Sarah McLachlan's $150,000 music video at DVinfo.net

Keith Loh · October 26th, 2004, 05:40 PM

Sarah McLachlan took the $150,000 budget for her new video "World on Fire", spent $1730, and donated the rest of it to worthy causes instead.

http://www.worldonfire.ca/

The video is just her sitting on a chair singing and playing intercut with stock video of the worthy causes she donated to, what parts of the production she skipped to save money.

Win win. She gets the publicity, the causes get money

Richard Alvarez · October 26th, 2004, 06:39 PM

Nice video. Puts me in mind of the old saying "To whom much is given, much is expected..." Wish some corporations would follow suit.

Joe Carney · October 26th, 2004, 09:34 PM

Great video,without being preachy. I wonder if all the Hollywood unions are upset?

Christopher C. Murphy · October 27th, 2004, 06:46 AM

Cool, $15....maybe we can all get some work on this board? lol

What would be even greater? She should have challenged other artists to do the same at the end of the video. If everyone did that for 1 year...that would practically solve world hunger for a year. (billions of dollars would buy a lot of medicine and food)

Murph

Richard Alvarez · October 27th, 2004, 06:51 AM

Yeah, but like I said, the challenge should go to more than just other artists.

Imagine a CEO of a huge corporation, giving up even HALF of his year end bonus, and challenging others to do the same.

The video does have the unfortunate, and I assume unintended, implication that the workers in the industry are overpaid. A stronger message might have been "Instead of buying neat toy's, I sent the money to worthy causes" _ Because face it, not many people are going to have $150k in production fees to send somewhere else. If you want people to follow suit, you should couch it in more relevant terms. "Instead of buying the next great video game, your money could feed an orphan for a year... " that sort of thing. I am sure that's her intent, but not certain it is put forth in the best possible way.

All in all, still a powerfull message.

Keith Loh · October 27th, 2004, 09:42 AM

I get your point.

Maybe in another video, all of the people could be said to have 'donated' their fees themselves rather than the artist forego their valuable work.

Joe Carney · October 27th, 2004, 11:41 AM

<<What would be even greater? She should have challenged other artists to do the same at the end of the video. If everyone did that for 1 year...that would practically solve world hunger for a year. (billions of dollars would buy a lot of medicine and food)
<<

That would have turned the tone of the video from personal mission to self rightous fingerpointing (you know, like most animal rights activists). She was simply letting us know what she did and hopes to inspire, not condemn or ridicule. My only worry is others will user her video as an excuse to pont fingers, missing the entire point.

Christopher C. Murphy · October 27th, 2004, 12:12 PM

Come to think of it, this isn't very new..per say. Band Aid, Live Aid...all those things had videos on MTV too. Everything went to charity, and they were produced with slick productions. They were just single camera type stuff.

Murph

Richard Alvarez · October 27th, 2004, 12:14 PM

Right you are Joe. I really think its an admirable concept, well enough executed. I like the links to the organizations so you can do the same.

I think, just somehow... it came up a little bit short of perfect. Mostly for the reasons we've talked about that will leave it open for misinterpretation or abuse. Not quite sure how to prevent that in the long run anyway.

John Hudson · October 27th, 2004, 05:28 PM

What was the $1730 spent on?

Imran Zaidi · October 27th, 2004, 09:46 PM

You know, that's a darn good question. Where the heck did the $1730 go? Maybe deluxe food for the crew catered by the vegan chef that accompanies her on the road? (Saw it on the Food Network).

--Edit--

I didn't mean that to sound sarcastic. I respect what she's doing - there's no room for cynicism in charity.

Keith Loh · October 28th, 2004, 10:16 AM

The 2D animation at the end was probably part of it.

Dan Uneken · October 29th, 2004, 10:36 AM

Let's all give up our DV plaything and donate.
Big question is, do individual actions make any difference?
It's human nature that makes us keep what we have and makes us want more.
No solution. Not ever.

Keith Loh · October 29th, 2004, 11:20 AM

So philosophical.

I think what you can do is try and regulate what you *think* you need and reduce your choices to what is necessary.

Imran Zaidi · October 29th, 2004, 11:45 AM

The tides of change start one person at a time.

Remember when we all thought U2 (I think) was stupid for refusing to pack their CDs in those awful, wasteful boxes? The vendors hated it. A CD pack that's only as big as the CD, and not a whole foot long? Crazy! Now we all use 'em.

One person at a time. And likewise, cynicism spreads cynicism.

