Most Ukrainian stars choose foreign locations to shoot their videos. In contrast, foreign directors choose Ukraine. Musicians from all over the world arrive here to create videos for their tracks. We can even state that Kyiv is becoming the world’s music video capital.
Why has Kyiv become so attractive to them?
The first and the most obvious reason is, of course, the number of exciting locations. Kyiv is rich in urbanist, natural, contemporary, post-Soviet, bleached, and colorful spots. And places that can offer videomakers such varied locations are now treasured. If this trend continues, Kyiv has all chances to become a Mecca for the music industry.
The second reason is money. It’s clear that big producers want to make the best video for the cheapest cost. Kyiv can offer that service, too. Kyiv has the best tradeoff between quality and the cost of services.
The third reason is the qualified and modern post-production teams in Kyiv. Their work is seen and appreciated abroad. That we can prove by the number of music videos that were created or co-created by Ukrainian companies. For example, Ukraine’s Shelter.film is a production company that participated in creating Dua Lipa’s video for “We’re Good.” The Gloria FX company took part in the production of videos for Kanye West, Justin Biber, Britney Spears, and Coldplay. For Coldplay’s video “Up & Up,” they got an MTV Award for the video’s best visual effects.
Finally, here are some of the videos where you can recognize views of Kyiv and even Chornobyl.
Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
An exciting police pursuit for the “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” video was filmed on the Darnytsky Bridge. The traffic on the bridge was temporarily blocked for this purpose.
NCT – Boss
The insanely popular South Korean boy band NCT flew to Kyiv to shoot their video. The pop stars danced in front of the Ukrainian House and an abandoned bus fleet. Most of the frames in the video show the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.
Calum Scott – You are the reason
The British singer walks through the center of Kyiv. The video shows all the most famous Ukraine’s capital destinations – Taras Shevchenko monument, Ukraine’s National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, the night-time Khreshchatyk Street with Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square).
Pink Floyd – Marooned
For their Marooned music video, the band chose Pripyat – a ghost city that was evacuated after the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Plant explosion. The video first shows a space station from which you can see the whole Earth; the second half shows abandoned Chornobyl.
OrelSan – Tout va bien
Among the locations, you can see Kyiv skyscrapers, the Dnipro embankment, and the Poshtova Square. It is not the first clip filmed for OrelSan in Kyiv. The French rapper presented another video for the song Basique, filmed in Kyiv, on the unfinished Podilsko-Voskresensky bridge.
Tame Impala — Solitude is Bliss
Reality and a post-apocalyptic world are combined in this clip. While actions are taking place in Kyiv, you can recognize one of Kyiv’s bridges – Pivnichnyi.
Avicii — Lonely Together ft. Rita Ora
This video work even got the MTV Video Music Award. The beautiful Kyiv spots you can observe in this video are the Rybalskyy bridge, Hryshko National Botanical Garden, Victory Park.
Hurts — Wings
This English synth-pop duo, which creates music in “Noir’n’b and doom pop” style, has visited Kyiv many times. They loved the capital of Ukraine so much that they even shot here a couple of their music videos. The first one is “Wings.” In it, you can spot the Pushcha-Vodytsia sanatorium, October Palace, and Budynok Kino (Cinema House). The other video, named “Beautiful ones,” was also created in Kyiv. Still, unfortunately, you can not see any famous places in this work.
Zayn – Flames
British singer Zayn preferred Kyiv for his music video “Flames.” You may see several well-known locations, including Darnytsia Railway Station, the Vernadsky National Library, Pozniaky area and a lot of Kyiv skyscrapers.
MØ — Kamikaze
The Danish singer decided to capture a local flavor of the remote Kyiv district named “Troyeshchyna.” We can see walls pained in graffiti, bleak grey buildings, and dusty streets.
Years & Years – Shine
This spectacular video was shot in the Pushcha-Vodytsia forested district in Kyiv. This beauty of nature plus landscapes accompanied by post-Soviet attributes (carpets, furniture) can only be found in Ukraine.
Netta Barzilai – Bassa Sababa
The Eurovision song contest winner – Netta Barzilai – has also shot her music work in Kyiv. You can observe the Darnytsky bridge, the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, and Kyiv’s buildings’ rural views in the video.
Those are far not all gorgeous music videos shot and made in Kyiv. We are happy to acknowledge that Kyiv has become more popular for representatives of the music industry. A lot more people can learn about Ukraine’s capital through the art of music.
