How Music Videos Survived 2020
Through the highs and lows of this year, many aspects of the music industry have had to find ways to reinvent themselves. As live shows turned into live streams and face-to-face meetings turned into Zoom calls, music videos became one of the fastest aspects to evolve. With social distancing and travel bans in place, we quickly saw a shift in the visual accompaniments that arrived alongside the hits of the year.
Green Screen Chic
It feels like green screen chic has been the music video theme of the year. Many artists were quick to hop on board and embrace simpler clips, jazzed up with all types of backgrounds and effects. So far, they’ve proved to be a hit with fans.
In early isolation, 5 Seconds of Summer filmed their 'Wildflower' music video, which saw the band pass a green screen between themselves and film each of their parts in the safety of their own home. The separate clips were then brought together with the help of editing – as if social distancing never happened.
Phoebe Bridgers’ video for her single ‘Kyoto’ was meant to be filmed on location in… you guessed it, Kyoto. Instead, Bridgers utilised a green screen at home in Los Angeles and used some shots of Japan to take a virtual trip.
Wallows took their track ‘Virtual Aerobics’ literally and busted out their best moves for the track’s music video, complete by following a vintage aerobics tutorial.
Friends And Collages
The year’s most downloaded app, Zoom, also found its place in the world of music videos too, with acts like Thao & The Get Down filming their entire choreographed video for ‘Phenom’ through the app.
Touche Amore even got their friends on board to create a wholesome collage for the ‘Reminders’ video to showcase what acted as their reminders of love during these challenging times.
Social Media Sourcing
On the social media side, as social distancing measures have eased and TikTok’s popularity has grown, Dua Lipa was quick to take advantage of the app’s crowdsourcing capabilities. The English superstar partnered with TikTok with a campaign that proved it’s not always about who you know, sometimes it’s about what you post.
The competition saw hundreds of thousands of users submit their talents via TikTok – from animators, makeup artists, dancers and choreographers – in hopes of being one of the 16 talents scouted for the official ‘Levitate’ music video. The video, out now features work from TikTok- sourced dancers and roller skaters, as well as an animator, choreographer and makeup artist.
Overall, a touch of the DIY approach, the help of new platforms and old laptop cameras, music videos have remained alive and well in 2020, arguably even becoming more of an asset than in the past.
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