I really enjoyed this reading as it expressed the very fine line that successful music videos have to tightrope along; having a video that enhances the viewers image and relationship with the song, while not overpowering it, forcing the song to become background sound.

This is a really interesting message and it is very easy to picture music videos that are successful and unsuccessful at this. The first that comes to mind are the videos of OK Go, a band that are universally known for their amazing and increasingly elaborate music videos, but completely overshadow the music and you quickly stop paying attention to the music that the video is supposed to be accompanying. However, there is a counterargument that Varnellis does not address in the book, that extreme music videos that have a mass viral pull like the OK Go videos become such large entities in their own right that the band become successful because of them, a band that with all due respect would most likely not be as well known without these videos. It is an interesting dilemma for bands to make, one where I think it is crucial that the artist is a large part of the video making process so they are not just a vessel for an overbearing director to impose their will on the video.

The most powerful music videos I think are ones that capture the mood of the song, increasing the emotional impact of the music and the lyrics, while at the same time having iconic, painting like images that stay with you long after the video has ended and comes to mind whenever you hear the song. Simple!

“The beauty of doing film is that you construct whatever you do block by block and you can build something that will stay.” – Michel Gondry.