You Tube duo have a golden hit on their hands

[Guest whalesfood]

i didn't say they needed to be an uber fan. and yes it's this newspaper and not something bigger but it still draws attention to them. read the attitude they had towards the contest. they were not interested in the fact that they were doing it to meet mika or the points etc.. they were doing it purely just to win. they are the youtube kind that only do things for attention. they are making it clear they won the competition as much as they can. it's not "hey! we won! we get to meet mika!" it's "hey! we won! look at our youtube channel"

[mikalollipop_karla]

¬¬'

[Mika4Life13]

People are already tweeting the link to the article to Mika - I guess there are a lot of annoyed fans out there.

 

Finding you have been competing against professional film-makers isn't nice

Uuugghh..

[Mika4Life13]

You know, there are all kinds of fans out there, some sing, some paint, some make amazing costumes and some obviously make films.

 

I don't think we can assume they aren't fans, as that word does not only include DIE-HARD UBER-FANS who hang out here on MFC or on MS all the time.

 

And the newspaper article is in the Strabane Chronicle not the New York Times...you know, if these guys have started out small, and then got recognised for what is actually a great video (and one of the vids I tipped to win:wink2:) it is not like they won $5000 or anything... and sure they get a bit of recognition, but so do the other video winners, who might be able to use their videos on their resume when they want to become filmmakers in the future...WHO KNOWS???

 

And as long as they didn't break any rules, then it really isn't anything to get our knickers in a knot over

 

IMHO:biggrin2:

I didn't actually watch their video, but when they described it as "hiding their mika fan-ness behind rockstar poster like kirt cobaine" or whatever, I'm sorry but that is B.S , are you embarassed to be a mika fan? Do you not want to get made fun of? Like honestly, rep it. Show your pride, don't be a coward, Like whatever music you want to like, you don't have to listen to rihanna and horrible crap like that just to "fit in" Hell, i listen to the Beatles, I'm not exactly "fitting in" myself, but I don't care because when i listen to my iPod, I know I am listening to quality, A+ Music.

 

 

my 2 cents.

[lollipop_monkey]

You know, there are all kinds of fans out there, some sing, some paint, some make amazing costumes and some obviously make films.

 

I don't think we can assume they aren't fans, as that word does not only include DIE-HARD UBER-FANS who hang out here on MFC or on MS all the time.

 

And the newspaper article is in the Strabane Chronicle not the New York Times...you know, if these guys have started out small, and then got recognised for what is actually a great video (and one of the vids I tipped to win:wink2:) it is not like they won $5000 or anything... and sure they get a bit of recognition, but so do the other video winners, who might be able to use their videos on their resume when they want to become filmmakers in the future...WHO KNOWS???

 

And as long as they didn't break any rules, then it really isn't anything to get our knickers in a knot over

 

IMHO:biggrin2:

 

 

 

My thoughts exactly!

 

I didn't actually watch their video, but when they described it as "hiding their mika fan-ness behind rockstar poster like kirt cobaine" or whatever, I'm sorry but that is B.S , are you embarassed to be a mika fan? Do you not want to get made fun of? Like honestly, rep it. Show your pride, don't be a coward, Like whatever music you want to like, you don't have to listen to rihanna and horrible crap like that just to "fit in" Hell, i listen to the Beatles, I'm not exactly "fitting in" myself, but I don't care because when i listen to my iPod, I know I am listening to quality, A+ Music.

 

Oh, you really should watch the video. It's not at all about being "embarassed to be a Mika fan" - it's just a concept for the video. And IMHO, a very well-executed concept.

[Christine]

Where in this article does it say they are professional filmmakers? Aspiring does not a professional make. We've got aspiring filmmakers on MFC who entered the competition as well. They only have 60,000 hits on their videos in 2 years so it is extremely unlikely they are making any kind of living at this.

 

well, i'll be in belfast, i can go and ask them.

 

That was my first thought too. If they weren't big fans before surely they will be after they see a gig and have a chat with Da Mastah.

 

imo it IS a great video, and it's mika's style, with the flying into space on the bed and everything - i'd never have thought that these guys weren't fans.

 

Well exactly. If they are that interested in Mika's work that they would do this kind of research, etc. my first assumption would be that they must admire him on some level.

