CCTV, Get Out Clause and iMovie

Jonny Evans
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May 15, 2008
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 What’s a band to do if it hasn’t got the cash to make its own music video and lives in a country with extremely high levels of CCTV? Well, Get Out Clause used state CCTV cameras and their rights to access information to create this clip, (full story, do read on).

I think this is such an ingenious plan that it’s rather fantastic and want to let you know about it. The UK has one of the highest concentrations of CCTV in the world (fact), and new band Get Out Clause needed to make a point, promote themselves and make a video (in that order)...

Here’s what they did:

Unable to afford to make their own music video the band set up and performed their music in front of 80 of the 1,300 CCTV cameras used by British state security - one camera was even on a bus...

Now comes the good part: the band used the UK Data Protection Act - that’s the UK equivalent of US reader’s access to information laws - to request all the footage the state collected of them...

It gets better: the band then took all the clips of them performing in front of those CCTV cameras, spliced it all together in iMovie or something, and created their very own music video.

Thanks to David Atkin at Parliament Hill.

 

 

Comments (11)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 4:28am

Brilliant! iMove, not to be confused with iMovie, is an app created just for splicing CCTV video. Check it out!

Jonny Evans | May 15, 2008 - 4:31am

 ahem...

Joe Bloke (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 4:34am

If you like this kind of positive action, check out The Mark Thomas Project (an old UK Channel 4 series). He did this years ago, alongside organizing balloon rides over restricted military bases and lots of other fun things.

But all the same, good luck to Get Out Clause and any other musicians out there too.

Jonny Evans | May 15, 2008 - 4:36am

 Mark Thomas does do some great things, he's recommended viewing, peeps!!

sfmitch (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 7:34am

This is very cool!

oldskool (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 11:23am

http://www.notbored.org/the-scp.html

;-P

JohnnyK (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 12:46pm

It's really hard to believe that ALL of the shots came from CCTV. The ones that are zoomed in seem too clear and there are often multiple angles of the same thing. Then again, maybe that just proves their point of how many damn cameras there are over there.

Dave (not verified) | May 15, 2008 - 3:47pm

They used the freedom of information act not the data protection act. Come on, for a geek website!

Sipod85 (not verified) | May 16, 2008 - 8:45am

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but the band themselves and their publishing agents have confirmed that this story was in fact a PR stunt, and none of the images were recorded via Manchester CCTV and claimed un the FoI act. The were just made to look that way, but credit where its due, this got national news coverage in the UK which for an "unsigned" band is pretty clever marketing if you ask me.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | May 16, 2008 - 11:16pm

The Frames did this in Ireland (for real) years ago. One of the band members worked in a post office, and they used the CCTV cameras and videotape recorder to make a video after hours. Can't remember which song it was at the moment, but this ain't new.

Jonny Evans | May 17, 2008 - 2:40pm

 Sometimes the communal mind is best, still think it's a class idea, shame in a way, but thanks for the info.