Interactive music videos are all the rage in music at the moment, and the Tribeca Film Festival wasn't about to let the times get away from it. As part of a contest, more than 125 videos were submitted from around the world in consideration for use with songs by Ellie Goulding, Damon Albarn and Aloe Blacc.
"This music film challenge represents some of the best of what the Tribeca Film Festival and our partners are all about: Artists supporting and recognizing other artists, and exploring new approaches to storytelling," said Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal. So here's what we got:
"Dead In The Water" by Ellie Goulding
Goulding's tale of finding a lost love takes a Disney-esque approach in the hands of Matt Szabo of Hungary. The viewer plays the role of a triangularly-animated mermaid looking for her diver love. The trip involves your choice of interactions with friendly marine wildlife. We don't know if the end differs, but our young couple ended up together in the form of a romantic constellation.
"Heavy Seas of Love" by Damon Albarn
There's a hint of Disney in Polish animator Jakub Romanowicz's vision for Damon Albarn's "Heavy Seas of Love" as well. This time, it's of a Wall-E vibe versus The Little Mermaid, which makes it all the better. Our protagonist is a robot wandering through London, getting his bag stolen and doing other regular London things. The good news, at least in our version, is that he finds his bag apparently no worse for wear at the culmination of a thrilling animation/live-action hybrid scene.
"Ticking Bomb" by Aloe Blacc
Blacc's "Ticking Bomb" is by far the most sinister of the songs nominated for this competition, and we warn you that this one is painful, even if real bombs aren't involved. The protagonist of Mohit Israney's video must hightail it through busy Indian streets in order to see his dying (father? grandfather?). The rest of the video shows some patchy water between the pair in the past to build the suspense. This one killed our mood, as it turns out it can have an unhappy ending. We hope there's more warmth at the end of this tunnel for you.
