Outfit collaborate with FACT and Liverpool Sound City to find new video talent for The Art of Pop Video exhibition.
FACT and Liverpool Sound City have joined forces with Outfit to launch an exciting open call to find the best new music video directing talent in the North West.
Budding directors are asked to submit storyboard and film ideas for a video to accompany Performance, the title track of Outfit‘s soon-to-be released debut album.
The winning treatment will then be made with help from FACT, who will offer £500, loan of equipment and use of their editing suite to perfect the video.
The finished result will go on public display as part of the FACT exhibition The Art of Pop Video, which opens on March 14.
The GIT Award 2012 nominees track, Performance, and the competition brief is downloadable from today (January 16) at the FACT website.
“The song is stark and bold, quite stripped back for our style, and we think a visual accompaniment should convey the song’s romance in a non-literal way – and should be seductive and enveloping,” said vocalist Andrew Hunt.
He adds: ‘The song is in many ways a distillation of these ideas. At once a forlorn “across the room” ode to an unnamed siren, it also seeks to describe the ways in which our personalities are performed when we are with others.
‘Often our perceptions of one another are pre-formed before meeting; frequently from online impressions of either self perpetuated or misinterpreted information that speak of a person’s values and interests.
‘Sometimes we are right, sometimes we are wrong. Performance was directly inspired by a performance piece one of the group witnessed where all attendees had been assigned a “fake life” prior to the event, during the evening they had to stay in character and interact with others as such. A nice idea, but one that is eerily similar to the everyday.‘
With a closing date of February 14, FACT and Liverpool Sound City want to prove that it is possible to make a high-quality, memorable music video quickly and inexpensively.
Completed videos are not expected by this date, but storyboards and initial cinematography to give an idea of how the finished product will look will be accepted. FACT will offer a wide range of support for the winner, allowing them access to top class production facilities and expert advice.
Entries are welcome from everyone. A ‘DIY’ ethos is encouraged, and filmmakers are free to use any format, moving away from standard industry production to create something more representative of the future of the pop video in a digital age.
The winner will be added to The Art of Pop Video exhibition at FACT, which runs until May 26.
In the first exhibition of its kind in the UK, more than 70 video clips will tell the story of the pop video, marking the medium’s substantial contribution to popular culture. Artists featured will include Björk, Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Fred Astaire, Man Ray, Madonna, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga and Radiohead.
The winning video will also be shown at the Liverpool Sound City Expo, where it will be seen by music industry experts and insiders.
FACT director Mike Stubbs said: “This isn’t about big budgets and lavish special effects – these days, more and more people have the tools to film and even edit video clips in the palm of their hands with their mobile phones, allowing them to express their creativity in a quick and easy way. We are very excited to see what people will come up with.”
Further reading on Getintothis
Getintothis interviews Outfit.
Outfit live at the Deaf Institute.
GIT Award nominees Outfit profile.
