2024

Trump, wars, Oasis ticket prices – a lot of rough stuff went down in 2024. Michael Johnson’s eponymous music video images a world that somehow gets worse after, from which a heroine is sent back in time to rally the world of today to wake up to impending disasters – with a heavy synth rock soundtrack courtesy of Durham band The Heartland Collective to boot.

Taking inspiration from The Terminator, the film opens with footage of a world approaching turmoil. As the anxiety-inducing footage crescendos, a young, otherworldly woman (Ayvianna Snow) is sent back from the future, exploring her new peaceful surroundings and strange customs. It’s not long before she sets about her goal, to warn the world of the danger approaching and rally support to fight back.

As a short music video, 2024 does a solid job of telling a legible, relevant story (which aligns with the song’s lyrics) whilst also leaving enough focus on the music itself to shine. The intense, urgent chorus is animated by the heroine’s fist-pumping rallying cries in the video, with Heartland Collective themselves making appearances via TV screens. The setup of tumultuous footage at the film’s opening suggests a number of reasons for the sending of the messenger, from war to climate change, giving the video a wide context.

Ayvianna Snow is an enigmatic heroine, dolled out in post-apocalyptic gear and makeup that hint at the darkness to come. Her initial intrigue and excitement in her new world comes out in impish fashion, as she fascinates herself with mobile phones on city streets. This gives way to anger and urgency when the realisation kicks in that the new world is in the danger of becoming the one she is already familiar with. It is then when she becomes a vessel for the song’s lyrics – which hint at the seeding of the disasters to come in our indulgences today.

The video is very well produced and directed by Michael Johnson who imbues energy and clarity into the short. The urgency of the opening and conclusion of the short surrounds a focus on Snow’s character, who shines in the world she has been sent back to and stands out amongst the background. The film’s effects and editing also impress, with the time travel realised well and the footage of the world of 2024 looking authentic and convincing.

2024 is a solid music video that does a fine job of accompanying its song. There’s an in-built limit on storytelling due to the genre, but the themes and purpose of the song and worn on the video’s chest and come across powerfully. Ayvianna Snow steals the show with her performance, and really makes the difference in hammering home the urgency of the message that what we do today impacts the world of tomorrow.