 

and seeing as they wanted to win i'm sure they did. they are making it very public that they won. that gets them recognition. which is better than money if you're an aspiring anything.

 

But what is wrong with that? Part of the top prize was to have their video permanently featured on Mikasounds and Mika even spoke of getting the video on television. He was using this type of recognition to entice people to enter the competition. It wasn't all about a meet and greet.

 

I think they aren't fans per se, just a couple of guys who saw the comp, and because they make their own videos regularly, thought they'd go for it.

Totally unfair to fans who do go to MS and here regularly, who imo deserve the prize more.

 

I disagree. They worked their ass off and gave Mika exactly what he wanted (or at least close to it because they were in the top 8) so I fail to see what is unfair about that. This promotional thing is a 2-way street. They are promoting Mika in addition to their receiving recognition for their involvement with him.

 

If Mika just wanted to give meet and greets to "real fans", he could do so without having people make videos for him. In fact he does it all the time. MFC gets its perks outside of Mikasounds and since Mikasounds has tens of thousands of members now, MFC may as well get used to the idea that regular MFC members are not going to be largely represented among MS competition winners.

 

I didn't actually watch their video, but when they described it as "hiding their mika fan-ness behind rockstar poster like kirt cobaine" or whatever, I'm sorry but that is B.S , are you embarassed to be a mika fan? Do you not want to get made fun of? Like honestly, rep it. Show your pride, don't be a coward

 

Well that's exactly what happens. Watch and see

[RosinaKiwi]

Thats so not fair! I mean they sort of had a one up on us all the way!

DUUDE!

 

its like Competing against Peter jackson for who can film Lord of the rings better! there was never any contest!

 

NOT COOL!

[CazGirl]

As good promo as it may be, it was a competition for fans, to get an M&G, and to win magic number points. If they aren't real fans who contributed to MS , those points could have gone to a fan who does.

A fan competition is for fans, not for any Tom, Dick or Harry wanting to build a name for themselves.

 

can you find out people's join date? you can on here, don't know about MS.

[Guest whalesfood]

But what is wrong with that? Part of the top prize was to have their video permanently featured on Mikasounds and Mika even spoke of getting the video on television. He was using this type of recognition to entice people to enter the competition. It wasn't all about a meet and greet.

 

if you were meaning to debate me on this you did a terrible job. you just proved my point if anything.

[Sephira]

"We Are Golden Video Competition

Posted on August 6th, 2009 by David C↓ 199 comments

Are you golden? Mika wants you to show the world what you're made of!

 

Record a 'response' to Mika's 'We Are Golden' video - dance around your room, go crazy, have fun (but keep it clean!) - upload the results to http://www.wearegolden.com (you'll need to be a member of the MIKA community first) and you could be in with a chance of winning a truly golden experience. Everyone who enters the competition with get 500 points for MIKA'S MAGIC NUMBERS (only one entry per person)

 

The top 5 (personally chosen by Mika) will get to attend a meet-and-greet with Mika himself at a live show in their home country.

 

What's more, the overall winner will have their video permanently profiled on the video section of Mikasounds.com AND they'll earn a whopping 50,000 points for Mika's Magic Numbers.

 

Useful Info and Basic Rules

 

- The competition runs from on Weds Aug 5th and closes at midnight on Sept 20th 2009.

 

- It's not possible to download the full track, we suggest you play the full length video from http://www.mikasounds.com and film you, your friends or you and your friends dancing along.

 

- Create your video and upload it at http://www.vimeo.com or http://www.youtube.com and then you can upload your entry @ http://www.wearegolden.com.

 

- Don't worry if you haven't got a film studio in your bedroom - we won't be judging the entries based on technical quality -we just want to see you being creative and having fun!

- Your video can feature more than one fan but it can only be entered once, and only the fan whose profile it is added to will get the Mika's Magic Numbers points.

 

- If you are under 16 you will need to fax a letter of consent for you to enter signed by a parent or guardian to +44 207 471 5289 before submitting your video and entering the competition. Please also make sure you are fully clothed in the video.

 

- We reserve the right not to publish any video that we feel to be inappropriate.

 

- There will be five winners chosen, and they'll all win a meet & greet with Mika at a show in their home country on his forthcoming tour.

 

- In the event that any of the winning entrants are under 16 then such win is subject to receipt by us of signed consent from the parent or guardian of the winning entrant for them to attend the concert. Alternatively they must attend with a parent or guardian who is over 18.

