Sound CheckYoung Empires release Facebook Connect’s first interactive music video
Ever wanted to star in a music video? With a little help from a Toronto band named Young Empires, now you can!
By getting the user involved through the use of their Facebook pictures, Young Empires have found a way, with the help of Facebook Connect, to incorporate their fans into their latest music video, "White Doves."
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When you visit "WHITEDOVES.ME," a window opens asking you to connect to the video through your Facebook account and asks for your permission to access your photos and basic information. It then requires you to name your closest friend and then spits out a video featuring your photos burning, flying around railroad tracks, and finally, posted on a bulletin board. There's even a surprise appearance of the user's name in an unsuspecting place.
This cool and creative use of technology comes courtesy of directors Miles Jay and Derek Blais, who have been responding to fans since the video's release and thanking them for their support and love for the project. In addition, the song "White Doves" comes from Young Empires' debut EP, "Wake All My Youth," and received an epic performance on George Strombolopolous' "Tonight" last February.
Fans think that this video experience is "brilliant" and have left comments on the band's Facebook page like, "That is awesome! I didn't expect it to be that fun! Great idea," and, "Genius. Nice work."
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Young Empires began their musical journey in October 2009 and currently consists of Toronto-based members Robert Aaron Ellingson, Jake Palahnuk, Taylor Hill and Matthew Vlahovich.
According to NME Magazine, their music is "the summation of this generation's achievement in rock," and their sound has been self-described as "world beat haute rock." Which, in co-founding member Palahnuk's opinion, is a combination of, "music that makes you feel sexy and makes you feel good," and, "the kind of music where you want to walk down the sidewalk, and you want to strut like you're in a fashion show."
The first time that we saw the capabilities of Facebook Connect was during Intel's launch of the 2011 application, "The Museum of Me." With this stunning app, Intel and Facebook managed to turn a user's history into a gorgeous museum exhibition featuring their photos, global positioning, most used words and "Liked" media.
Check out the non-interactive version of "White Doves" featured below and head here for your own interactive music video debut. You can also learn more about Young Empires and their upcoming Canadian gigs by heading here.
