"Song for Someone" (Virtual Reality Version) [03:54]
Links to Video
Song for Someone – 360 Version‘There is a light, don’t let it go out…’ Without leaving their homes, singers around the world join Adam, Larry, The Edge and Bono on the #U2ieTour stage for an extraordinary interpretation of #SongForSomeone by director Chris Milk. U2, Vrse & Apple Music reimagining the music video. You’ve got to see it to believe it… and you still might not.For the full VR experience, download GearVR in the Oculus Store or the Vrse app on your phone at vrse.com.
Posted by U2 on Thursday, November 12, 2015
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Video Information
This video was a virtual reality video, in which you can look all around you to see the video if played on the right media. The video was directed by Chris Milk, who previously directed the video for “The Saints are Coming”. The video first premiered at the #U2ieTour, on a bus called The Experience Bus. The bus which had an outer video wall, also contained multiple viewing stations inside with virtual reality head sets. The video starts out with just The Edge playing in one direction, then we see Bono come in 90 degrees on the right from the Edge, and slowly you see Larry and Adam fill in behind you if watching Bono and the Edge. It’s like you are sitting in the center of them while they play around you on stage. The video of them was shot at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto Ontario on July 6, 2015. It features them playing on the e-Stage during a rehearsal.
But the video continues, and slowly you fade to other people playing the song around the world. It includes performers in Yellowstone Park (USA), New York (NY, USA), Paris (France), Bangalore (India), Kanchanaburi (Thailand), Vancouver (BC, Canada), Hacienda Heights (CA, USA), Shaharut (Israel), Barcelona (Spain) and Los Angeles (CA, USA) performing the song. Adam Clayton can see joining the performers in Hacienda Heights, and the Edge joins the performers in Los Angeles. The choir in Barcelona is known as the MuOM Barcelona Overtone Singing Choir. The group in Hacienda Heights is known as the Mariachi Divas. Additional footage was filmed, including footage of a fan by the name of Amanda Dobos, singing in Los Angeles, when Bono joined her in her apartment. All told, there were three different crews in three different time zones capturing footage of people who’d responded to the band’s call for submissions online or whom the producers had found on the web. The submission call had been made by U2 through Facebook, on March 19, 2015. That post read as follows:
Sing and Share Your Version Of U2’s #SongForSomeone. We’ll be showcasing some of the performances.Recently fans have been posting some beautiful, personal versions of ‘Song For Someone’. Over the next ten days we’re on the lookout for performances being uploaded by people all over the world. Want to get involved?
Here’s what to film: – Shoot the video in a room that’s all about you – could be a bedroom, a basement, a garage. Could be any room but it needs to feel personal to you. – Set your camera to record, sing the song and give it your all. – Sing it solo or jam with an instrument. – Let your personality and passion shine through, your country and culture. Make #SongForSomeone your song.
Here’s how to submit: 1) Once you’ve shot your performance: – Upload the video online (YouTube, FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc..). – Use the hashtag #SongForSomeone – Use the #hashtag for your country of residence (eg. #Australia #Brazil #India, #Tanzania etc…) Your video should include the copy like this: #SongForSomeone #Canada
2) Verify your submission by emailing songforsomeoneU2@gmail.com and include: – a link to the platform where you’ve posted your video – Your name – Your phone number – Your email – Your location
The video actually includes performances mixed with U2’s own. As we see these “passengers” join the song, the audio switches to them, before U2 comes back into the mix.
The video was first made available only on The Experience Bus, on October 25, 2015. The following day, it was made available in the Vrse app – a virtual reality app, which allowed you to view the video on your phone, and the audio and the video you saw would be different depending on which way the phone faced. On November 12, 2015, a version also appeared on Facebook, which allowed the user to drag the video around to control what view was visible.
Video Shooting Locations
Additional Screen Captures
Video Credits
- Director: Chris Milk
- Producer: Ari Palitz