Entertainment Lions For Music > Music Content

IF THE CAR BESIDE YOU MOVES AHEAD

THE SWEETSHOP, Los Angeles / JAMES BLAKE / 2018

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Film

Overview

Credits

Overview

CampaignDescription

Driving at night on the motorway, lights reflect rhythmically on the bodywork of cars. They’re mirrors which distort their reflections, and there is rhythm that we subconsciously tune into. The streetlights are spaced apart like beats of a track, so the idea was to somehow combine a night drive experience with the music.

Execution

The challenge and solution which shaped this idea, came from having to shoot in very dark, difficult situations, without it feeling mundane or everyday. On a very restrictive budget closing off the highway or rigging huge cinema cameras to cars was near impossible on this scale. Utilising a home-brewed approach, shooting with a very small crew, driving at night with a stills camera strapped to the car, the crew shot for hours at a time to capture what might end up as being tiny moments in the final film.

Outcome

YouTube

1,363,310 views

23K likes

1.6K shares

200,000 on Alex’s vimeo page

Video of the month on Vimeo

76 pieces of news coverage

240 mainstream social media mentions

Relevancy

‘If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead’ is a Music Video with a unique creative vision that stands apart technically and aesthetically, yet at the same time feeling reminiscent and familiar. The unique approach and techniques used to make the film are evident in the final outcome. The video speaks directly to the artist’s target audience with reference to experimentation, experience, wonder and fantasy, but in a relatable context.

Strategy

The idea was to capture the hypnotic quality of the streetlights and how the undulating rhythms would complement the vibratone style of the vocals. The music already has such a dizzying unsettling effect, the strategy was to make a video that would feel like a drug trip without taking drugs. To make the viewer feel like they were tripping out, like a scene from 2001 a space odyssey, the end result needed to feel cerebral and engaging.

Synopsis

The brief was to create a music video sharing the dynamic experimental qualities of the music. A video which would not just complement but become a visualiser to the sonic landscapes present. In a world where people use Youtube as a way of playing music, but not necessarily to watch the videos, It’s important to have visuals which engage the viewer without requiring them to pay too much attention to narrative or detail.

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