Music Videos and Videos with Music

I have really enjoyed watching music videos in class because I love music and I love videos of course. I thought I would show some of my favorite videos. But I do want to say holy cow to that IRMA video with the white room and the projections. Just imagine a video game that uses that room. It would be so awesome. I want to live in that room honestly.



So in high school, my percussion teacher showed us this awesome music video of these guys that made Angles We Have Heard on High on one piano. It is so beautiful and very interesting with how they make all these sounds on just one piano. P.S the camera angles are really cool!







This isn't technically a "music video" but it is an awesome a cappella disney medley. This dude's voice is incredible and will take you buy surprise I promise. He edited it all together to make it look really well put together. The music is also very well put together. Watch it!

If you like musicals in any way, you should check out World's Worst Musical on youtube. It's silly but strangely good. Check it out if you want!

Music Videos part 2

Out of all of the music videos we saw in class I really liked Tais Toi Mon Coeur the most.  It told a story and was hauntingly beautiful from the characters to the story in the music video itself.  La Mécanique du Coeur (Mechanics of the Heart) is the best way to describe the main character in the music video since his heart was a cuckoo clock.  It was a sad love story that most of us can relate to, the boy loved the girl and got his heart broken, in the translation he wanted to trade his wooden heart to stone to grow up for the girl he loved, but she doesn't recognize him.  I loved the story  and everything that happened within the music video.  I wish more music videos were like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9QtJERu_2E

Music videos

We saw a lot of different types of music videos in class. Ever since OK GO first came out theirs have been some of my favorites. The timing it takes to complete them is incredible. I mean ever since the treadmills music video they just seem to one up themselves every time. Speaking of timing, out of the music videos I hadn't already seen I'd have to say that Valentino was my favorite. Again, the timing of it was great. Music videos like those are a nice change of pace compared to those of popular music.

It's funny to think that a whole network was crafted with the idea of playing music videos 24/7 and now they don't play any at all. I understand that you have to break out to new content eventually, but please don't let it be the kinda crap they have on air now. Any who, I digress. There are so many different types of music videos that it would be nice to see a channel rededicate themselves to the genre. With the invention of YouTube, though, it has sort of taken care of the void since you can watch what you want at anytime instead of waiting for it to come around again on the schedule.

I'd state my favorite music video if I didn't have the memory of a gold fish. A lot has happened since I've probably seen it last, but one that tells a good story or are entertaining have usually been the ones that have caught my attention the most. The guy who has seamlessly controlled the industry is Weird Al. What he did this past year with releasing a new one every day was perty spectacular. The nice thing about music videos is that they don't have to be elaborate to be enjoyed, but when they are it makes them that much sweeter.

D4

I lied when I said that was my last video game related blog...

UPDATE: ACCESS GAMES RELEASED THE OST FOR FREE*
https://accessgamesrecords.bandcamp.com

If you have an Xbox One or plan on buying one, you should definitely check out D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die. In fact, buy it anyway. I want Season 2 to happen, and Micro$oft really dropped the ball when it came to marketing the game.
Anyway, D4 is a story based game, with gameplay more along the line of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead or Heavy Rain, rather than the open world survival horror of SWERY65's previous cult classic Deadly Premonition (Red Seeds Profile). The story is about a detective, named David Young (Interestingly, this was the name used for Francis York Morgan in the original Deadly Premonition trailer), whose wife was murdered. Her final words, "Look for D" are the entire driving force behind the story.
Unfortunately, the game ends on the biggest cliffhanger ever, and thanks to Microsoft's horrific marketing, it may never be resolved. That being said, if you like crazy insane stories with funny characters and unintentional humor, check this game out. Also, despite what the opening screens suggest, you do not need the Kinect for this game.
*You can stream the songs for free, but downloading costs money. PLEASE GIVE SWERY MONEY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I WANT SEASON 2 OK!??!?

Wait, Someone Had to Make That

So some of the things in class today made me have one of those, "Wait, somebody actually had to make that" thought. When you see something so strange or ridiculous that you just stop and think, "Wow someone had to plan that out. And they had to prepare for it. And shot it and do multiple takes." and all that jazz. Those last two videos we watched, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, and Watch Out For My Body Rolls, made me think that. Of course they may have been made plainly for entertainment or out of boredom, but still. They were weird.

