Whilst slacking in the gym the other day and watching the tv up on wall, this music video started playing and it blew me away. At first I thought the video was brand new, never having seen it before, but I later found out this was released late in 2010, reaching only 15 in the UK Charts.
Yeah it’s got Rihanna being sexy, Kid Cudi jumping in and Kanye giving it fishstick lyrics, which for most is enough to sell the song, but it truly is the video’s representation of the key theme, lights, that is absolutely fucking awesome!
I feel as though every font that has ever existed is in this video. The neon, bright colours and speed of transitions is sensationally funky, the flashing lights burning an image into the back of my eyes. Influence is noticeable from all walks of life, Las Vegas, decades of computer graphics, nightclubs, films, album covers, you name it; it’s there. Even the black background does a brilliant job of contrasting against the brightness of the text, allowing for the screen to feel it’s actually projecting a luminescent source.
Japanese Signs
Las Vegas Strip
80s TV Influences – Miami Vice
For me, lights have always been a design clincher, whether it’s a few LEDs thrown into a computer case, night lighting for a patio to high visibility beams, such as those used for 9/11 remembrance.
Testing DMG lighting mod
Patio lighting
World Trade Center memorial
Lights are able to draw attention, could be towards themselves or to certain objects being showcased. They can take something that may seem dull, and instantly make it appear euphoric at the press of a button. There is nothing that comes close to how much a dramatic change light is capable of, for any object in any situation.
Well done to the creators of the video for creating such a stimulating feeling I now get every time I watch it.