Austin Allen

@austin_sf

Austin@bars-tone.com

For this “That’s HOT @ BARS+TONE” I chose 5 videos, from artists I’ve never heard of or listened to, that blew me away with awesome music video greatness.  As a Creative Video Agency, we strive to expand the boundaries of creativity and video production; these videos hit the mark! They are weird, edgy, quirky, musical, and more.

I choose this video for it’s smokey yet eerie look combined with some pretty cool electronic sounds.  The chorus of the song is catchy in a weird sort of way.  Watch their eyes at the end…

This video puts the band members (among others) in some very creative environments.  My favorite one was the head in fishbowl.  I’m not sure what exactly they were going for with this but I love it!

Had to throw this one in for Justin, but really, this is an awesome music video.  The choreography and general weirdness of her videos makes them more interesting than your garden variety pop videos.

I decided to include this video because of the animal puppets.  That’s it.

Nostalgia.  The clothing, dancing, cinematography and music all seem to bring the viewer back to a different place.  The floating in mid air was cool as well.

There you have it. Five awesome music videos that I would argue have broken out of the norm.

Got a cool music video to share? Post it below!

Austin Allen

Marketing and Sales Team

Austin@bars-tone.com

@Austin_sf

When I think of hot videos, I think of extremely hot videos. Here are my 4 hottest videos that will light up any room.  Use caution: May be hot.

A flashlight that can light things on fire! This is awesome.

Everybody loves Kramer! Here he is spilling some HOT coffee on himself.

Here is a pretty spectacular light show in the form of an atom bomb. Boom!

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen…or just don’t eat spicy food.

Got a hot video? Share it below! 

Algy, Office Manager

Rajith@bars-tone.com

When I think of hot Youtube videos, I think of people falling down, getting hurt, or failing at life.  Here are my top failures that keep me laughing throughout the work day.

Jetpack Fail – Need I explain?

An Akward Moment. I wonder what they were up to last night?

Love the comment left on YouTube ” she has something to wine about”

High Jump Fail.  Wow, good try though.

Rowing FAIL. I have rowed for years, and yes i have had my share of catching crabs (not those kind!) This is nuts!

Ninja Fail. Wax on! Wax off!

Got a fail video? Share it below!

Fred Aslami

3D Visual Effects Artist

fred@bars-tone.com

As a 3D Artist, I am constantly looking at other artists’ works for inspiration and ideas on how to excel in not just animation, but emotions as well.  I would like to share 5 Animated videos that inspired me as an animator and I am positive it will push anyone to strive for greatness.

This Short Animated Film didnt just have great animation, but also moved me emotionally and in just a few minutes it captured me into the world that they have created.

This one is a piece of art. It doesn’t use any words to get the message across. Instead, it uses environment and animation to allow the viewer to determine the message that is being sent.

This is the 8th installment of a series of animated shorts about the travels of a small Ninja.  I love this animated series because it shows that even simplicity can be a powerful tool in any animation.

This one exaggerates on the concept of squash and stretch and has its own creative style.

This video was created by one individual over 8 years. It proves that it doesnt take an army to create greatness, just an imagination and determination

Got a cool video to share?!  Leave it in the comments box below!

A look at what videos are hot this week at BARS+TONE.

Curated by Tony Camarena, 3D Visual Effects Artist

tony@bars-tone.com

Here are my Top 5 (relatively recent) examples of creative

CG animation used in Ad Campaigns. Which one is your favorite?

This is my favorite commercial for yet another awesome IKEA campaign!

Is this really what the future holds for advertising?

I really like these simple, Sherwin Williams paint swatch commercials.

I just couldn’t resist at least one intriguing video game trailer…

Check out this Wonka commercial and then head over to the

Wonka YouTube Channel for an interactive journey!

Got a hot video? Don’t be greedy!

Share it in the comments below!

A look at what’s hot this week at BARS+TONE

Curated by Jason Burns, Producer

jason@bars-tone.com

My theme for this week’s THAT’S HOT is high-end user-generated videos. Let’s face it, YouTube has a ton of really bad UGC, so why not hi-light videos that someone actually put thought and time into?

This first video comes from Freddie Wong. He has tons of projects on YouTube and they are all very cool and different. It’s just not something you see every day on YouTube.

This next video shows what you can do with some good framing and proper cuts. Add in some After Effects editing and you have yourself a glorious battle. With the advent of non-linear editing programs the sky is the limit for a savvy creator of video.

Everyone remembers as a kid battling your friends with cardboard tubes as swords, or fake cardboard guns. The maker of this particular video took that concept to a whole new level. Again with a good editing program and a little time you can see how intricate some people can get with their personal video projects.

