Their first big hit came in 2009 with the music video for "Here It Goes Again." In that video, they ran on treadmills while belting out the lyrics. For their song "This Too Shall Pass," they set up an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.
Friday, February 12, 2016
OK Go zero gravity music video interview
Their first big hit came in 2009 with the music video for "Here It Goes Again." In that video, they ran on treadmills while belting out the lyrics. For their song "This Too Shall Pass," they set up an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine.
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How innovative! I loved this video from the moment it started, as OK GO always does it right. I loved how it fit the song too, and wasn’t just to do it. You always hear that art is dad or originality is dead, so it is definitely refreshing to see something that we have never seen before. I feel like in todays society we don’t want to be excited about it, we want to make it frivolous and say it’s been done before. I don’t know if theatrical lighting design will ever get to outer space but I bet lighting will! And there is design involved with everything all the time. And even if I am not seeing the future of my career, this does set a precedent for artist of all types to follow, and that is very exciting, It is important to be excited about art, and for art to continue to surprise you.
I’ve seen and really like OK Go’s music videos in the past, and I’m not surprised that they decided to do a zero gravity video. I’m curious what the choreography process was like for this video? Obviously the things done in unison or that involved two people had to be plan, but how they’d go about the balloon popping couldn’t be since they couldn’t predict how the balloons would move. Also, given that it is all one shot, I wondered how many takes it took to get it right. I found their behind the scenes video, and the actual music video was take eight. Based on the behind the scenes video, it seems like it was the paint balloon popping that took the most time because it was hard to make sure both of them got to balloons without crashing into each other. Also, looking around OK Go’s Facebook page I found out the the flight attendants are a pair of aerialists who have worked together before, and they came up with most of their own tricks. Overall, this is a impressive, visually interesting, and very well done music video, and I can’t help but wonder what they are going to do next.
I’ve been keeping up with OK Go’s awesome, creative music videos since we watched their “This Too Shall Pass” Rube Goldberg music video in engineering class in high school. I also love their “I Won’t Let you Down” video shot from way high up with all of the people with umbrellas dancing in elaborate formations, and their “The Writing’s on the Wall” video with all of the strange optical illusions. I think it’s so cool that their band is known for consistently putting out innovative and crazy- complicated videos. To be honest, I’m not even a huge fan of their music, but will still watch their videos over and over again just to appreciate the artistry. The amount of time and planning that must have gone into each small step of their massive rube goldberg machine alone is mind- boggling. As someone who wants to go into scenic design, I think it would be amazing to be a part of the massive team that gets to put music videos like this together. Since almost all of their videos are one continuous shot, they almost act more like theatrical performances, since everything has to happen at a very specific time, and all of the performers need to be in their correct places in order for everything to fall into place. The amazing visuals combined with the clearly impressive technical feats in this video make me aspirational for what artists will be able to do in the future; I love when artists have huge goals that they set out to achieve, even if they sound crazy at first.
OK Go is as much of a band as they are music video artists. I know that the band Clean Bandit also produces their videos from their own vision which they conceptualize while writing the music, but I must say that OK Go is in a league of their own when it comes to music videos. We’ve all seen the crazy (trigger warning for freshmen DPs) rube goldberg machine that they used for the “This Too Shall Pass” video (I also love the treadmill one. We’ve all tried treadmill dancing… right?).
The idea for a music video in zero gravity is exciting and also very ambitious (or maybe I should spell it “abitiou$”). Not only is it expensive and technically difficult, but it is a huge physical challenge on the body, as Kulash describes in the article. All that said, this is such a fun video! The choreography is so cool and looks really clean. The zero gravity gives the video a really unique quality, where even normal movements seem “off.” I wonder if they had to do it in one take because of the paint, and I’m surprised they let them get the plane so messy! OK Go is no doubt a very fun and adventurous group.
I think its awesome that the first thing that Damian Kulash though of when he found out that space travel was becoming more and more possible for all humans was 'people are going to make art in space'! it sounds like OK Go is a band that is always ready to take their art to the next level. Art is space is one of the coolest ideas. All of the things that could be possible are mind boggling and awesome to think about and i think all of those ideas steam from the effects of zero gravity. I really liked what the article said about the fact that is was difficult to stay away from regular movements like connecting to the ground or 'swimming' in the air. I would have never thought about that fact , and how if they were to just stick to normal movements, it wouldn't have been as fun of a video as it was. My favorite part of the video is probably the paint! it was so interesting to see how painted moved in zero gravity.
