EmailLike many of us I awoke on Monday morning to a New York Times alert and a slew of text messages. Legendary singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie had died. The man will be remembered for his innovative music and style and as an amazingly unlikely success story. Often overlooked in Bowie’s success story is his mastery of the art of video. Bowie saw the potential in video as a mode of communication between him and his audience. That’s just what New York Times reporter writes on today highlighting some of Bowie's best efforts in video, and his impact on the medium.
At his core, Bowie was a storyteller, and his music videos were a synthesis of elements that made his work compelling art. As a video artist, his style was as eclectic as his music — using elements of style from expressionism to neorealism. Ever the mysterious showman, Bowie released his final album last week on his 69th birthday. Along with it another video. I watched the video on that Friday, and then again yesterday when I heard the news, and my take on it couldn’t be more different than it was before. The skillful artist was at it one more time — leaving us a cryptic goodbye in the form of video. Communicating through sound and image what he could not say otherwise.
Check out some of his best videos from the NYT.
-Brett Savaglio, Head of Social Media, TheVJ.com
Featured Courses
Recent Posts
The Uber-ization of Content
May 26, 2023
The world of television before cable had been limited to 3 networks and a handful of local TV stations. But the advent of cable meant that suddenly there were 60, 70 soon to be 100 or more new channels. And all of those channels needed content. But where were they going to get it from? A huge market for content had just opened up.
What TV News Can Learn From Netflix
May 22, 2023
Q: What do TV news and Netflix have in common? A: They both appear on the same screen. They both tell stories.
No News is Bad News
May 15, 2023
This morning, I went out early to buy my copy of the weekend FT — a great newspaper, by the way. I was a bit surprised to see that my regular newsstand, on 6th Avenue and 55th Street, had exactly 3 newspapers for sale — one copy of Baron’s and two copies of The New York Post. That was it. No FT, no NY Times, no Washington Post, no… nothing.