But also I guess there's a good side to the "somebody actually had to make that" thought as well. The video for De Staat's, The Incredible Journey of the Underground Man was really cool, and shows how creative music videos and practical effects can be. And Diane Birch's Valentino was really cool. That was some creative stuff. It also makes you think how creative people are. They had to come up with these ideas and how to pull them off.

Also, here's the lyric video from last class, because it's so dang funny and I keep watching it for laughs.

Death to the Stars

The tour through the history we were given is still tickling my brain. The very thought of a music video, as we think of them today, being made before 1900, without the aid of aliens, is extraordinary. Of course, it was nothing that would likely air on MTV but it was still monumental.

Speaking of MTV as it was back in the day when they actually played music videos, the revolution it started in terms of specialized media channels extends outward to today. We have channels that play music and music videos on any one specific genre that you would care to hear. (Cable is amazing!) But I am tripping all over my original intent, the first video that aired on MTV was "Video killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. This video shows what a lot of people expected to have happen due to the era of modern technology, the old fashioned stuff would be wiped away and replaced with only the finest and "chrome-iest". (The old visions of the future were kind of outlandish.)

This kind of technological revolution never really happened all at once, though technology has been sliding towards more complicated machines and technologies. Radio didn't really start taking hits until the Internet came along. Once people were able to access whatever they wanted when they wanted, we started to kill both the radio and TV stars. 

myo͞ozik

Ah yes, music. Not only that but videos to go with them. I used to appreciate music a lot growing up. Every morning I would listen to MTV Jamz just to start my day or my cousins and I would always listen to music on Comcast demand and enjoy the dance moves of the rap/hip-hop genre. My favorite artists to watch were Cris Brown and Michael Jackson. I like it loud I like it quiet. Rap, r&b, or pop, no matter the volume or genre as long as I got my tunes then I'm good. But now I don't listen to as much music as I did before. It just doesn't interest me as anymore and believe it or not I'm starting to get tired of rap music. I guess it's true of what they say, "music is not was it used to be" and at times I agree. Most of it is garbage and it's so bad that I wouldn't mind not listening to music at times... Or I might be a robot or something I don't know, but I do fancy the pop genre more often lately.

Music Videos Are Art?

I'd never really known the full extent of how beautiful and fun music videos could be until I came here.

Growing up, all I knew music videos to be were either crappy compilations of playing the instruments and showing some angsty or romancy shots, or they were an unentertaining montage of sexy woman dancing around the singer with a bunch of sexual content. So I never bothered to check out the music videos of songs, because all I knew were the crappy mainstream ones.

I might've seen one interesting artsy one once in a blue moon, but the majority of songs I listened to had boring compilations of clips with no real story or creativity to them. And the ones that did have a story were just too generic.

Having Ballinger be the one to show us music videos is also amazing because he knows the best stuff lol.

Music Videos!

I always forget how much I appreciate music videos. While the music is the focus of the medium (or it usually is) the visuals that the artists and director choose to pair with the music add to the experience so much. When I was young (after MTV wasn't much into music videos anymore) there was a new television channel that did the same thing MTV did early on. It was called The Tube, and it dissolved in 2007. But before it went out, I was pretty captivated by the channel and the music videos it featured, which had a wide variety of music of varying popularity.
Since then I haven't participated much in the art form unless I hear that a particular music video is really good. I just know that there's a lot of crap out there and it can be kind of hard to weed through.

It was so much fun just watching music videos and experiencing more art behind the music, and not even over analyzing them. Just experiencing them.

Here's a couple of music videos that I like:

Video Games, For Real??

I love video games as much as the next guy.  In fact, I played the Nintendo 64 when I was Five.  That was one of the skills I developed at a young age.  My favorite game of the Nintendo 64 would have to  be Supermario 64.

