David Lobser: +/- “Unsung”
Posted in: alice, cabin, General, indie rock, music video, rabbit
Director David Lobser refashions a bit of Alice in Wonderland in this charming music video for +/-’s “Unsung.” Kissed with subtle CG, the visuals are as gentle and unassuming as the song itself. David did a great job balancing the beauty of leading lady Jessica Stoller with the folksy charm of her surroundings.
This video touches on something we’ve been mumbling about here at Motionographer Headquarters: We’re in the midst of a slow but steady renaissance of the music video. It’s not being driven by labels or even by a renewed interest in the creation of music videos. (Directors and bands have never stopped making music videos, regardless of who was watching them.)
What’s changed are the means of distribution (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) and promotion (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The game has fundamentally shifted away from a top-down, broadcast model to a bottom-up, grassroots model.
This is a huge boon to bands (and potentially to labels). The old promotional model was to force a video or song onto the air in the hopes that by throwing a wide enough net, you’d catch a few buyers. Now, videos are passed like hot potatoes from friend to friend—and friends are much more inclined to pay attention to each other than to a television station that only seems marginally interested in their lives.
The result is a high viewer-to-fan conversion rate without the associated costs of broadcasting. Some music labels, like Universal Music Group, have figured out a way to make it work for them; others are a bit slower to catch on. Regardless, bands are benefiting from the direct, trackable exposure that web distributed videos are giving them.
I realize this is all old news to you. I’m preaching to the choir. But what seems to be happening is still exciting: After being estranged by MTV and VH1, music videos are reentering the mainstream via the web. It’s something everyone predicted years ago, but now it seems to actually be happening. Hooray!
Thanks to Kristian Mercado for the tip on the video.
Credits
Song: Unsung
Album: Xs on Your Eyes
Director: David Lobser
Executive Producer: Steve Choo
Production: Jonny Fego, Meredith Binder
Production Company: My Active Driveway / Little Sister Productions
Matte Painting/Design: Kristian Mercado
Actors:
Girl: Jessica Stoller
Crew: Alice Hoff Hair/ Make up.
Chapin Hall/ Grip Swing
Christopher Studly/ Gaffer
Ian Mcalpin/ 1st AC
PA: Zach Lewis
DP / Camera: Ian Bloom
Edit: Steve Choo
Animation / Compositing /Chi Peng, Matt Monson
3d / David Lobser, Gwen Murray, David Avetisov, Clay Budin
Posted on Motionographer
