video professionals around the world. I just spent a few days at the Los Angeles OMG, and Doug just wrapped up some time with the OMG posse in New York. Basically, IMVDb loves OMG, and so should you.

OMG has been around since 2011, and it’s become something that I look forward to every summer. It was one of my first really awesome experiences upon moving to LA, and it gave me the opportunity to meet some other filmmakers and make new friends. Most everyone that volunteers is involved in filmmaking in some form or another, and gives their time, abilities, and equipment to make OMG really fun and memorable for the kids every year. The goal of OMG is basically to just get kids to make something cool, and help them create it, no matter how crazy it is! Take a look at the OMG Vimeo page and you’ll quickly see how the imaginations of kids can come out when they have people giving them the ability to express.

Most of the material you’ll find online from the OMG world is a music video of sorts - on most days, the promoters of the camp subscribe artists to come out the camp for a day, let the kids dream something up from their song, and then make a full-on video out of it before the day is done. The following nights, counselors edit the videos together for everyone to watch the following morning. Finally, the counselors get together after the camp ends on friday and engages in a weekend long adventure of editing all the remaining footage down, sacrificing sleep and social life to create a viewing party for all the week’s events, followed by a Q&A with the young filmmakers.

OMG has welcomed many artists through the years, varying in genres, and giving the kids a diverse array of music to form ideas from. My personal favorite from LA OMG this year was a more solemn track from Soren Bryce called “Sirens.” It's a really fun one, where Bryce was shot at the same angle in several positions, and composited together, resulting in a cool, haunting effect, which fits the solemnity of the song. There's a lot more great videos to see, with artists varying from Little Dragon to Jack Johnson. You never know who’s going to show up, but you can always bank on there being some pretty wild dance parties happening at any given point in the day. If it sounds like it interests you, feel free to apply to be a counselor next summer in any of the cities on the OMG circuit, which for now are Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, and London.

And as I mentioned before the camp is free for the campers, so donations are always welcome, whether in money, props, equipment, or volunteering time as a counselor. But beware - if you don’t come the full five days, the campers may or may not let you live it down.

"Tainted" by starRo instantly caught my attention for the reason you could gather for yourself upon one watch: this is a whole movie packed into a music video. I’ve seen this approach taken before, but this video goes the extra mile, it’s a passion project. From the opening images, a cohesive and emotional story unfolds, using well-executed plot devices to keep us interested.

The narrative is character driven, and is packed with more information than most narrative vids. Just for a taste, I’ll give a little of the story away: The main character, Sean, develops the cure for cancer, inspired by his wife’s terminal condition. When his partner uses his own discovery against him, he uses the supernatural side effects to regain his life back. The cinematography in "Tainted" is pretty astounding. Specifically, the use of space within the abandoned laboratory complements the actions that take place there, and really brings attention to the actors. The performances are also stunning, namely the husband/wife played by Kate Cannon and Sean Meshew, both using convincing emotional display to achieve heart-wrenching performances that reinforce their love under fire. Cannon also knocked it out of the park in her role, showing her affection for her husband, but maintaining a melancholy sadness for her impending death.

Director Brad Wong is progressively stepping it up in the music video scene, directing videos for mostly EDM and hip hop artists. What I enjoy most about his work is you can see his talent, specifically for editing and visual effects, but he focuses on the raw ingredients to tie his projects together: good narrative, multiple angles, and movement, but most of all, good light - arguably one of the most important ingredients for a music vid. This is a common thread in his videos, and his project for V.I.B.E.’s "Ready for the World" had great lighting as well. What I enjoyed was how he used a very distinct color palette to assist the narrative, and ties it into the performance shots. I’m used to seeing gel lights a lot in the EDM/hip hop video trend, but Wong uses the lights to reflect the science-heavy narrative, while extending the palette to the performance footage, so that they are almost narrating the video through music within the same world.

There have been a lot of great music videos coming out lately, and today we're featuring the new one from one our favorites, Carlos Lopez Estrada, who gave us his signature blend of realism and fantasy. (Check out "Summertime" by Clipping and "Break Yourself" by Hook N’ Sling.) This funky jazzy track by electro-bass favorite Thundercat features a short glimpse into the plight of an unlucky samurai, having his arms chopped off, and getting put into some kind of purgatory with no arms and his family keeping the TV off. It’s unclear if he dies, but it’s pretty clear that his situation changes for the worst, and has his mind returning to his former existence. 