 

So get filming and have fun!"

[chickadee]

Idealistic enough to be disillusioned. Old enough to be unsurprised.

 

Snap. Except that even though I am old enough that I should have been unsurprised, I was still surprised.

 

 

And I'm strictly fence sitting here. I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, as I don't want to jump to conclusions, and I haven't thought through all the angles of this yet... And quite frankly I can't really be bothered. I'll just continue to fence sit.

[Sephira]

"We Are Golden Video Competition

Posted on August 6th, 2009 by David C↓ 199 comments

Are you golden? Mika wants you to show the world what you're made of!

 

Record a 'response' to Mika's 'We Are Golden' video - dance around your room, go crazy, have fun (but keep it clean!) - upload the results to http://www.wearegolden.com (you'll need to be a member of the MIKA community first) and you could be in with a chance of winning a truly golden experience. Everyone who enters the competition with get 500 points for MIKA'S MAGIC NUMBERS (only one entry per person)

 

The top 5 (personally chosen by Mika) will get to attend a meet-and-greet with Mika himself at a live show in their home country.

 

What's more, the overall winner will have their video permanently profiled on the video section of Mikasounds.com AND they'll earn a whopping 50,000 points for Mika's Magic Numbers.

 

Useful Info and Basic Rules

 

- The competition runs from on Weds Aug 5th and closes at midnight on Sept 20th 2009.

 

- It's not possible to download the full track, we suggest you play the full length video from http://www.mikasounds.com and film you, your friends or you and your friends dancing along.

 

- Create your video and upload it at http://www.vimeo.com or http://www.youtube.com and then you can upload your entry @ http://www.wearegolden.com.

 

- Don't worry if you haven't got a film studio in your bedroom - we won't be judging the entries based on technical quality -we just want to see you being creative and having fun!

- Your video can feature more than one fan but it can only be entered once, and only the fan whose profile it is added to will get the Mika's Magic Numbers points.

 

- If you are under 16 you will need to fax a letter of consent for you to enter signed by a parent or guardian to +44 207 471 5289 before submitting your video and entering the competition. Please also make sure you are fully clothed in the video.

 

- We reserve the right not to publish any video that we feel to be inappropriate.

 

- There will be five winners chosen, and they'll all win a meet & greet with Mika at a show in their home country on his forthcoming tour.

 

- In the event that any of the winning entrants are under 16 then such win is subject to receipt by us of signed consent from the parent or guardian of the winning entrant for them to attend the concert. Alternatively they must attend with a parent or guardian who is over 18.

 

So get filming and have fun!"

 

I remember that for people who forget the terms of the competition. Read the red sentence please:wink2:

[Christine]

if you were meaning to debate me on this you did a terrible job. you just proved my point if anything.

 

I thought part of your point was that Mika is to be pitied here because these guys somehow duped him. I don't see how that's likely when Mika was offering a certain level of fame to the winners for their work. Possibly to even get it on television.

 

I remember that for people who forget the terms of the competition. Read the red sentence please:wink2:

 

The terms also said you should dance around in your bedroom but the winner's video doesn't even have people in it.

 

Mika chose these videos so I don't understand why the contestants are getting blamed for winning as if they did so under false pretenses.

 

Anyone can see that they have better than average filmmaking skills from their entry but Mika chose it anyway. Since they don't appear to be professionals I don't see what the problem is.

[dcdeb]

Well, I have to admit that when I first saw this article my reaction was

the same as many of you -- I thought it was rather unfair that two

"professional" video makers could win the WAG competition. I saw no

mention of how excited they were to meet Mika, only how excited they

were that they were getting more exposure as a result of winning.

 

Then I looked a little further, and I see that really they are only two

teenaged boys, about 16-ish? About the same age as a lot of you. And if you

look at their youtube channel, you'll see that they did a video for Mika's

Big Girl a few years ago, so they actually have at least had a passing interest

in him for a while now -- and for all I know they may be huge fans, too.

 

So maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge, or quick to begrudge them

their "win." I only see about a dozen videos on their youtube channel, so

I don't think they are "professional" by any stretch of the imagination. It

seems their local paper painted their situation to be much more

grandiose than it actually is. I think we can all RELAX over this.

