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In the music video for “Hamidashi PARADISE” by You’ll Melt More!, you’re encouraged to take part of it like a game. You choose your favorite member, “drag” the screen to make choices, and get a unique storyline depending on it (and you’ll probably get a bad ending). It’s the most interactive music video I’ve seen:
I could talk for hours about the group “You’ll Melt More!” (for example, former members like Ano and Younapi have proven to be very talented on their own, and now they have Nerun & Nani, a catalog of 75 music videos and a couple of fun side-projects), but this time we need to talk about how their use of interactivity in their “Hamidashi PARADISE” music video can be put in a bigger perspective (I love bigger perspectives).
You know what makes TV channels look out of place on YouTube? You know why there were so many bad music livestreams when everybody was forced online in 2020? Because they make content in third-person view and not in second-person view! They’re not letting you be a part of the event, but only watch it from the side. They want professional, so they think TV, good lighting and multiple camera views, but forget about participation and interaction, which means that you see it all happen, but you’re not there. This can’t be said about You’ll Melt More!’s interactive music video. You’re actually there, and you decide the fate of Younapi, Ano, Chiffon and Kechon by deciding their path from start to finish. I’m not sure if this is the future of music videos, because it’s traditionally a very non-interactive format, and since even live show organizers have a hard time interacting in second-person, asking music videos to do the same may be too big of an ask… But in the end, I think everyone could learn something from trying out second-person interaction, and it really shouldn’t be that hard because that’s how we behave in the physical world (talking to people, being normal, etc. It’s not something we need to adapt to to understand… :)). And the technical limits preventing second-person interaction doesn’t really exist anymore, today we rather have a problem getting enough time to explore all new possibilities with it. So sticking with old standards just because we know them and they’re good enough feel like a waste of time. Which is also why I love You’ll Melt More! – they experiment just for the sake of experimenting! I would much rather give my public service bill to people like them instead of to television producing television for the internet.
Here is my attempt at “playing” the You’ll Melt More! music video:
Unfortunately I lost beacuse the girls got exhausted… But I’m still trying to win, and I still see new scenes every time I do it. (That’s the fun of making your music video into an interactive adventure!)