October 26th, 2004, 05:40 PM	#1
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Sarah McLachlan's $150,000 music video Sarah McLachlan took the $150,000 budget for her new video "World on Fire", spent $1730, and donated the rest of it to worthy causes instead. http://www.worldonfire.ca/ The video is just her sitting on a chair singing and playing intercut with stock video of the worthy causes she donated to, what parts of the production she skipped to save money. Win win. She gets the publicity, the causes get money __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

October 27th, 2004, 06:46 AM	#4
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	Cool, $15....maybe we can all get some work on this board? lol What would be even greater? She should have challenged other artists to do the same at the end of the video. If everyone did that for 1 year...that would practically solve world hunger for a year. (billions of dollars would buy a lot of medicine and food) Murph __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

October 27th, 2004, 09:42 AM	#6
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	I get your point. Maybe in another video, all of the people could be said to have 'donated' their fees themselves rather than the artist forego their valuable work. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

October 27th, 2004, 12:12 PM	#8
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	Come to think of it, this isn't very new..per say. Band Aid, Live Aid...all those things had videos on MTV too. Everything went to charity, and they were produced with slick productions. They were just single camera type stuff. Murph __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

October 28th, 2004, 10:16 AM	#12
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	The 2D animation at the end was probably part of it. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

October 26th, 2004, 06:39 PM	#2
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Nice video. Puts me in mind of the old saying "To whom much is given, much is expected..." Wish some corporations would follow suit.

October 26th, 2004, 09:34 PM	#3
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	Great video,without being preachy. I wonder if all the Hollywood unions are upset?

October 27th, 2004, 06:51 AM	#5
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Yeah, but like I said, the challenge should go to more than just other artists. Imagine a CEO of a huge corporation, giving up even HALF of his year end bonus, and challenging others to do the same. The video does have the unfortunate, and I assume unintended, implication that the workers in the industry are overpaid. A stronger message might have been "Instead of buying neat toy's, I sent the money to worthy causes" _ Because face it, not many people are going to have $150k in production fees to send somewhere else. If you want people to follow suit, you should couch it in more relevant terms. "Instead of buying the next great video game, your money could feed an orphan for a year... " that sort of thing. I am sure that's her intent, but not certain it is put forth in the best possible way. All in all, still a powerfull message.

October 27th, 2004, 11:41 AM	#7
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	<<What would be even greater? She should have challenged other artists to do the same at the end of the video. If everyone did that for 1 year...that would practically solve world hunger for a year. (billions of dollars would buy a lot of medicine and food) << That would have turned the tone of the video from personal mission to self rightous fingerpointing (you know, like most animal rights activists). She was simply letting us know what she did and hopes to inspire, not condemn or ridicule. My only worry is others will user her video as an excuse to pont fingers, missing the entire point.

October 27th, 2004, 12:14 PM	#9
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Right you are Joe. I really think its an admirable concept, well enough executed. I like the links to the organizations so you can do the same. I think, just somehow... it came up a little bit short of perfect. Mostly for the reasons we've talked about that will leave it open for misinterpretation or abuse. Not quite sure how to prevent that in the long run anyway.

October 27th, 2004, 05:28 PM	#10
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	What was the $1730 spent on?

October 27th, 2004, 09:46 PM	#11
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	You know, that's a darn good question. Where the heck did the $1730 go? Maybe deluxe food for the crew catered by the vegan chef that accompanies her on the road? (Saw it on the Food Network). --Edit-- I didn't mean that to sound sarcastic. I respect what she's doing - there's no room for cynicism in charity.

October 29th, 2004, 10:36 AM	#13
Dan Uneken Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andalucia, Spain Posts: 301	Let's all give up our DV plaything and donate. Big question is, do individual actions make any difference? It's human nature that makes us keep what we have and makes us want more. No solution. Not ever. __________________ Film & TV locations & production Spain http://www.fotofilmvideo.com/

October 29th, 2004, 11:20 AM	#14
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	So philosophical. I think what you can do is try and regulate what you think you need and reduce your choices to what is necessary. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

October 29th, 2004, 11:45 AM	#15
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	The tides of change start one person at a time. Remember when we all thought U2 (I think) was stupid for refusing to pack their CDs in those awful, wasteful boxes? The vendors hated it. A CD pack that's only as big as the CD, and not a whole foot long? Crazy! Now we all use 'em. One person at a time. And likewise, cynicism spreads cynicism.