21 pilots and the ‘never-ending’ music video
“What is a music video? At one time we knew, but no longer; part of the change has to do with media context.” (Carol Vernallis, 2013, p. 208) Music videos didn’t originally begin with MTV, but MTV is what made it into what it is today, but mainly what it was when MTV ruled the music video industry. (Gina Arnold et. al., 2017, p. 3) Today music videos have evolved into whatever the artists want them to be, any piece of video paired with music can arguably be a music video. Some music artists create what MTV once ruled as a good music video: a choreographed dance and lip sync, sometimes paired with some cinematic scenery, that creates a narrative. Others go a less traditional route, with cryptic video clips, and no narrative. But, it is still considered a music video.
Over the years more and more bizarre music videos have been created, some disturbing to watch, and others are simply just difficult to understand and pick apart. But a new approach was created by the music duo Twenty One Pilots, when they, during quarantine, created what is today the longest-ever music video. Running for just over 117 days. That is just over 4264 hours; almost four months. (Leah Asmelash, 2020) The video was created as a live stream on Youtube, put together by clips submitted by fans, and their song “Level Of Concern” played over and over.
The project started out as a ‘never-ending music video’, but it did finally come to an end after 117 days. The duo created a website for fans to submit videos of their art or their dancing, and then later paired it with their song playing on repeat on a live stream on Youtube, beginning on June 21, and ending on December 16. The video came to an end when Josh Dun (one of the two members) decided to light his Christmas tree instead of keeping the server with all the video content stored plugged in. (Emily Carter, 2020)
Sources:
- Carol Vernallis, 2013, Unruly media: Youtube, Music Video, and the New Digital, Oxford University Press, New York. Accessed: 23.11.2022. Available: https://r2.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9780199322176#
- Gina Arnold, Daniel Cookney, Kirsty Fairclough-Isaacs, Michael Goddard, 2017, Music/Video: History, Aesthetics, Media, Bloomsbury Academic, New York. Accessed: 23.11.2022. Available: https://r1.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9781501313929#
- Leah Asmelash, 2020, This is the longest music video of all time – and it would take you more than 4200 hours to watch, CNN entertainment. Accessed: 23.11.2022. Available: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/23/entertainment/twenty-one-pilots-music-video-record-trnd/index.html
- Emily Carter, 2020, Here’s how Twenty One Pilots brought their ‘never-ending’ music video to an end, kerrang.com. Accessed: 23.11.2022. Available: https://www.kerrang.com/heres-how-twenty-one-pilots-brought-their-never-ending-video-to-an-end
Synne Rage
23.11.2022
Digital Audiovisual Media Class Blog 
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