New Directions in Music Video: Vincent Moon and the ‘ascetic aesthetic’

This article takes the form of a case study on the work of French filmmaker and music video director Vincent Moon, and his ‘Takeaway Shows’ at the video podcast site La Blogothèque. This discussion examines the state, and status, of music video as a dynamic mode of convergent screen media today. It is argued that the recent shift of music video online represents a revival of music video—its form and aesthetics— together with a rejuvenation of music video scholarship. The emergence of the ‘ascetic aesthetic’ is offered as a new paradigm for music video far removed from that of the postmodern MTV model. In this context, new music video production intersects with notions of immediacy, authenticity and globalised film practice. Here, convergent music video is enabled by the network of Web 2.0 and facilitated by the trend towards amateur content, participatory media and Creative Commons licensing. The pedagogical implications of teaching new music video within screen media arts curricula is highlighted as a trajectory of this research.