Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda debuted his solo project Fort Minor almost ten years ago. Well he’s back on the music scene and debuted a 360 VR music video titled “WELCOME” this week.
Shot on the boardwalk of Venice Beach, California, we see Shinoda in his true Fort Minor spirit: great artwork, strong beats, and meaningful lyrics. But in WELCOME we see a different side of Shinoda, the ability to see virtual reality in an artistic form.
Much like Bjork’s Stonemilker video, Shinoda uses virtual reality to tell a story, a story about outcasts and not fitting in according to director Jeff Nicolas from Uprising Creative. Nicolas in an exclusive interview with Mashable said it’s about “Being able to explore how we can create empathy and a sense of community within this space, especially in relation to this song, was really inspiring.”
Last month we saw Mike Shinoda along with DJ Joe Hahn speak at Collision Conference where they talked about how they’re exploring the VR space more and especially on how it opens up a lot more possibilities to connect with their fans. We think that’s exactly what Shinoda wanted to achieve with WELCOME. The ability for fans to see the passion behind the vinyl jacket mural he paints, his friends he hangs out with on the boardwalk, and him seeing skaters at the infamous skate park in Venice. This is all accessible to fans around the world who can see his WELCOME immersive video on desktop or with Google Cardboard VR.
We’re starting to notice a pretty good formula when it comes to the music industry and virtual reality:
Amazing Artist/Band + Talented Director + Immersive Story + VR Technology = AWESOME
With Bjork, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Fort Miner releasing virtual reality videos. We can’t wait to see who pops up next!
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