Commercials can be very similar to music videos. An example are the short films made for advertising iPhone XS. FKA Twigs, Kamasi Washington and Florence + the Machine all have each a short music video shot with iPhone XS. Of course to show the quality of the camera in the phone. The short films are all back stage/rehearsal scenes. Nice glimpses of the artists behind stage.
The videos has been removed from YouTube
The Florence + The Machine song/video “Hunger” deals with the striving and longing that’s inside us all. Florence herself says: “this song is about the ways we look for love in things that are perhaps not love, and how attempts to feel less alone can sometimes isolate us more. I guess I made myself more vulnerable in this song to encourage connection, because perhaps a lot more of us feel this way than we are able to admit. Sometimes when you can’t say it, you can sing it.” It’s a fascinating video with expressive images. Directed by AG Rojas.
Florence + The Machines “Sky Full of Song” is an artful video created by director AG Rojas and Production Company Park Pictures. The pictures are like still photography with little movement – just Florence singing tied to the floor. Focus is on the voices and the lyrics. A video with good connection to the song.
Vincent Haycock’s “The Odyssey” which contains of the videos he has done for Florence and the Machine, is now released as a complete film. It’s been screened on cinema in Los Angeles and will be shown in different places. Watching it in full length it’s obvious how well the videos function together. It has a special mood and follows Florence emotional journey. The film is almost an hour and deserves to be watched when you can give it full attention. The Odyssey is an interesting example of using the music video platform to create and publish a greater outcome. You can watch the film on the site below:
Last video in Vincent Haycock’s project of making several videos for Florence + The Machine’s album “How Big How Blue How Beautiful” is “Delilah”. The story is set to a motel in which we see Florence in different situations. Just like in earlier videos in the series there is dramatic dancing and gloomy/sad atmosphere. Motels are a classic place for drama and threatening situations. Just remember the movies “Psycho” and “Touch of evil”.
The “Odyssey”-project is a great achievement. The videos work well both independently and together with the other. They are all artful and shows excellent choreography. Hope this inspires more artists to do similar projects.
“The Odyssey” is the name of the ambitious project to make videos of every song on Florence + The Machine’s album “How Big How Blue How Beautiful”. The latest release from the project are a short film including the songs “Queen of Peace” and “Long and Lost”. A two-in-one film which makes it possible to catch a change in the story dependent on the different character of the songs. From the intense “Queen of Peace” the film moves into the slower “Long and Lost”. The story is situated in Scotland and the film really captures the harsh side of the country. Great work from director Vincent Haycock.
The earlier videos from “The Odyssey”-project is “St. Jude”, “What Kind of Man” and “Ship to Wreck”. You can read in earlier post about “What Kind of Man”
Music videos are much about trying to capture the emotion of the song. As a viewer, you don’t expect to understand everything as much as you do with a feature film. The feelings and the images are prior to the storytelling. The Florence + The Machine-video “What Kind Of Man” arouse a lot of feelings. It starts with a communication issue in a relationship and moves into disaster, desire and pain. There is a story in it but even if you can’t figure it out, it’s an interesting experience watching it. Really like how it changes.