Over time, because of my older brother's influence, I was able to develop my skills even further and further through the first and second play station, the game boy and game cube, wii,  wii u, ds, 3ds, Xbox, and xbox 360.

I am passionate about video games, but to be honest class. I am disappointed in you.  Mostly in the girls.  Every one was more passionate in media than actual human rights of feminism .  But I can't say I'm any better because I didn't step up the conversation as much as I could.  Though I did speak my opinion on feminism.  The lack of opinion of feminism is shocking.
And I wish that we were all driven by human rights more than media.  One word class: priorities

Please don't stop the music!

Music videos are very consistent in our media consumement.  My favorite music videos have to be stop motion ones because it takes more skill and patience.  I really admire those kinds of music videos.  Music videos have been a constant in my life because my dad was also a Christian concert promoter. Music and music videos have been a constant in my life.

Music videos tell the story of the song and it gives an even bigger picture of what the writers of the songs are trying to express.

My favorite music videos have to be the old 80's to 90's.  My one of my favorite animation video is dumb ways to die.  The animation was cool and simple which is more of my style.

Another animated one was I Say Fever and that was an interesting, yet scary.  I wasn't sure what the story was, but it seemed interesting enough.  Sometimes you have to listen to the words than anything.

My favorite stop motion was the shin.  It was pretty, and I just loved the style and the stories of the magicians was astounding.

The Boy in the Bubble

My favorite songwriter of all time has to be Paul Simon. Ever since I was a kid my Dad has played Paul Simon's music on road trips, during wok, and for the heck of it. Sometimes I feel like I was born listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water. But what is it about Paul Simon that is so worth loving? Aside from the nostalgic factor, I am a huge fan of Paul Simon because of how much variety he puts into each one of his songs. He puts so much effort into each one and it is hard not to admire it.
I began thinking of one particular Paul Simon song called the Boy in the Bubble after Dr. Ballinger's presentation on music videos. The song, like most Paul Simon songs, is incredibly catchy and featured a music video. I do not often watch music videos, but this one caught my eye. i can't tell you what it means I have no idea, but I am mesmerized by the imagery. You see all these moving shapes and colors and pictures and it seems to fit the hodgepodge of the song itself. It was one of those moments that seemed to heighten the music.

Music Videos...

First off, I have to say that last class time was pretty great, I just love sitting around and watching music videos whether its from the past or in the present. Watching all of those videos through different time lines makes you really think and wonder why they made such weird concepts and videos. Especially the one with the pig and the girl from the early 1900's, that one was just plain weird and kind of creeped out. But over all, each video was pretty unique and seem to fit each time period and had great animation if there was any. But my favorite one was the comic one where the girl fell in and ended up bringing the guy out of the comic as well as the literal one to. Both were pretty good and funny.

Girls are the fucking best

Girls, romanticize yourselves. You are a queen. You are a warrior. You are an enchantress. You are a mermaid. You are a goddess. You are all of these things and more, you are the stuff of fairytales. 

Women, traumatize others. You are a dragon. You are a wolf. You are a bump in the night. You are the last thing they see in the darkness. You are all of these things and more, you are the heart of their fucking nightmares.

Music Videos

Watching those music videos in class was really cool. i never knew that they were around back in the early 1900s. It was cool to see how they progressed and got better over the years. To me it looked like they started out being random people dancing to the song that was playing. Then it moved to actually showing some what of a story that the song was about. slowly you started to get the artist in the video and they were actually preforming for a camera. it changed into almost like a concert over a camera. it was also cool to see how like when movies were trying out new types of methods the videos were trying out some of the same stuff. It was also really cool to see how the videos reflected the time period. in the early 1900 you had classy films for a classy time. then when you get to the 70s you get weird videos for the crazy times they had. i never knew how much a music video re flexed the culture of the time period.

Lost in My Daydreams Again....

