Music videos are the sh#t! Who doesn’t love them? They are short films with a killer soundtrack that only last four minutes. Sign my ADD ass up! Today more people watch music videos in one day, than they did in Carson Daly’s entire career as a tool on MTV. (I don’t know if that is true, so don’t quote me on it. I hope it is though.) Not only have music videos become one of the fastest ways to have your music go viral; they have become a medium of art in themselves. Some of today’s top directors got their start shooting music videos (Spike Jonze, David Fincher, Michel Gondry). So, to help your band put together your first music video, Generotv is giving away $30,000 dollars! All you need to do is apply. And, to help you gather some inspiration of what to shoot, I ask the promoter team here at Sonicbids to send over their favorite music videos. Here is what they said:
Liars – Scissor
“What makes a great video for me is that the song matches the action in the video, and I don’t mean someone acting out the lyrics word for word. The video for Liars’ ‘Scissor’ matches perfectly with the arc of the song and keeps you glued to your computer screen the whole time. One thing is for sure, I do not want to end up like that guy.” -Eric
Busta Rhymes – Put You Hands Where My Eyes Could See
“One: It’s Busta Rhymes; Two: It’s an awesome song; Three: It’s loosely based around Coming to America and maybe even Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Bonus: It’s got that classic Hype Williams touch, the best music video director of all time.” -Nate
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us
“The cinematography and direction, as commanded by Ryan Lewis and Jon Jon Augustavo, transform “Can’t Hold Us” from a casual pop song into a anthemic short film. Ray Dalton’s soulful vocals capture the genre-shifting nature of this song and complement Macklemore’s rhyme and flow completely.” – Madeline
Rad Anthem – Rad Omen (NSFW)
“The imagery is evocative of a time when America’s youth would look for escape in “partying”. It is also a social commentary on the evilness of fast food corporations. But actually it’s just an amazing, awesome video!” – Alex
Fatlip – What’s Up Fatlip?
“Not only is this song dope, but the music video captures it’s vibe perfectly. Spike Jonze and Fatlip shot one of the best videos of the 90s, for what looks like 20 bucks. It shows that creativity and good camera work can go a long way. You don’t need a lot of cash and speed boats to make a first-rate music video” -Robert
Broken Bells – The Ghost Inside
“Broken Bells teamed up with director Jacob Gentry and star Christina Hendricks for a space-age concept video. Rather than shooting the band, the video is pure storytelling. Their haunting synth sounds make the perfect soundtrack for the lonely android trying to get to paradise for a vacation. Trading body parts for fuel and repairs, the video brings to life their chorus “Did it all; For that dollar; She’s a star tonight; Without warning; She gave up; The ghost inside.” Do androids need vacations? Do they dream of electric sheep?” -Matthew
Radiohead – Just
“This video creeps me out. It stays with you. I mean, this video came out 18 YEARS AGO and I am still dying to figure out what the dude at the end says. If that is not the mark of a good video I don’t know what is.” – Jeff
There they are; our favorite music videos. We hope they were inspiring. Make sure to submit your song to Genero’s Music Video Contest, and potentially enter to win $30,000. What do you have to lose? Click the link below and find out more. Good luck!
