Music Remains - a history of record. music in 90 sec.

Commissioned by IFPI, representing record labels worldwide, the film was created by music industry creative director Steve Milbourne, working with director Martin Stirling at Unit 9 Films. They built a Rube Goldberg machine showing recorded music technologies changing over the decades. An ingenious chain reaction cascades through the generations, beginning with a gramophone and ending with an iPad.

The film is made in a striking and technically challenging one-shot, ending with a simple message: “You’re the one thing that always remains – music.”

Up-and-coming musician and innovative MC, Pepstar performs lyrics about what recorded music means to him over a soundtrack that moves through iconic music tracks of the last 100 years.

The whole project was filmed in two days in Abbey Road’s Studio No. 2. Behind the scenes, a short “making of” documentary was also made. It shows how the production was put together, the building of the Rube Goldberg Machine and the 48 “takes” that had to be tried before a successful run of the machine was made.

“The idea was to convey the message that, while technology may be continuously changing, recorded music is always at the centre of people’s lives”, says Steve Milbourne. "At the same time, we wanted to it to be a very personal story. Pepstar’s lyrics are about key experiences – from the meeting of our parents to childhood memories, first girlfriends and family tragedy.”

Leading production company Unit9 was employed to produce the piece, with resident Director Martin Stirling and Producer Elliot Tagg helping to bring the idea to life. The Rube Goldberg machine itself was built by London-based art directors Sets Appeal.

The result is a beautiful, technically impressive and compelling one-shot video.

Commenting on the project, IFPI chief executive Frances Moore says: “Music Remains is a celebration of recorded music, but there’s also an educational side to the film as it shows in a world with ever changing technology the constant value of music. We hope people enjoy the film, play it many times and share it with their friends.”

Making of - Music Remains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFIn_mcqxS4