Two very important producers came to our attention in 2024. We already highlighted them both in separate articles. Since then they have both won a Barclay Award. Mike Krumlauf has accomplished with his YouTube channel what we rarely see — he has managed to use the music video as a vehicle for telling his life story. An autobiography of sorts.
We never grow tired of watching Mike's work. He is always challenging himself and pushing his style. With every new bit of technology he demonstrates what he has learned by bringing us all along for the ride.
Using a style we call the vérité video — or a slice of life video. Some of his best videos happen when he just sticks his head out of his apartment and records what is happening outside his window. A perfect example of this is a video he calls "Frozen Dreams." Being so technically minded he always lists the equipment he uses. One reason for this is he has a Vlog discussing the state of video technology and how each camera works in different situations. This is what he did with "Frozen Dreams" and another video he calls "Windowlapse." In winter the snow adds contrast and makes any movement more compelling. He shows us his skill behind the camera at the same time he creates a story of his life in Denver with the video "Slow Saturday" set to "Lifelong Song" by Men I trust. Here we have a chance to see how he sees life while he analyzes his camera gear.
But it is with his video "Naperlapse 2" that he takes time lapse photography to a whole new. Here it becomes an abstract show of lights synced to the song "Viva La Vida" from Coldplay. Here it seems he is compressing an entire lifetime into the time for the song to play.
Mike is from Chicago. And he loves his hometown. His music videos say this in a beautiful and not-so-subtle way. He has video collected over the years and re-works these clips into new videos when the time — and technology is right. He is always on top of the tech with his vlog about various camera gear. This allows him to remaster his old video bringing it up to his newer and forever expanding standards.
For example, in a video he calls "Windy" remastered to more modern specifications, he shows us his city in all it's glorious wintry weather. There is no detail that escapes his eye, or his love for his city. He takes us there with him. We are as cold as he is.
He takes it personally when a corporation such as Google comes into his city, guts one of its beautiful buildings by "ripping its personality out." As with most people who love Chicago and call it home, the architecture is part of its soul. When a big corporation comes in and destroys part of the city's history, they feel as if their soul is being ripped apart.
But Mike's soul and heart have solid foundation and can usually be seen in his videos that he includes his husband, Nick. From the beautiful slow-motion video looking outside their window he shows us the brutal Denver winter raging outside. All set to "OverHeated" by Billie Eilish, Mike brings us into the video and keeps us warm and dry as the wild weather moves along with the slow video. Even with a shot of Nick looking outside through a clouded window, we feel the warm of he slow motion and abstract visuals.
When we first find a producer we know nothing except is right in front of us — their video. In Mike Krumlauf if was "Down Down Down" by The Presets. Immediately we were impressed. When it comes to the unofficial music video the quality ranges all over our rating scale. The difference with this video, and all of Mike's videos, is the quality of the production and the considerable amount of time and effort that went into each one.
Mike was awarded the Barclay Award for a collection of work. One of two producers to receive this award for a body of work. He does the typical music video built around a song as you can see above: planned and storyboarded, with costumes and actors working in choreographed fashion. There is nothing typical about them.
As defined in our article about the vérité video this is more of a "slice of life" almost documentary type of production. And he has become a master of this style. One of his best examples of this is the video he calls Element and is set to the song by Gary Jules, "Mad World." Here see pieces of his life or "elements" that make up his life. This very simple production has the camera pan across a table of items that make up his life. Starting with a portrait of himself that would be on any parents shelf, he pans to the computer that makes up his current life. Then transition to his piano keyboard to his computer keyboard. When the music lyrics continues the viewer is able to see the elements of their own life. This is the secret to his videos. He knows how to illustrate the things that everyone has in common. By this time we all have an emotional commitment to what we are seeing.
Editing is where Mike's work shines. He challenges himself to create a story with a difficult song, making it compelling — and fun. We understand that he is his most difficult fan, and he needs to please himself first. In a video he simply calls "My Life" and set to “Crimson” by Pogo. There are hundreds of images edited together here — maybe more. You wouldn't know because we are all drawn into the video.
Mike has not rested on his laurels after winning the Barclay award. In fact, to the contrary he has been very busy experimenting with new videos and visual effects. On his Instagram you can see an experiment he did in late December using AI. Here we see him singing a duet with himself. He says this rough proof of a future project. This is the essential Mike Krumlauf — always experimenting and working on future projects while bringing us all along for the journey.
So what's next? I asked Mike this and he said he wants to explore more scripted videos and films. And he is doing just this. As he continues remastering his older videos he is discovering old ideas that he can transform into completely new projects. The AI video he experimented with on Instagram (see link in previous paragraph) is a concept that may show us where he is headed.
In the meantime, we can see some more traditional narrative videos taking shape from his older work, such as a remastered film short from 2007. He calls this External Memory. Always the tinkerer, he says, "I made this short film when I was 16 years old during the summer of 2007 in my hometown of Naperville, Illinois on the Canon XL2 I owned at the time with a custom anamorphic lens that I made using parts from the 20X stock lens and the Panasonic LA7200 Anamorphic Adapter."
In Frame from 2005 we see his early work as he dove into a narrative script. He says, "I made this short film when I was 15 in late 2005 on the Panasonic DVX100A I had at the time." He did the final editing in 2009. Mike never gives up on an idea, realizing that technology will eventually catch up to his vision. Again, he shows us this vision with a remastered version of a film he made in 2009 called "Pace." This simple and short film set to Elliott Smith's "I Didn't Understand" him wandering lost down a hallway, in slow motion. The nature of the black and white adds a sense of mystery.
In "Lanterns Lit" from 2014, and recently remastered, we see him flex his editing prowess to creat something more modern and original. Here his mixes slow motion, time lapse, and overlapping images to create another mysterious music video. Set to "Lanterns Lit" by Son Lux, here is a video that exudes a sense of melancholia, if not outright sadness, while creating a beautiful video that will resonate with most people.
Mike uses his vlog as a way to create new videos that are really simple chapters in his life story. This video here seems to be another test of a camera lens. But really, it is all the things that add up to his life. As with so many of his beautiful videos, it is made up of things in his everyday life. (Like the rabbits — they are everywhere.) It is no accident that he set this video "Love Beneath the Surface" from Telepath.
All of this is why we awarded Mike our Barclay Award. One of two presented to an artist that has created an entire YouTube channel about his life. Here we get to know the man and the artist — and how both came to be. A project that was years in the making.
What can we see him doing next? Very likely, a full feature film. If his past work is a guide, it will be just as beautiful.
Mike Krumlauf has been on our radar for better then a year now. He has continued to impress us with his style and originality. Just check the links below to see the articles we have written about him. This is why he one of the most important young film artists around today.
The Barclay Award and Mike Krumlauf
A Slice of Life—The Vérité Video