The setting really make this video awesome. Production designer (and costumer) Tyler Jensen is an old collaborator, working with Estrada as far back as 2010 for the extremely entertaining stop motion masterpiece "Chocolate" by Jessie and Joy. The costumes really sold the scene, complete with full-on samurai gear; and the art direction made the house location look especially depressing, with old school television and sad suburban elements scattered about. The lighting was also incredible, using candy lighting to achieve a surreal effect, and giving it the feel of a makeshift dojo inside a garage. 

The song really seemed to fit the video as well, using lyrics like “Now I'm sitting here with a black hole in my chest, A heartless, broken mess” and “it must've fell when I lost my mind, Deep in the cut, drowning in a pain." It seems that the lyrics must have evoked some imagery for the song, because the parallels seem pretty apparent to me. Overall, it felt like a good combination, and a very personally focused experience, while putting some over the top action. It was also cool to see Thundercat on an infomercial for a second.

Director Emil Nava is back at it with the hyper emotional new video for Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo. Nava has been booked solid for the last few years, churning out progressively more videos every year since 2011 for some of the biggest artists, but still getting to experiment and maintain some diversity. He can work with found footage (Ed Sheeran’s "Photograph"), and even goes into Chris Cunningham-level experimentation with Calvin Harris’ "Slow Acid." He also worked with Lo on Alesso’s "Heroes (We Could Be)," so it would make sense that they team up for one of their own.

"Timebomb" is a great track to pair with a video because of the explosive song structure. The shaky camera and chaotic dance moves match the song’s intensity, and makes for a cohesive style overall. This video is all about literal translation. It’s not trying to tell a story to entertain apart from the song, this video is trying to express the lyrics and tone as literally as possible. Because the feel of the song is so raw and vulnerable, it makes more sense than average for Lo to do some emotional nude shots toward the end, and to show physical disputes and affections of the couples dealing with their issues.

The ultra wide aspect ratio and fact that they shot only on the beach made it easy to become familiar with the setting, and the content also never jumped out of the set style or color palette. The style centered on a washed out white look, and didn’t jump into sunset until the end. Because the experience is supposed to rise and fall, it only makes sense that the calming of the storm, as it were, would come towards the end, and the time of day dictates that perfectly, as if to say “maybe we are the best thing ever." Overall, great use of space and narrative, and an absolutely enrapturing performance from Tove Lo - this track exposes a side of her that is still radio friendly, but a little deeper and more engaging than "Habits (Stay High)."

Former JLS member Aston Merrygold has been on the fast track back into the limelight, following in the footsteps of Justin Timberlake, releasing the video for single "Get Stupid" off his first album since breaking off from the X-Factor famed UK boy band. This video is a bag of pure nostalgic fun that packs in a lot of really great dancing and performances with a really fun song.

The setting of the video takes place entirely in a vacated mall, and they really make the most out of it - the crew shoots everywhere, from brightly lit clothing stores to dark hallways (complete with dancing janitor) and all over the moving escalators. Choreographer Aakomon Jones really knocked it out of the park! People are dancing crazy everywhere; the screen is almost always filled with dancers performing explosive moves that sometimes relate to the song's lyrics directly. Jones has been working as a choreographer for a long time, though most of his work is theater range feature films, from Collateral to Pitch Perfect 2. He really knows his stuff!

I love how the 80's influences are so clear, bringing in some of Michael Jackson's choreography, and pulling from some seriously classic 80s movie plot points. Director James Lees is great at creating a vibe, getting a little more quirky in some of his other projects, like Two Door Cinema Club's "Undercover Martyn," and using some fabulous cut-to-the-beat editing in the incredibly catchy OneRepublic video "Counting Stars." He's a very versatile director, and seems to be able to make something unique and entertaining, no matter the song genre.

Last Friday night, I had the pleasure of seeing a showcase of most of OK GO’s elaborate and memorable music videos at LA Film Festival. If you’re at all familiar with their material, then you understand the the truly epic scale of their work, and why seeing it on the big screen would make for a unique experience. This event screened all but a few of their videos, starting with “A Million Ways,” which was an ode to music video genius Michel Gondry. Present at the event was frontman Damian Kulash, who spoke about the progression of that video - it wasn’t intended to be anything official, but it had more downloads than sold copies of that album so they figured it was worth pursuing further - so they called in some favors, including his sister, who was a professional ballet dancer, and made their first official video.

Damian also talked about how the more complex videos like “The Writing’s on the Wall” and “Needing/Getting” were produced, and how things got more difficult when more money came in to the picture. Since the band were riffing on the ideas themselves, and not a huge budget, they had to reign in a lot of free/cheap help, even putting up postings on Mindshare to recruit engineers (of which there were about 60 contributing on that one video!) However, Kulash lamented to the reality that things get less fun and creative when there is more money involved, claiming that “Needing/Getting” ran into problems because “Once you start succeeding at something, people don’t wanna not get paid."

