Double Platinum-selling Canadian band, Walk Off The Earth, who are also known for the 150 million views they garnered on YouTube for their “5 Peeps 1 Guitar” cover of the Gotye song, “Somebody That I Used To Know,” collaborated with Volkswagen Canada to release a new, interactive music video for their latest single, “Gang of Rhythm.” only instead of all sharing a single guitar, this time they play a Volkswagen Beetle.
The video, which can be viewed on YouTube and VW.ca features three different versions of the song, in three different locations, with three different models of The Beetle. Buttons in the video let viewers seamlessly jump between locations and songs, making it a three-in-one interactive experience. Each song version has its own distinct feel, inspired by a different Beetle model. One is a more soulful, acoustic rendition to go with The Super Beetle; another is an instrumental version, featuring soaring, electric guitars, matching The Beetle GSR; and a third pairs musical instruments with real car sounds, recorded and looped from The Beetle Convertible.
Filmed over the course of two days in Toronto and Cobourg, Ontario, the three videos place the band in a salt shed, a tunnel, and on a pier. In the version of the video shot on the pier, the band again demonstrates their creative musicianship by playing various parts of the Beetle like musical instruments. All three videos were directed by renowned music video director Wendy Morgan of Untitled Films, Toronto. Agency is Red Urban, Toronto.
Walk Off The Earth first approached Volkswagen Canada and their advertising agency, Red Urban, about the potential of a partnership.
“Volkswagen got a call from the band one day,” said Christina Yu, executive creative director of Red Urban Canada, the creative agency for Volkswagen. “Apparently they are big Volkswagen fans and wanted to collaborate. Volkswagen has a legacy of smart approaches to advertising, and is also very well-known for their use of music. We thought it was a great idea, so immediately started developing the ideas for the video.”
“We always wanted to use the sounds from a car to create a song,” said Gianni Luminati, principal songwriter for the band. “We’re always looking for interesting ways to make music – and music videos – so this was a perfect opportunity for us.”
Walk Off The Earth features multi-instrumentalists Gianni Luminati, Marshall, and Sarah Blackwood on vocals, Taylor on keyboards, and Joel Cassady on drums. Their new album of original songs, R.E.V.O., was released earlier this year on Columbia Records and is certified Gold and debut single “Red Hands” has been certified double platinum.
Lessons From A Theater Near You; What The Box Office Taught Us In 2024
Movie ticket sales took a bit of a hit in 2024. The annual domestic box office is expected to end up at around $8.75 billion, down more than 3% from 2023, according to estimates from Comscore.
It's not as dire as it was in the pandemic years, but it's also not even close to the pre-pandemic norm when the annual box office regularly surpassed $11 billion.
This is the year the business felt the effects of the Hollywood strikes of 2023, the labor standoff that delayed productions and releases and led to a depleted calendar for exhibitors and moviegoers. And yet it's not as bad as it could have been, or at least as bad as analysts projected at the start of the year.
"This has been a really incredible comeback story for the industry," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "Just a couple of months ago it was a question of whether we would even hit $8 billion for the year."
Hollywood continues to learn lessons about what moviegoers really want, what works and what doesn't. Here are the biggest takeaways from 2024.
The strike fallout was real
The Hollywood strikes might have ended in 2023, putting productions back into full swing and sending stars out on the promotional circuit again — but the ripple effect of the work stoppages and contract standoffs showed their real effects on the 2024 release calendar.
The first two quarters were hit hardest, with tentpoles pushed later in the year ("Deadpool & Wolverine," for one) or even into 2025 (like "Mission: Impossible 8"). With no Marvel movie kicking off the summer moviegoing season, the box office was down a devastating 27.5% from 2023 right before "Inside Out 2" opened in June.
"It's an unpredictable business but it... Read More