Strategic insights
How to Create an Interactive Music Video

Music videos are traditionally something you either see or listen to - or both. But is that really the only way? What if you could touch it? Interact with it?

Soy tu Aire is an interactive music video. Instead of just playing a song about showing some visuals, you get to create your own by the movement of your mouse. The music, the flow, and what happens is the same, but you decide where it happens on the screen.

From an artistic point of view, it is very well made. (try it)

It's pretty good, but not great

Things like this are pretty impressive, and I am not surprised that it got nominated as the FWA site of the month. But isn't great, because they are not using the real power of the web. It's still just a traditional form of music video, mixed with some fancy flash animations.

If they wanted to create a really great experience, they should have done 4 things:

• Allow people to control the experience, rather than simply manipulate the surface. Give people the power to create a personal music video. React with the speed of movement, and change the music accordingly. Allow people to control when it's just a line, and when it is much more than that. Based on the type of movement they make. E.g. a rhythmic movement brings out the music notes, and small fish. While a swirling upward movement brings out the butterflies. A sudden stop, gives you either a splash or a kiss.
• Share it. Allow people to share what they did, record it, and store that recording, so that people can show their friends what they made. The music video already records what you are doing, but it forgets it the moment you leave the site. A simply step like this could have done so much more.
• Build a community. Create a section where people can explore what other people made. Let them rate it, share it, discuss it. Allow people to follow you on Facebook and Twitter. Automatically upload user videos to Youtube, and mix the social worlds together.
• Join the fun. The artist herself (himself?) should do the same. Create their own version, comment on what people made, and engage in the discussion.

Doing this, and you could (possibly) turn it into a movement, instead of just a fancy song.