I could not be more in love with OK Go for their commitment to making art. Not music - just art. It's so important to recognize their work as such because I think it sheds a light on how we tend to pass off music videos as fluff when they have the ability to be so much more. To see artists so engaged in the production of their music past just the recording studio is a reminder that music videos are an artistic production like any other, and should be given respect accordingly. This is not just a green screen and some cameras - this is lighting, scenic, wardrobe, sound, media, engineers, designers, directors, managers, choreographers and performers all working together as one to make something amazing and response-worthy and emotional and beautiful. Oh my God, isn't that exactly what we strive to do every day in the theatre??? Ding dig ding, yes it is! The commitment of these artists should be more than relatable to anyone in this field of work, as well as a cue to look further into the amazing production value and theatricality of some of today's artists in the music world. Singers like Kimbra and MIKA's music videos are an old favorite of mine in this sense. Perhaps before long many of CMU's grads will be applying for positions on music videos like these.
This was a really incredible art piece. I remember seeing some of the videos for OK Go a few years back, I remember the treadmill one and the really amazing choreography it had. The band pushes the limits for what music video's can do by taking something and turning it into something better. Like treadmills or a zero gravity zone. My only problem with them is that they advertise themselves as a band. The music really is not all that impressive, I don't remember any of the song that went with the treadmill video, and I doubt I will be remembering this one. I think that as a creative team they are really strong and their popularity proves that, however I think they could create something even better if the music matched the creativity and playfulness of the videos. I see them as gaining even more success by becoming a group more like The Blue Men than a band, and the article mentioned nothing about they being passionate about the music at all, which showed.
Wow that music video was incredible. I thought their Here It Goes Again video was super cool, but this is on a whole new level, literally. The fact that they shot this in an airplane flying in the sky is one cool thing, but the reduced gravity is crazy. They made it look so easy, but I bet it was actually really difficult to have that much control over yourself and other objects when there is reduced gravity. This seems like such a cool opportunity to experience what life would be like in space. I wish I have the chance to do that at some point in my life. I do not know how OK Go can top this music video, but I do not think it is impossible knowing their crazy sense of adventure and trying the near impossible. I really liked when they popped the paint balls because the paint was floating for a while and eventually attached onto the walls or the floor. It almost looked like a hydrophobic material floating in water.
This was a really cool music video and I am beyond impressed with the level of coordination and work that must have gone into making this a single long shot. That being said I had one problem with the video and honestly it wasn’t even part of the video, it was the text at the beginning. It read “What you are about to see is real. We shot this in zero gravity, in an actual plane, in the sky. There are no wires or green screen. The practical implications of this slide are clear but it points to a trend in art where the fact that something is “real” makes it a more valuable piece of art. Another example being the debate between the traditional 24 frames/second and the attempts of some modern movies to use higher frame rates. Here we have come to accept 24 frames, a minimum adapted so that movies would not appear choppy because it is now considered “theatrical”. It doesn’t matter what or how something is made of or what conventions it follows if the final product is the same.
This article made me think about the way we currently approach media in production. While it’s true that theatre is the bastard child of a hundred industries, often using things in ways that their creators would have been horrified to see. On the other hand we also rely heavily on very specific devices such as moving lights which are incredibly complex and almost entirely unique to live entertainment. As media continues to evolve I am sure that we will quickly discover that we use a combination of these methods but one thing is for sure. The Royal Shakespeare Company is lucky to have Intel backing this project because as our live effects get more complicated we are going to need to really hit hard with our computers. I am sure I’m not the only one who notices when live media is a little laggy and it pulls them completely out of the show. Powerful computers must become a mainstay of theatre if we want to continue using live effects.
I’ve always been a fan of Ok Go and their crazy music videos. From the Rube Goldberg Machine, to camouflaged dancers, to well-trained rescue dogs, Ok Go has always utilized some amazing concepts in their work. This latest feat is even more incredible, merging science and music to create a really cool video. Ok Go is an amazing example of how creative music videos can really be. Often, it’s easy for artists to throw together some shots of them singing in various locations, or at a concert. And that’s great, but it doesn’t really push the boundaries or send a message. Artists have the ability to use a visual medium to take their work to a whole other place, and those artists are usually so much more successful. Take artists like Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Both create music videos with stories and meanings, and both are wildly successful. Artists should try and push themselves to create more dynamic, meaningful, or just plain fun, music videos.