I've always been a daydreamer, especially while I listen to music. Very often when I find a song that I love, I write an entire plot or story line surrounding around it in my head. After this, I listen to it on repeat and constantly play in back in my memory. Sometimes I make changes or add ideas to it, but usually I just keep it the same. It's funny to me, because I never get tired of the scenes. Usually I get really into it and determine what actors would be perfect for the role. So this connection between music and film is really strong for me. Last year in my film class I got the opportunity to put that to test when we got a music video assignment. We got to choose a song and had to make a video to go with it. My group decided on  the Bassnectar Remix of "Lights" by Ellie Goulding, and being the total nerd that I am, I had to come up with an elaborate plot to go with it. For whatever reason, the only thing that I could picture in my mind was a ballerina and I didn't know why, but we went from there and this is a link to the final project if you have a few spare minutes!

Lights Music Video!! 

Storytelling is one of my passions, and I kind of made this music video my baby for the week or so that we worked on this project (I'm lucky my group members didn't really care about the project, because I got to do whatever I wanted with it!!). Of course it's not perfect, but I'm still quite proud of how it turned out. :)

Music Videos

I’ve got to say that I really enjoyed watching all those music videos today in class. It gave me a perspective of the evolution of music videos. It seems that it started out with just being videos of people dancing over an audio track. And as technology and music videos moved along they became more of a way to tell a story, situation, or expression of ones feelings. I kind of wish that the professor would have showed the entire music videos instead of just clips and excerpts. It also introduced me to some new music that I could explore. I was also able to admire the comedy and artistry in music videos. For example the for the comedy part I’m focusing more on the literal music video that was shown. Mainly because it just made it seem that much more weird and sort of stupid as to what message they were trying to portray. For the artistry I was very much attracted to the abstract music videos that made it look like the characters were drawn out or solid colors. I especially enjoyed The Beatles music video because it introduced so many developing film and animation techniques for music videos and movies in general.  

Singing in the Rain

This past weekend I went and saw the musical singing in the rain and I’ve just got to say great job to everyone involved. I came into the musical with a very judgmental view because back home we had an amazing theatre program and I was interested in how this would hold up in comparison. And obviously it was very good and very well performed. I personally didn’t know much about the musical going in and was happy to find out that it was a romantic comedy. The actors created an amazingly light and humorous atmosphere for me to enjoy the punch lines.

When it came to the actual singing in the rain scene in the musical I was astounded. I had never seen anyone use actual water on a professional stage before. Usually they don’t allow it because it can lead to fire hazards, slipping hazards and so on. So when they started to actually have it rain I was astounded. I believe that what they did to get this to work and not have the water go everywhere was to have the stage slanted down so the water would roll or bounce to the back of the stage.  

More Music Videos: Lindsey Sterling edition

So here's my second post on music videos, because I really like them. But I already said that. So for this one, I'm going to focus on an artist whose music videos are really special to me.

If you don't know Lindsey Sterling, she is a violinist who writes and records her own songs. She does mixes with different themes; she has done Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, Lord of the Rings, and Assassin's Creed themes. She was on America's Got Talent one season, and she has played with the PianoGuys before. (If you don't know them, look them up too. They're phenomenal and I think the people who do their music videos may also do Lindsey's). She's done for original songs though. She's not a classical violinist, she makes songs that sound like they could be movie scores, she has done pop/dupstep songs, and she's just pretty cool.

Now I've seen quite a few of her music videos, and I have to say, they are really creative and usually colorful, and make awesome use of light and themes. I know she edits a lot of them herself, and has occasionally written and directed some too. I can't post all of them, but if you like what you see below, I recommend looking up more of her stuff.

Here are some of my favorites, they speak for themselves:

 

 

The Prince of Egypt

My face when seeing the film the Prince of Egypt.

This film is by far my favorite biblical story adaption that I’ve seen so far. While it may not depict all of the events found in the book of Exodus accurately, it still keeps the heart of the narrative. By far one of the most powerful and most beautiful moments in the film is the parting of the red sea. Seeing this part in again in class was exciting. It was nothing short of stunning! I agree with Prof. Leeper on this one, this is by far one of the most vivid renditions of red sea parting. See the image bellow.   

 It's hard to believe that a team of ten to twelve artists were able to pull of all of these complex shots. It is certainly a massive achievement. This is the kind of work that I would like to be apart of.

If any of you have not seen this film yet. Watch it! you won't regret it.