The Making of 'Stop'

With 35k views on YouTube and regular plays on RAGE, the ‘Stop’ music video by Lipstereo is worthy of its ever-gaining attention. The process of making the clip is intriguing, shot in Melbourne and then manipulated in the US by a VJ Glitch artist.

Sam Stranges from the band, Lipstereo, explains how the project came about, and what was involved at the Melbourne end. We then take a look at the intricacy of the VJ rig used to create the artwork and the artist behind the psychedelia.

A Recollection by Sam Stranges

'Stop' was made for “RAGE”. A two-minute punk song, with no message to be found, outside of the externalized teenage angst that permeates the ferocity of the melody.

Now all that was needed was a video to accompany it. Daniel Woods (director) and I have been good mates for several years, and have been talking about video concepts for the band. We settled on an idea that made it feel like a bad green screen video from the 80s, lots of colour, lots of video artifacts, and lots of unflattering close-ups.

We ended up filming it a fair while after recording the song, but it gave us time to nail down the concept and find the right team. Key to this team was YOVOZOL, a glitch artist based in the U.S. who has worked on projects for artists like Cuco and JEFF The Brotherhood.

The actual shoot took place in Jesse’s (our drummer) garage in front of a DIY green screen nestled between the fridge and the bins. We were shooting for about 5 hours, and between all of the band members, we probably played the song a couple of dozen times.

Once the video edit was finalized and the green screen background was removed, we sent off the footage for YOVOZOL to work his magic. And boy, it was magic. A fantastic array of light and color that went above and beyond what we were hoping for.

The response has been amazing on it. Particularly being played for a month on RAGE. It’s definitely helped us get interesting opportunities and connect the audience to us in a visual way.

YOVOZOL the Analogue VJ Video Guy

A twenty-one-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky, Misha Lozovoy, who goes by the moniker of YOVOZOL (his surname spelled backward), is bridging the gap between digital and analog, with a stunning result.

He is primarily known for videography work, but also directs, films, and edits music videos. Yovozol also performs in projecting visuals in real-time concerts, a live audio-visual experience called “VJing.”

An extremely complicated process for anyone less than vid-geek, it requires a combination of digital and analog video effects using both Resolume VJ Software and an analog video hardware effects chain (featuring video mixers and circuit bent enhancers). Simply put, it’s a digital video, sent to an analog device, layered with analog effects, brought back to digital, then with more digital effects added. The artist explains ...

"I use analog video hardware, modified or unmodified, as part of the workflow in my projects. It is true that analog video hardware is a major component in the process that gives my music videos their signature look, but I must say most of my time is spent inside software environments like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, in order to achieve the best possible results with my hardware.” YOVOZOL

A step further than the niche of ‘new media art,’ Yovozol refers to his art as ‘Glitch Art,’ which is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes.

“Glitch art can be an attitude as much as it is a process. Glitch art, in essence, is doing something you are "not supposed to do" with technology or any medium really, so it doesn't have to be limited to analog video!” YOVOZOL

Interestingly, Glitch Art was first recognized in an experimental animated film called "A Colour Box" back in 1935. Everything old is new again.

WATCH YOVOZOL explain his system (not for the feint hearted).