[Guest whalesfood]

I thought part of your point was that Mika is to be pitied here because these guys somehow duped him. I don't see how that's likely when Mika was offering a certain level of fame to the winners for their work. Possibly to even get it on television.

 

i didn't say they duped him. i'm saying it's sad that mika did this fun thing for his fans to do. how many people were dancing around in their bedrooms who would never do that but did it because he actually gave them the courage to do so. it was just a fun freeing thing. these guys who don't really seem like fans to me, didn't do it for fun. they did it to better their channel. to draw attention to themselves. to me it seems like they used him.

[Guest whalesfood]

now im just confused about the article in general. didn't deluxe win?

[Christine]

nobody is blaming mika. like i said. i feel sorry for him above anything.

 

how many people were dancing around in their bedrooms who would never do that but did it because he actually gave them the courage to do so. it was just a fun freeing thing.

 

But Mika didn't choose those videos in this case or the case of the winner.

 

I'm not saying anyone should go around blaming Mika now, but to blame it on the people who submitted different types of entries is a bit of misplaced anger IMO.

 

these guys who don't really seem like fans to me, didn't do it for fun. they did it to better their channel. to draw attention to themselves. to me it seems like they used him.

 

It's just a newspaper article, no one knows how much they like Mika or what their motivation was beyond hoping for some recognition (which was openly part of the prize after all).

 

The London Times has suggested that Mika is so broke he had to bribe fans with food to help him build his set. So I wouldn't take the spin from this article at face value or assume it tells the whole story.

[Guest whalesfood]

i'm for just agreeing to disagree.

[Soaring Simpson]

If an MFCer had been shortlisted we'd probably have encouraged them to see if they could get into their local paper. Certainly there'd have been whoops of delight if they had- and I can easily imagine a local rag printing that sort of thing about a lot of entrants- Caz or Ingie for example- with their previous blogs and vids, and Caz' previous prize etc, or B!anka wanting to be a music video director.

 

And they do say they went on MS to look up WAG rather than cos someone told them there was a comp.

[suzie]

I really don’t understand some of the reactions ... In fact, it was not even clear to me first why this article sounded so upsetting for some fans....

 

When I briefly viewed the winners’ videos on Mikasounds a couple of weeks ago none of them looked ’professional’ to me, in terms of using techniques that would require professional equipment or special training....etc. These videos simply seemed to have some unique elements of creativity that might have differentiated them from the rest of the entries. Clearly, the most unique one was the winner’s video, so I concluded that the judges made the right decision.

 

No background information was asked from anyone. Why would they have done it? The winner’s video would still be the best even if it was actually sponsored by LEGO ... - although I am not suggesting it is ... ( )

 

This year there was some similar competition on a Kylie Minogue site and a Hungarian teenager won it. I think fans had to make some kind of animation to a Kylie song and his was the best. It was all over the media in my country and I am absolutely sure this guy is not the one who has the most Kylie records or who has the biggest Kylie picture collection in his bedroom. He is someone who is interested in animations and loved the idea of working on a project like that.

 

Nowadays in many fields there is no clear dividing line between ’amateur’ and ’professional’. I would definitely not call any 16 year old kid a ’professional’ just because they have been involved with film making for years. It simply shows their dedication, and the themes they choose show their areas of interest. I am glad these two guys found this competition challenging enough to enter and even try to make a name for themselves with the help of it. I think it only benefits Mika to have such creative, daring fans. And by daring, I mean exactly what the concept of the video is...Seemingly you are a cool, alternative guy listening to Nirvana and frowning upon the world, but you dance to Mika in your bedroom... I actually love the concept. You don’t need to have a degree to come up with an idea like that. All you need is some time, creativity and dedication to make your idea work.

[Christine]

i'm for just agreeing to disagree.

 

If you want to agree to disagree that's great, but I see you are directing some comments at Blue Sky in another thread which is leading to misunderstandings with other posters. If you've still got some opinions you want to express on this subject it would be more constructive to say it here or in PM than taking veiled shots at people in unrelated threads.

[Guest whalesfood]

If you want to agree to disagree that's great, but I see you are directing some comments at Blue Sky in another thread which is leading to misunderstandings with other posters. If you've still got some opinions you want to express on this subject it would be more constructive to say it here or in PM than taking veiled shots at people in unrelated threads.

