How social is shaping the future of music videos
Having recently signed to production company Caviar, content creator, choreographer and director David Vu shares his thoughts on what makes a music video resonate today
While music videos have gone through a tumultuous transition since MTV’s heyday, the rise of social platforms such as TikTok has seen a fresh wave of creative talent reinvigorate the format in recent years. David Vu is a prime example of this new breed of multi-hyphenate creative, having built a cult following on social and amassed over 25 million likes on his catchy, highly stylised dance videos. “I wear many hats, and it’s because growing up and being a self-taught creative I was trying to figure out what box I fit into and constantly asking myself, who am I?” he says.
Originally from Norway, Vu’s early passion for dance – which he discovered aged 14 after a stint as the captain of his school football team – is the cornerstone of his directorial style today. “I worked my ass off and danced fearlessly, which eventually landed me my first job as a dance instructor when I was 16. It was then I found something even more powerful than performing – creating. Choreographing a piece to match a musical taste and energy became an obsession,” he explains.
While he was a huge admirer of Hollywood directors like Christopher Nolan growing up (“I remember watching Inception and was totally blown away”), when it came to shaping his own practice his key inspiration came from a more surprising source: Zac Efron in High School Musical. “It’s a musical about a teenage boy, a basketball player seemingly blending two of his different worlds – sports and music – which felt so familiar to my own journey. You could say that Troy Bolton was the original flashy, I wanted to be him.”
@davidvooo
