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SKYND: Elisa Lam (2018)
Nice outfits, vocals and overall aesthetics but was this really necessary?
The band's choice of attire for the video is undeniably striking, creating a visually engaging atmosphere that complements the eerie tone of the video. The singer's vocals are delivered with a haunting quality that adds to the overall ambiance. However, the video's attempt to explore the mysterious and tragic story of Elisa Lam falls short in terms of narrative depth and sensitivity. Despite the visually captivating elements, the narrative feels disjointed and leans heavily on shock value, reducing a real-life tragedy to a spectacle for entertainment. It also doesn't help that there were some parts of the video that reminded me of a certain video that was intended to ridicule Elisa Lam's infamous elevator video on Youtube.
"Elisa Lam" by SKYND succeeds in certain visual aspects, but the overall impact is marred by a lack of substantive storytelling and a failure to handle the delicate subject matter with the respect it deserves.
SKYND: Bianca Devins (2023)
A "true crime band" endorsing art theft. Irony...
Dear SKYND and Skyndicates,
AI art and true crime should be kept as separate as possible.
I'll try not to repeat the words as many people who have criticised this music video and pointed out how it is so ironic that a "true crime band" like SKYND said yes to have AI be featured in their latest music video. But boy, where to start?
It is mind-boggling how SKYND, a band I adored for so many years, pretty much refused to do even the tiniest bit of research of the controversy surrounding AI art and why so many artists hate it so much. And NO, just because other bands like Disturbed, Linkin Park or Die Antwoord also made videos using AI doesn't make the whole thing becomes less unethical. Several of the most high-profile AI art generators out there work by taking the prompts they're fed and gathering related images, before putting out a result based on those images. Many artists are upset by these systems bordering on plagiarism, as they're being used to essentially copy an artist's style with no credit or source give (watch "Why Artists are Fed Up with AI Art" by SamDoesArts and "Artificial Intelligence" by John Oliver).
TL;DR Music video is bad because it's using actual work from actual artists without payment or credit to create those AI images and the tragic story involving a 17-year-old victim of a horrorfying crime is thrown into this mix. The AI images that are supposed to look like Bianca Devins in the video barely looks anything like her, that's how bad it is.
I sincerely hope Bianca Devin's family and friends will never see this video.
1/10 stars from me.