The best 360-degree music video you’ve ever seen is now available on every headset.
When it comes to embracing new types of media and art, there’s no better music group than the world’s most infamous virtual band, the Gorillaz. The fictional 4-person alt rock group is famous for including inventive content with their albums, something fans have begun to appreciate almost as much as the music itself. They have a rich catalog of award-winning animated music videos, performed live with Madonna via hologram at the 2005 MTV Europe Awards to promote their record Demon Days, and even had augmented reality album art accompany their 2010 release Plastic Beach.
Now the cartoon super-group is celebrating the release of their new single from their upcoming album, Humanz, with what is arguably the best 360-degree music video you’ve ever seen.
The six-minute music video for Saturn Barz (Spirit House) follows the Gorillaz crew as they explore a decrepit mansion Scooby Doo-style when things start to get a little trippy. The rest of the experience can best be described as a cosmic voyage filled to the brim with nightmarish space aliens, demonic slices of pizza and nude images of the bands satanic bassist, Murdoc.
However the true star of this surreal musical journey is the cinematography. Every scene places you right in front of the action ensuring you don’t miss a second of the beautifully animated adventure. The dream-like theme of the video works well in 360°, delivering immersive moments like having the floors of the mansion collapse from underneath your feet into deep space. My favorite shot places the viewer directly on top of a record player as it cuts to each band member standing over us like giants. The video plays masterfully with perspective, giving a real sense of size and scale that really does begin to mess with your mind. In fact the only thing more impressive than the actual video is how easily accessible it is.
The mind-bending interdimensional experience is viewable on virtually (hah) any head-mounted display. So here are the methods for the best possible viewing on every major headset:
HTC Vive and Oculus Rift: Virtual Desktop is not only the best way to watch 360 videos on the Vive and Rift, but the best way to experience the internet as a whole. For a little more work you can also experience it for free by downloading the video, loading it into Vive Video, selecting mono then 360.
Samsung Gear VR: Use Play Cardboard to download the YouTube Cardboard app or simply visit YouTube.com via the Samsung Internet Gear VR app
Google DayDream: Download the official YouTube app. Bada bing, bada boom.
Google Cardboard (IOS or Android): Download the YouTube app while in Cardboard mode. Also bada bing, bada boom.
