A particularly creative video for Bob Dylan’s 1965 hit “Like a Rolling Stone” is still making its rounds today throughout several media outlets. The video, an interactive, 16-channel sampling of lip-synched versions of the song, is not only addictive and awesome, but also it symbolizes the transformation of the music video. Before we get more into the interactive video company that created the video, let’s talk about why this video is so cool.
I assume by now you have clicked the above link and have watched the video. Did you enjoy toggling through the channels? How freaking amazing, right? I can only use colloquialisms to describe my absolute endearment to this video. It’s just so cool. There are 16 television channels to flip through, and several television personalities get in on the act. The channels range from a cooking show to a children’s cartoon. And, according to the video creators, more television shows/personalities want to get in on the video. Soon enough, the interactive, malleable video might expand to a full assortment of television channels. This would create an even more diverse experience for the viewer, who, as video director Vania Heymann describes, are provided with a unique experience of “television … look [ing] back right at us.”
Even Drew Carey gets in on the act.
The video also demonstrates something fundamental about “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan. The song, which is nearly 50 years old, is ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest song of all time (no surprise … self-promotion – just kidding!) It has transcended time. The song is anthemic; it’s a true proclamation. It still maintains the same potency that it had in the 1960s. It is a song about loneliness and the loss of innocence. The themes are germane no matter the decade.
Dylan’s piece works perfectly with the Interlude interactive video. This is not the first time at the rodeo for Interlude. On the website of the company, there are several examples of completed projects. Let’s focus on the music videos. Interlude created an interactive, “choose your own adventure” music video for Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up,” which you can view here.
How do these interactive music videos impact the art of music videos? Well, since the advent of music videos and the consequent propagation on MTV (prior to the channel turning into a source of trashy television), music videos have become more creative and complex. When MTV turned away from music videos, YouTube picked up the slack and provided a format for the videos. The “music video” remained stagnant, though. Interlude’s interactive music videos provides a new generation of creative videos. Instead of providing a 3-4-minute story played to the song, viewers can now actively take part in the viewing/listening experience. This even goes so far as giving listeners an option to choose a cappella or band in the “Keep Your Head Up” video. Is this the new trend in music videos? I hope so.
The Music Court 
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