For the RecordFor the Record

The For the Record event series in Rotterdam takes the form of a public recording studio. Not only to visualize the forms of production and postproduction that are deployed in video, but also to record and share the conversations as a video in itself. Following each event, a new video is released on this channel.

For The Record: Staging Realities, on 23 January 2020, examined the role of set and stage design in music videos and live events. With Lauri Faggioni (director and production designer), Chiara Stephenson (stage designer and scenographer) and a remote interview with Tawbox (creative directors Chris "Bronski" Jablonski and Amber Rimell of a.o Stormzy set for Glastonbury Headline 2019). The event was moderated by Shay Kreuger.

Recent music video releases of among others Janelle Monáe and Taylor Swift formed the basis for a debate on the articulation of political realities through production design and fashion during For the Record: Designing Realities at the Nederlands Film Festival on 28 September 2019. With Dan Hassler-Forest (Assistant Professor of Cultural Theory, Utrecht University), Emma Westenberg (video director) and Romke Faber (production designer). The evening was moderated by Shay Kreuger.

K-pop, or the Hallyu wave, has solidified over the past two decades as an increasingly transnational popular phenomenon. The genre represents a resistance to both Western media as well as the conservatism of Korean traditional culture. On the basis of iconic K-pop videos, poet, essayist and editor Momtaza Mehri discussed the participation of young Eastern African women in K-pop culture, and how it reveals the interconnectedness of digital subcultures from the mid-2000s to now, during For the Record: K-pop Fandoms and Digital Diasporas, on 9 May 2019. Respondents were Natalie Nzeyimana and Juha van 't Zelfde. The evening was moderated by Shay Kreuger.

During For the Record: Designing Realities at Nederlands Film Festival in Utrecht on 28 September 2019, Dan Hassler-Forest (Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Utrecht University) reflected on worldbuilding strategies in music videos, comparing them with methods utilized in fantasy films. By analyzing the created media personas and corresponding music videos of Taylor Swift and Janelle Monáe, he mapped out different types of story worlds.

For the Record: Performing Gender, on 31 January 2019, examined gender roles and feminist positions in popular music videos. Iconic videos of Madonna and Prince, as well as recent video releases of Sevdaliza and others, form the basis for a debate on the articulation of gender through the cinematographic gaze and the performing body. The evening is moderated by radio-dj, reporter and host Shay Kreuger. With Eliza Steinbock (Assistant Professor of Cultural Analysis at Leiden University), Emmanuel Adjei (film director and visual artist) and Gabriel A. Maher (designer).

For the Record: Reading Apeshit, on 25 October 2018, examined the music video Apeshit by the Carters, also known as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The choreography and selected artworks from the Louvre collection form the basis for a debate on forms of representation, performance and decolonizing cultural institutions. With Davide Belotta (dancer and choreographer), Imara Limon (curator Amsterdam Museum) and Nathalie Hartjes (director Showroom MAMA). Moderated by Shay Kreuger.