Look out Hollywood. It doesn’t take 100 million dollars anymore to tell a good story through video or film. This video is particularly intriguing with the use of the building and incorporating real props and mixing them with animation and graphics. This is not your standard cat plays with yarn video.

Got a hot video? Don’t be greedy… share it in the comments below!

A look at what’s hot this week at BARS+TONE

Curated By: Julie Dominguez, Staff Editor

julie@bars-tone.com

There have been so many music videos that influence people and most of the time we can agree on which ones stuck out; but what is being made today?  Here are my top 5 music videos of 2011.

This is my undeniable number one video of the year, so far.  I love the achievement of emotion the video captures.  Beautiful camera work, beautiful dress, girl and moves, yet when you watch it you say to yourself, “how sad that would be to see that’.  The stillness of the patrons incrediably impressive and haunting with an incrediably soulful song.

The visual effects and camera work is what stands out the most to me.  This video was shot with the Panasonic AF100, a fairly new camera that is supposed to be a somewhere between a DSLR and HVX.  The song is great and the video will take you on an interesting sci-fi Shakespearian adventure that I absolutely love.

Why do I love this video so much?  I am an editor…helloooo.  I love when editors take advantage of speed, time and pace to force the footage to work for the song, not the other way around.  This manipulation of time is a true piece of art and compliments the song greatly.

I love learning about new artists and Blood Orange, aka Light Speed Champion, is only new to me. The video has a slow paced, black and white Calvin Klein-esque feel to it, mixed with the slow 80’s synth song combined with beyond hip individuals in the video, it makes for an all around awesome video.

There is not much to say that hasn’t been said about this video.  It has everything: incredible visual effects, awesome cinematography, fashion, makeup, weirdness, the list goes on.  It is on several best of lists and for good reason.  Thank you Lady Gaga!

A look at what’s hot this week at BARS+TONE.

Curated By: David McGinn, Director of Sales

david@bars-tone.com

At their given locations, these videos slow time down and speed time up.  They bring us back in time and remind us that time is of the essence and we don’t have much of it.

We have a filmmaker stuck in a hotel room in Las Vegas with a Phantom Flex Super Slow Motion Camera.  The audio selection for the shots is well-matched and works with the warping effect.

Free Diving Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas – is it real-time or slow-mo?  It is hard to tell because the density of water seems too slow things down.  This video is frightening and haunting on a very primal level. There is some great context for the production of the video by the filmmakers in the commentary. (I think these guys are crazy for what they do but geniuses at documenting it).

Unbelievable Flying Squirrel-Men or Norway Base Jumpers.  These guys are crazy, too. Great mix of real-time video and slow motion.

Beautiful Time-Lapse Photography of the fog playing upon our home here in the Bay Area; simply mesmerizing.  Watch till the end when the Moon goes down!

Location as Character. Turn the volume up on this one!  More haunting desolation here as time has certainly taken its toll on the Old Story Mill in Bozeman Montana!

Awesome project done for Microsoft Xbox by AKQA as a memorial to all of the soldiers who have paid the ultimate price in the game Halo.  Points of light based on global locations, in a studio, captured over time.

Bonus Experience:  Download Google Chrome and check this out.  It will take you back through time to a location where time was on your side…. The Wilderness Downtown

Got a hot video to share? Don’t be greedy, share it below!

A look at what’s hot this week at BARS+TONE

Curated By: Heather Johnson, Senior Producer

heather@bars-tone.com

I like objects and textures. Things real and unreal that come to life. I find it interesting to see how people take these elements and create an emotional moment or tell a story. Well chosen music is another element that I find to be, at times, as important as the visuals.

There is an order to this mixture of objects here that makes me happy.

The music is also perfectly aligned with the motion.

I like marionettes, always have. Again the music moves the story.

The machine is alive…

Lots of different objects, plus my love for San Francisco!

Got a hot video to share? Don’t be greedy, share it below!

A look at what’s hot at BARS+TONE this week…

Curated By: Justin Gonzalez, Marketing Associate

justin@bars-tone.com

@justinSF

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were drowning?

“If something does flash before your eyes it will probably be a fish…”

Just a little bit of tilt-shift for you! A Tiny Day in the Jackson Hole Backcountry…

You also can’t deny that the remix of “Time” is pretty sweet…

Just because we’re a bunch of creatives doesn’t mean we don’t like to learn about genetics!

I just can’t get enough tilt-shifting! Plus the music got me out of my chair dancing…

And finally, The Limosuines… I think my hipster is showing.

Do hipsters even like The Limousines? Who cares – Cool Video!

Got a cool video to share? Don’t be greedy! Post it below…