Radiohead, you’ll remember, injected some style into the world of user-generated music video contests last spring when it partnered with Aniboom to search for an animation worthy of representing one of the tracks from its album, In Rainbows. The contest process, which narrowed concepts down starting at the storyboard stage, ended up generating not one, but four, winners — each highly unique.
The first to be completed, Clement Picon’s video for Reckoner, is all about growth, expansion, destruction and rebirth — it’s a highly conceptual but deeply intense work.
Radiohead – Reckoner – by Clement Picon
The other three are still in production, but there are extended test clips available at Aniboom that showcase the variety of style users brought to the contest. For his Transmutation tribute, Tobias Stretch spent a month making puppets and two weeks filming to create the visuals for this one-minute sample — the extreme use of a fish-eye lens and time lapse embues the images with the sensation of flight.
Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom
Hideyuki Kota’s take on 15 Step is an incredibly engaging pastiche of traditional anime and reminds me a little of Jamie Hewlitt’s work.
Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom
Wolfgang Jaiser’s approach to representing Videotape is probably the hardest to engage with, but the lines and shapes floating through an achingly empty parking garage contribute to a few moments of pure beauty.
Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom
The high quality of all four winners is a tribute to the contest’s extended development process — one which encouraged interaction between users and the band itself. The UGC music video contest is becoming a tired gimmick, but when organized properly, its full potential can be breathtaking.
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