He also delved into the other projects, and elaborated on the morale that exists on their projects, and how it is distinctly different from most “film projects” because most of them are one take, so nobody, “down to the guy sweeping” quits until it’s been done as best as possible, but when they nail it, everybody gets excited. He also talked about how much they love shooting in Japan, and gave up a little of their magic for “I Won’t Let You Down.” It was a drone, in case you we’re wondering.

The video for the new David Guetta track “Hey Mama” is a ton of fun, and incorporates more than the average video. It’s definitely got the cameos of David and Nicki Minaj, but it’s also got some sci-fi narrative and epic eye candy thrown in to get the attention of the less-easily enchanted. It really couldn’t have come at a better time, either, with the recent box office blowout of Mad Max: Fury Road; this vid definitely has the same road movie feel, and makes a vast desert landscape feel like a dance party.

The scale of this project is pretty wide - toying around with a lot of production design and costume elements from fur bikini clad models dancing in upright bathtubs, to a Burning Man-style convoy roaring through the desert. The narrative is actually pretty cohesive, and NIcki Minaj functions as a genie summoned by David Guetta! The cinematography is also really epic and fun - working with such a vast space and moving clouds makes the camera movement and wide angles increasingly stunning. I also have to drop a line for the background performers - they really made this video, and I can only imagine the increased pressure to perform out in the desert heat. They’re hanging off the truck, doing crazy flips, and just making for a crazy, other worldly environment.

Director Hannah Lux Davis has been working solid as a music video director for the last 5 years or so, and has definitely made a name for herself working with the biggest artists, but still enduring as a multi-faceted director, also doing commercials, and mostly cutting her own projects. Her style has taken a few forms, working with pop, rap, and rock artists. I've watched a lot of her stuff, and it blends a few different styles. She’s experimented a lot with mansions, pool parties and the like, but this new on-location desert shoot has a great cinematic feel. However, you can see how this has the same kind of fun party vibes as her other Paris Hilton and Mike WILL Made It vids. This one felt like a new level, and I hope she is able to incorporate the same kind of cinematic ambition in future projects. It seems like this year is doing well for her as her new video for Snoop Dogg is pretty visual effects heavy as well.

The new Black English (formerly known as NO) video “Another Life” is the perfect example of a bar conversation played out in narrative form, and executed perfectly from beginning to end. “What if we made the saddest music video EVER... and then everybody started crying... and then couldn’t stop watching it, and then it would make them do THIS... and then... and then...” I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it yet, but it’s a really fun, high concept idea with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility about sadness. The vibe is really interesting, because it feels dually like a music video and a commercial. The focus of the video is the video - which is the "product," and all the characters’ actions revolve around it, showing many interactions that visually feel like a commercial, but exploring deeper emotions that remind you that the characters are on a journey. It keeps getting crazier, and things progressively happen that maintain your attention to the end. It’s a well balanced experiment that explores one idea all the way through, and includes a healthy dose of realism and fantasy.

Director Zak Stoltz’ typical modus operandi is to combine narrative with impressive visual effects, but this project was really more about the story and concept than eye candy. However, you can see his skills come through a little bit in the custom ads for "Tony’s building company." He’s done a ton of really awesome stuff with visual effects, creating incredible worlds in Fitz and the Tantrums’ “Fools Gold” and collaborating with Daniels on the mindblowingly novel “Tongues” by Joywave. In all his videos, you can see his sense of humor shining through. Everything he does is narratively cohesive, and well executed, but always has laughs. You can see more of his humor shine through on his video for Run River North “Fight to Keep” and 80’s nostaligia fest “Wallflowers” by Static Jacks. He’s got a lot to offer as a director, combining all the necessary parts to create impressive worlds on film, and this one is no exception.

The cinematography is also really spectacular. Director of photography Andrew Whittaker made this really cool by combining his repertoire of styles in this vid, creating standalone scenes that have a brighter, more commercial feel, and other scenes with a personal point of view. The warm shots in Home Depot are so perfect - it really makes you want to go get off your ass and do something, and get the approval of “that guy” who makes you feel manlier just by locking eyes with him (More Media producer Stephen Buchanan). Whittaker also has an impressive reel, working with the likes of Zedd on “Clarity” and the uber-impressive “Timekeeper” by Lucy Shwartz. The production design is also just really fun, toying around with cardboard houses and sheds that were designed to break on camera. It has a very Sandlot feel, especially in the scenes with the crying teenagers. The art department, headed up by Jason Kisvarday, always kills it - he’s done some of my favorite projects, and never ceases to create cool stuff, whether it’s a fake penis in the “Turn Down for What” video for Lil’ Jon, or creating a scary bed that moves in Shlohmo’s "Buried." 

