Polaroid cameras have long become an inseparable part of culture. They can often be seen in movies – both old and new. The music industry is no exception; besides the theme of instant photography being celebrated in many songs, these cameras sometimes appear in music videos as well. Today, we’ll talk about them.
Outkast – Hey Ya!
In this video, you can spot not one, but two cameras – the Spectra and SX-70. There isn’t much of a storyline here, but this video solidified the myth in society that you need to shake a Polaroid picture to make it develop faster. This is mentioned in the line: “Shake it like a Polaroid picture!”, but you actually shouldn’t do this, as it can ruin your photo 🙂
Lady Gaga – Telephone
Here the story is a bit more interesting, as it’s not just a music video for a song, but a full-blown action-packed blockbuster with a prison, murders, and betrayals, clearly inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s works. In this video, the Polaroid One 600 camera makes an appearance, but it wasn’t accidental. Few know that at the time, Lady Gaga became the creative director of Polaroid. Even though the company had fully moved away from analog cameras, and Impossible Project was already entering the market, she chose this camera for her video.
Katy Perry – The One That Got Away
This is a love story, romantic and tragic. The storyline follows an elderly woman recalling the passionate love of her youth. In one scene, the singer photographs the main character using a Polaroid 180 Land Camera. This camera was produced in the late 1960s and used peel-apart film (or Pack Film). The Japanese company Fujifilm was the only one that continued to produce such film for a long time, but production of this format ceased in 2016.
Halsey – Colors
Another love story, this time a forbidden one. The plot follows the main character, secretly in love with her boyfriend's father, spying on him and taking his picture using the SX-70 camera. She keeps the photo in her school locker, where it is accidentally found by the young man. The ending of the video remains open-ended.
Jonas Blue – Polaroid
This is the last video for today 🙁
Another love story, but this time it’s not so controversial. The plot follows a young man who, in the middle of a party, takes a picture of a girl with a Sun 600 camera. The stranger writes her name on the photo and then disappears without leaving any contact information. We then follow a visual novel about how the guy unsuccessfully tries to find the woman from the party, who keeps showing up nearby. The ending leaves much to be interpreted, as it’s unclear whether the main characters got married and had two children together, or if they both found other partners. On this dramatic note, we conclude today’s selection and go search for new videos 🙂
