{"id":486,"date":"2009-08-17T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2009-08-17T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/?p=486"},"modified":"2025-03-24T23:22:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T06:22:43","slug":"animated-music-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/animated-music-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"[Dailies] Stunning Animation in Music Videos of the Last 25 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_503\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption imgalignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-503\" src=\"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/strawberry-swing.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"strawberry-swing\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" class=\"size-full wp-image-503\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-503\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coldplay's new music video<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We&#8217;re seeing a lot of these lately. Coldplay just released an awe-inspiring one. Oren Lavie&#8217;s is still blowing up. Fortunately for audiences and filmmakers alike, the videos are quite good. So good, they spurn a lot of knock-offs. Especially in the ad industry. (To quote Charles Caleb Colton, and my father, &#8220;imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a few varieties of animation in music videos. We&#8217;ve got crisp CG animation with Flogging Molly, traditional animation with Pearl Jam, and then classic stop-motion animation with The White Stripes, even going back 25 years to Alan Parsons Project. Finally, there&#8217;s something from a book publisher that makes you smile as the pages come alive.<\/p>\n<p>Without further ado, here are 14 favorites from the last 25 years by some great animators:<\/p>\n<p>Chalk is huge right now:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BYtk1Z0UUuE\">Coldplay &#8220;Strawberry Swing&#8221;<\/span> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shynola.com\/\">Shynola<\/a> (2009)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BYtk1Z0UUuE<\/p>\n<p>Bonus: Shynola also did <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9nz6Rq1Pvh0\">Queens of the Stone Age &#8220;Go with the Flow&#8221;<\/span> (2007) rotoscoped to look straight out of Sin City. They also did <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NfqL7bwx9fs\">Junior Senior &#8220;Move Your Feet&#8221;<\/span> (2003) which was animated in 256 colors using Deluxe Paint.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/6059825\">The Fray &#8220;Heartless&#8221;<\/a> by <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.partizan.com\/partizan\/musicvideos\/?hiro_murai\">Hiro Murai<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[vimeo]https:\/\/vimeo.com\/6059825[\/vimeo]<\/p>\n<p>The overhead, 2D perspective blew up with the recent popularity of Oren Lavie&#8217;s video:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY\">Oren Lavie &#8220;Her Morning Elegance&#8221;<\/a> by Oren Lavie, Yuval and Merav Nathan (2009; link no longer available)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Her Morning Elegance \/ Oren Lavie\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2_HXUhShhmY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(See our post on Tomas Mankovsky&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/dailies-sorry-im-late-9-99-monsters\/\">&#8220;Sorry I&#8217;m Late,&#8221;<\/a> which used the same technique.)<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve also seen some other techniques, possibly as a result of DSLR camera use:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JtGJ1lD23-U\">We Have Band &#8220;You Came Out&#8221;<\/a> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blinkink.co.uk\/directors\/view-work\/item1482\/David-Wilson\/\">David Wilson<\/a> \/ W+K (2009)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"We Have Band - You Came Out (Official Music Video)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JtGJ1lD23-U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>More commonly, but just as labor-intensive, it&#8217;s CG framed up on photo plates or, in the case of Pearl Jam, straight up animation:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JZKjxxciTVk\">Flogging Molly &#8220;Float&#8221;<\/a> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flynnproductions.com\/music\/director\/karni_and_saul\/\">Karni &#038; Saul<\/a> (2009)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Flogging Molly - Float [Official Music Video]\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JZKjxxciTVk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vimeo.com\/1781230\">Minilogue &#8220;Animals&#8221;<\/a> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ljudbilden.com\/\">Kristofer Str\u00c3\u00b6m <\/a>(2008)<\/p>\n<p>[vimeo]https:\/\/www.vimeo.com\/1781230[\/vimeo]<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=copOYXvEsRs\">Pearl Jam &#8220;Do the Evolution&#8221;<\/span> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spawn.com\/info\/\">Todd McFarlane<\/a> (1998)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=copOYXvEsRs<\/p>\n<p>But let&#8217;s not forgot, we&#8217;ve had some really stunning ones in recent years:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=q27BfBkRHbs\">The White Stripes &#8220;Fell in Love With A Girl&#8221;<\/span> by <a href=\"http:\/\/michelgondry.com\/\">Michel Gondry<\/a> (2002)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The White Stripes - &quot;Fell in Love with a Girl&quot; Sympathy for the Record Industry\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q27BfBkRHbs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Trivia: this video took 2 months to animate.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U6PGrub3jUc\">Sia &#8220;Breathe Me&#8221;<\/span> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.danielaskill.com\/\">Daniel Askill<\/a> and Sia (2007)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U6PGrub3jUc<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hqyc37aOqT0\">Peter Gabriel &#8220;Sledgehammer&#8221;<\/a> by Stephen R. Johnson (1986)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hqyc37aOqT0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qFAycZQsEMQ\">aHa &#8220;Take on Me&#8221;<\/span> by Steve Barron (1985)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qFAycZQsEMQ<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ALC7kt6iUHY\">Alan Parsons Project &#8220;Don&#8217;t Answer Me&#8221;<\/span> (1984)<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ALC7kt6iUHY<\/p>\n<p>Finally, making another exception here &#8212; more book promo than music video per se &#8212; for a 4th Estate&#8217;s 25th anniversary in book publishing:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/2295261\">4th Estate &#8220;This is Where We Live&#8221;<\/a> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asylumfilms.co.uk\/\">Asylum Films<\/a> \/ Apt Studio<br \/>\n[vimeo]http:\/\/vimeo.com\/2295261[\/vimeo]<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s next?<\/p>\n<p>(via <a href=\"http:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/artist\/jaraad-virani\/\">Jaraad Virani,<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/joshto\">@joshto,<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fasthack.com\/features\/the-top-11-most-excellent-animated-music-videos\/\">FastHack.com,<\/a> <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/campcreativegroup.com\/blog\/2009\/artistic-music-video-series-stop-motion-animation\/\">CampCreativeGroup.com<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/motionographer.com\/2009\/02\/09\/karni-saul-float\/\">Motionographer.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re seeing a lot of these lately. Coldplay just released an awe-inspiring one. Oren Lavie&#8217;s is still blowing up. Fortunately for audiences and filmmakers alike, the videos are quite good. So good, they spurn a lot of knock-offs. Especially in the ad industry. (To quote Charles Caleb Colton, and my father, &#8220;imitation is the sincerest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7449,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions\/7449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fwdlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}