This was originally posted 16 years ago. Opinions, facts and reality may have changed.
19.08.10: Updated with link (see end):
The new video for Arcade Fire‘s “The Wilderness Downtown” has to be seen to be truly understood… but I’ll attempt to explain it.
The video is an online multimedia extravaganza, with every version tailored to be personal to the viewer. When you visit the web site, it asks for the address of where you grew up (though, of course, you can give it any location) and then uses online mapping footage of that address within the video.
Windows pop-up and move about all over the screen, containing animation, video or, at one point, an interface window where you’re invited to send a message to your younger self (this in itself then becomes part of the video).
But before you rush off to view it – and whether you’re a fan of Arcade Fire or not, I recommend you do take a look – the cutting-edge nature of the site means that it is only guaranteed to work in Google’s Chrome browser, indeed some members of the Google Team are credited with helping “build” the video.
Is this the future? To some degree, yes. “Standard” promotional videos will always have a place – on MTV and its ilk – but as we move to a world where interaction with our “television” becomes increasingly-common, then multimedia, user-created works such as this will become less of a sensation. And I can’t wait to see what someone comes up with then.
Much kudos to director Chris Milk for his work.