As far as art forms go, I think music videos are easily the most overlooked. If you asked a group of students to name as many art forms as they could, they would probably say visual art (drawing, painting, etc), music, film, and theatre. In reality, music videos completely make sense as an art form, they take a beautiful piece of music and give it a visual representation. Sometimes that representation completely alters your view of the song. Music videos are often dismissed as unimportant and not treated with much care by musicians, but there is so much potential in music videos. OK Go has done a fantastic job creating gorgeous art pieces for each of their songs. At this point, it's probably impossible for me to hear Here It Goes Again, and not think of the band on the treadmills. It's incredible how well this group is able to utilize the visual impact a music video can have.
I have mixed feelings about music videos as a medium of art because often times the content of the video doesn’t have much or anything to do with the lyrical content of the song. So often the video contains something cool for the sake of something cool, and the music video get’s popularized to do people wanting to see something cool. I don’t want to say that this video doesn’t adhere to that model, but it certainly at least artistic roots to it. The lyrics ‘upside down’ definitely justify the zero gravity decision, and if I was a member of Ok Go, I would definitely say “yeah, let’s do it, I want to go in a zero gravity plane”. So all in all, I think that this music video does a good job in not perpetuating the dissonance between music videos and their actual musical content, but it’s a little hard for me to get artistically excited about a medium that already pushes the boundaries so heavily.
In a completely non substantial addition to this comment, I would love to recognize how incredibly awesome it must have been to be a part of that shoot, holy crap, this is why we go into show business.
There's something really valuable about having such a high profile band pursue such novel and uniquely creative music video ideas. Not only are they paving the way for future creators, but they are also propelling into the mainstream consciousness the idea of potentiality, and the impetus to seek new ways to create. Not only that but the video looks very cool.
While the actual camera movements are relatively simple, when one considers how little rehearsal time (if any) they would have had in comparable conditions, and how the whole video appears to be one take, the video becomes quite a feat of both human endurance and ingenuity. Picking up a concept like this, and having the tenacity to pursue it is indicative of the dedication of both the band, and this project's creative team. Also, the band's collective willingness to explore unconventional movement is truly incredible, fun, and refreshing. I look forward to seeing what else the band produces in the future.
I love this music group for the crazy videos they always put on. I watch the Rube Goldberg machine one a lot since first hearing about the critical path project that we complete as freshman. Though completely amazing, it is a bit daunting to watch it. The zero gravity music video caught my imagination as well. The singers dancing and playing without gravity made me wonder how they accomplished it. This article definitely answers many of my questions. One thing I didn’t realize was that the zero gravity of a parabolic flight could last for so long. I think that it is really interesting the different problems shooting a music video like this poses, such as nausea and movement. I think that this group is really breaking boundaries for the different ideas and visuals that can go along with auditory art. I am excited to see what they come up with next!
Props to OK Go for being on the cutting edge of music video production. All of the videos of theirs I have seen have been shot in only one take. This is a sign of careful planning and dedication to making quality art. I liked how much freedom the zero-gravity environment gave the actors in this video. They looked a little unsure of themselves, but that was something for which I was paying attention after reading Kulash’s comments in the article. Nonetheless, the choreography was interesting and fun to watch. I’m sure this kind of gig would be a dream for a music video choreographer. According to another article about the video found at http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/ok-go-viral-video-youtube-pulled-down-1201704819/, the band took 21 trips in the plane to rehearse and film the video. Perhaps something even more impressive is that this video took a crew of 60 people. I can certainly appreciate the hard work that went into making an impressive final product.
Zero gravity on earth has always amazed me. To think that you can defy the laws of physics and simply float is quite amazing. I remember when I saw this on the news for the first time a couple years back and thought to my self no way that is possible and now they are starting to use it for things like music videos. Things like this are truly the definition of creativity. The whole point of a music video is to bring the viewer into a world that they might not expect or imagine. These guys truly capture the element of surprise in their videos and viewers like me love to see inspiration like this across all fields.
Have you ever driven in your car and went over a small hill and your butt feels like it is lifted out of the seat a little, essentially that’s all zero gravity is except you happen to be going 750 MPH and that little bump that I was talking about spans 13 miles. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do and it is for sure on a buck list of things I want to do.
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