Interactive video duo Eli Stonberg and Jeff Greco - aka fourclops - have been pairing interactive technology and music since 2012. While they have teamed up on several music videos already, their latest project is an interactive platform called TrueTube that allows fans to create their own video mashups using tracks from Aviciis latest album True (Here is the dumb mashup that we made if you want to see how cool we are). We talked to Eli and Jeff about the project and some of their favorite mashups that have come from the platform.
Doug: Was the concept for TrueTube something you guys came up with, or more of something you were asked to bring to life?
Eli: TrueTube is our original concept. We love remix culture and built a site to allow users to make their own mashups in an easy way. Re-soundtracking videos has been a hobby of ours for a while and so we wanted to bring it to Aviciis fans.
Jeff: As with everything we make, our goal is to enable people to create something. So much of art is about serendipitous happenstance, and we think TrueTube provides a novel way to create and explore some of these coincidences.
Doug: Was there any artist involvement, you were you mainly working with the label on this?
Eli: We mainly worked with the label, Universal Music. They were great to collaborate with as they trusted us and generally let us do our thing once the idea was approved.
Jeff: There was some involvement from his management team too, but once the idea was pitched, the concept was pretty fully formed.
Doug: Did you guys partner with YouTube to make this project happen, or did you just use their platform?
Jeff: We took advantage of the publicly available YouTube APIs.
Doug: I've gone through a lot of these mashups at this point and most of them are really great. Some people were able to find videos that really compliment the song, while others went a different route and created some really hilarious mashups by finding videos that have an opposite tone as the music does. How many of these have you guys watched so far, and were there any the really stood out to you?
Eli: Ive watched a ton of them! Its pretty awesome to see the spectrum of choices that people make. My favorites include Late For Meeting, LED Dancing, Thors Hammer, Cows & Liars & Cows, Kubrick Montage, Inmates Thriller and the funniest of all - Maury You are not the father."
But since this is a music video site, lets highlight some great TrueTube mashups made using music videos.
Ok, You Make Me Go Again
VIDEO: OK Go "Here It Goes Again"
AUDIO: "You Make Me"
Wake me up (before you Go-Go)!
VIDEO: Wham! "Wake Me Up Before You" Go-Go
AUDIO: "Wake Me Up"
You Make Me Want MORE ENERGY!
VIDEO: Luke Million "Arnold"
AUDIO: "You Make Me"
Dear Mum
VIDEO: Múm "sing along"
AUDIO: "Dear Boy"
VIDEO: Taylor Swift "Everything Has Changed" ft. Ed Sheeran
AUDIO: "Wake Me Up"
Dear Rebecca
VIDEO: Rebecca Black "Friday"
AUDIO: "Dear Boy"
and of course, Meta
VIDEO: Avicii "Levels"
AUDIO: "Wake Me Up"
Doug: Do you have any metrics on the site? Like how many mashups were made, what type of videos they're using, or what songs were used most frequently?
Eli: So far there have been close to 2,000 mashups created and unsurprisingly, "Wake Me Up" is the most popular track used. My personal favorite to mashup is You Make Me."
Jeff: One of the most exciting things about Avicii is his truly worldwide reach -- weve had visitors from every corner of the globe, 192 countries at last count. Its pretty wild to think about someone on the Isle of Man boppin to a Hey Brother mashup.
Doug: What is the success of a project like this based on? Are you guys more concerned with the technology working and creating an enjoyable user experience, or are there certain traffic or usage numbers you're hoping to meet?
Jeff: I already feel like this project is a success, judging by the proliferation of videos on the site and across social. TrueTube wouldve been a failure if the audience wasnt able to connect with the concept or work with the tools, and I find it enormously rewarding to go on the site and have my mind blown by a crazy mashup that somebody pulled out of left field.
