Internet Killed the Video Star

There’s this Internet phenomenon that doesn’t really seem to get much discussion about it – to the point where I’m unsure of what exactly it’s called. On You Tube they seem to be listed as “tribute videos”, where somebody cuts together clips from a TV show / movie (I’ve only seen TV shows so far, but I’m not ruling films out) to the tunes of an appropriate song. The first one I remember seeing was a collection of Spike and Buffy romance scenes set to “Crash into Me” by Dave Matthews Band, way back in 2003 on Cara’s laptop, which was very well done.


I recently re-discovered them on You Tube, with clips from Justice League set to all manner of different songs. For the most part they’re not bad. You can see where laziness sets in as the person editing it can’t be bothered cutting away, allowing scenes to run long and including characters speaking muted dialogue.

While I don’t really have the technical set-up for it, I’ve already started cutting together music videos I’d like to make myself in my head.

They include;

- “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” by U2, cut together with clips from Buffy.

- “Do the Evolution” by Pearl Jam set to action sequences from Heroes.

- And just for Li-Kim, I’d be willing to consider “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & the News, set to relevant images from Horatio Hornblower.

On a tangential note, in the magical world where I’m an actual music video director, I’d love to do a clip to U2’s "Vertigo". It would involve taking the band on a world tour, where they’d play a series of free concerts outside famous sites, (Statue of Liberty in New York, Eiffel Tower in Paris, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney Opera House, etc.) Each verse / chorus would involve them playing at a new monument, intercut with shots of them travelling all around the world (if you gave each band member their own camcorder, you could probably get some good shots, as well as ample documentary material).

The final chorus / show would be played at a small venue in Ireland; one that had great personal significance for the band, like a school hall they practiced in or a pub they played one of their first shows in or something.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be U2, but they’re the kind of band that has the popularity to justify such an expensive shoot. I figured it’d also be a good way to take a medium-sized band and introduce them to the world as the Next Big Thing.

Maybe someday. In the meantime, I’m gonna think of songs that’d make for good Justice League videos.