 

 

and i apologized to that person and explained to them that it wasn't against them. or did you guys just choose to skip over what i say as usual? unless of course it's something you don't agree with me on in which case you have zero problem acknowledging anything i say. and it was COMMENT not comments. single comment! and it was just saying that if you want to tell me that fans can come in any shape or size or knowledge or whatever. why don't you practice what you preach then and not jump to conclusions about one random person joining and starting a conversation. that was all i was saying. if you're going to get on my case about what is or isn't a fan. listen to yourself as well.

[tiibet]

I really don’t understand some of the reactions ... In fact, it was not even clear to me first why this article sounded so upsetting for some fans....

 

When I briefly viewed the winners’ videos on Mikasounds a couple of weeks ago none of them looked ’professional’ to me, in terms of using techniques that would require professional equipment or special training....etc. These videos simply seemed to have some unique elements of creativity that might have differentiated them from the rest of the entries. Clearly, the most unique one was the winner’s video, so I concluded that the judges made the right decision.

 

No background information was asked from anyone. Why would they have done it? The winner’s video would still be the best even if it was actually sponsored by LEGO ... - although I am not suggesting it is ... ( )

 

This year there was some similar competition on a Kylie Minogue site and a Hungarian teenager won it. I think fans had to make some kind of animation to a Kylie song and his was the best. It was all over the media in my country and I am absolutely sure this guy is not the one who has the most Kylie records or who has the biggest Kylie picture collection in his bedroom. He is someone who is interested in animations and loved the idea of working on a project like that.

 

Nowadays in many fields there is no clear dividing line between ’amateur’ and ’professional’. I would definitely not call any 16 year old kid a ’professional’ just because they have been involved with film making for years. It simply shows their dedication, and the themes they choose show their areas of interest. I am glad these two guys found this competition challenging enough to enter and even try to make a name for themselves with the help of it. I think it only benefits Mika to have such creative, daring fans. And by daring, I mean exactly what the concept of the video is...Seemingly you are a cool, alternative guy listening to Nirvana and frowning upon the world, but you dance to Mika in your bedroom... I actually love the concept. You don’t need to have a degree to come up with an idea like that. All you need is some time, creativity and dedication to make your idea work.

 

I had to read the article twice too These guys don't seem to be that professional, at least they are very young. I really liked their vid, it would have been my choice for a winner. Maybe they are fans at some level? I'm sure they will enjoy meeting Mika, and it will be lots of fun for him to see creative young people (well, they seem to creative too).

[superstar]

Mika chose these videos so I don't understand why the contestants are getting blamed for winning as if they did so under false pretenses.

 

Anyone can see that they have better than average filmmaking skills from their entry but Mika chose it anyway. Since they don't appear to be professionals I don't see what the problem is.

 

I had to read the article twice too These guys don't seem to be that professional, at least they are very young. I really liked their vid, it would have been my choice for a winner. Maybe they are fans at some level? I'm sure they will enjoy meeting Mika, and it will be lots of fun for him to see creative young people (well, they seem to creative too).

 

I thought 'professional' meant getting paid for it. And at the end of article, they specifically talk about working on a video with an artist who they've worked with before. Wouldn't that be considered 'professional'--as I assume they're not doing it for free? Maybe I read it wrong...

[Christine]

and i apologized to that person and explained to them that it wasn't against them. or did you guys just choose to skip over what i say as usual? unless of course it's something you don't agree with me on in which case you have zero problem acknowledging anything i say.

Sorry but you've lost me here in regards to acknowledging your posts.

 

why don't you practice what you preach then and not jump to conclusions about one random person joining and starting a conversation. that was all i was saying. if you're going to get on my case about what is or isn't a fan. listen to yourself as well.

Because we have a lot of experience dealing with spammers and other people who come to MFC with an agenda that has nothing to do with being a Mika fan. It's our job to address these posts and posters on MFC. Not decide the motives of people who appear in a newspaper article and aren't even known members of MFC.

 

The two issues are totally unrelated.

 

I thought 'professional' meant getting paid for it. And at the end of article, they specifically talk about working on a video with an artist who they've worked with before. Wouldn't that be considered 'professional'--as I assume they're not doing it for free? Maybe I read it wrong...

 

Well without asking them, I don't know. But Mika gets things without paying for them and he probably has a much bigger budget than Mickey Whatshisface.