Will "data moshing" become the new fisheye lens? The new distinctive element that every hip video must have? Probably not, but it did provide the music video equivalent of the great space race. Directors Ray Tintori and Nabil both had clips in production that used this unusual and largely unseen technique. Tintori's hit the interwebs first by a few days: His video for Charlift "Evident Utensil" is an extended foray into the fractured possibilities of data moshing, a method of f'ing with digital compression rates and keyframes to create a sort of pixellated alternate universe. It's a perfect demonstration of the technique, no doubt — it's probably the first video you'll point to if you need to show an example of data moshing — but Nabil's clip for Kanye West "Welcome To Heartbreak" shows how the effect can be used in the context of a broader music video. Nabil mixes up the pixels, but also works in other digital distortions to convey the underlying psychic fracturing that propels the lyrical and emotional drive of Kanye's performance and lyrics. "Welcome To Heartbreak" is not about "data moshing;" it's a video that just happens to use that technique to communicate how a brain and your emotions may be just as susceptible to interference and static and distortions as any piece of videotaped footage or digital data.
As to who came first? Well, as Chairlift graciously notes on their MySpace post about the video, the technique is based on the work of artists Takeshi Murata and aPpRoPiRaTe, so the debate is really just about who brought the idea to the music video world, which seems kinda minor in the grand scheme of things. Being the first to debut a cool and influential look is surely a very big thing for one's career — just ask Hype Williams and his trusty fisheye lens. But, the race to watch will be which director is the first to use the effect past its sell-by date. Probably won't be for a little while, but time is just another bit of data in the internet age. It's malleable and amorphous and moshable. So, be careful out there. --> watch "Welcome To Heartbreak"
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Kanye West "Welcome To Heartbreak" (Roc-A-Fella/IDJMG)
Nabil, director | Kathleen Heffernan and Keely Gould, producers | Partizan, production co | Josh Reis + Nabil, DP | Ryan Bartley, editor | Ghost Town Media, post
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