The band makes a pretty great cameo, and probably has the funniest moment in the whole experience. Though the name change from “No” to “Black English” was disorienting at first, this vid was shot a few years back and was released after the band changed their name this past August. That’s why in the video, the former name is still present, but the band still released it as Black English. They seem to be doing great, putting out a new album last year, and just wrapping up a tour with the Psychedelic Furs. Check out their new album NO!

Silicon’s “God Emoji” is one of those videos that I instantly just start talking about, because it has AMAZING written all over it; the VFX work, the cinematography, the locations, the set design, costume... I could go on and on. This is a video that makes filmmaking look easy, but it actually has many well-executed parts that make it a cohesive, entertaining video, especially for a new artist. The narrative stays minimal - it focuses on the main character who takes a few forms, mostly wearing a fur suit and a pixelated, neon blue-eyed head, which intermittently floats around his house, whilst he smokes a cigarette.

I got into the song immediately because I haven’t heard much like it, and it has a laid-back catchy beat. It’s kind of like dance music for introverts. (Note the lyric “Don’t wanna go out on a Saturday night.") The video matches the vibe, utilizing slow zooms and focused visual effects to set the mood. The video moves slow, but it’s definitely not boring. Director Sam Peacocke has a penchant for milking slow-mo footage for all it’s worth, and making something spectacular - his video for Shihad is nothing less than a masterpiece!

The static cinematography in "God Emoji" really blew me away. The cinematographer Andrew Stroud utilized every inch of the super wide format in this project. There were so many shots that were just beautiful. The window reflection shot, the shot of him getting in the car, and especially the opening John Carpenter-esque shot in the forest with the incredible low-lying fog and candy colored lights were so captivating! Stroud has been around for a while, most notably working on two videos for Lorde, which also showcase Stroud’s sense of widescreen composition and high contrast lighting technique. 

The set design was also on point - I have to make note of the 1970’s Alfa Romeo Montreal they featured. Those car sequences had a very Knight Rider feel to them that gave it a really cool vibe. I have to tap on the forest scenes again as well - the opening wide shot was obviously beautiful, but the tropical forest shots in a studio were packed to the brim with color and texture. Chris Elliot (Production Designer) has been in the film industry for a long time, so it’s satisfying to see a small video get such an incredible designer. He’s worked on a hundreds of commercials and films - even Peter Jackson’s early film, Brain Dead.

This is a Kiwi production through and through - from what I could gather, the crew is all from New Zealand, including the multi-instumentalist Silicon (a.k.a Kory Nielson). He has only released this one single, with an album to be released later in the year, according to his record label, Weird World. UK - catch him on his mini tour with Unknown Mortal Orchestra if you can!

The new video for "Break Yourself" from Australian producer Hook N Sling, with vocals by Far East Movement, is nothing short of uniquely visionary and ambitious. It’s a kind of dystopian fantasy that plays off of the student’s perspective of the educational system, similar to the all-too-familiar high-school themed rock videos from the 80’s. The loose narrative combined with repetitive camera movements from the front to the back of a smoke-filled school bus creates a nostalgic deja vu that anyone who used the public school transit system can easily relate to. The familiar movements might give you chills of how many times you’ve made that walk, and what kind of things any given person could see — one person might see a legion of dead-eyed robots, while another sees a bus filled with ageless stereotypes.

What makes this video stand out to me is the full treatment they give to a limited space. I’ve seen party bus videos before (anyone remember POD’s "Rock the Party"?), but this one packs several different ideas into one bus, utilizing somewhere in the ballpark of 50 actors. They do each situation up to the fullest, going from a normal school bus, packed with jocks, cheerleaders, and whiz-kids, to a Catholic priest literally preaching to the choir (complete with incense-swinging altar boy), to a row of empty seats that stretches on to infinity. The choreography is on point, too; all the actors are playing to the camera movements, and the mouths of a few choice actors mouth the song perfectly.

Directors Carlos Lopez Estrada and Nelson De Castro really did this Hook N Sling track justice, perfecting the seamless editing transitions and camera movements which increased the surreal feeling, and matched the repetitive, weed smoking nature of the song. The complex camera movements were no stranger to De Castro, diving into some ambitious moves in his other vids, including Machineheart’s "Circles" and Digitalism’s "Wolves." Estrada also made waves this year, putting out a very bold, privacy invading (was arrested during filming) project for Clipping’s "Summertime" — filming people on the street, and superimposing jumbled face parts over theirs to create a very unique and disorienting take on a rap video. Can’t wait to see these guys collaborate again in the future!