You may not be familiar with Ok Go’s discography, but there is a pretty good chance that you have stumbled across one of their music videos on the Youtube trending page. The indie rock band has released over a dozen elaborate music videos, many of which that have gone on to go viral, that feature the four members performing their songs in wacky and innovative situations.
Ok Go was formed in 1998 in Chicago after old friends Damian Kulash Jr. and Tim Nordwind joined forces with Dan Konopka and Andy Duncan, the latter being replaced by Andy Ross in 2005. In 2006, the group released a video of the 4 members lip-syncing and performing a choreographed dance on treadmills to their track “Here It Goes Again”. Since its release, the video has accumulated over 50 million views, 900 thousand of which coming from the day of release alone. After this success, the four men have continued to push the boundaries of what a music video can be with all of their later content. Lead singer Kulash regularly directs the videos and all four members appear in every one. “The One Moment” uses time speed alteration to make 4.2 seconds of real time last for the duration of the 3 minute and 43 second song, while “The Writings on the Wall” plays with perspective as the band creates shapes and pictures for the camera’s eye. Most recently, the band created an entire video in a zero gravity-converted jet for their song “Upside Down & Inside Out“. Not many groups, if any others at all, can claim a repertoire as diverse and innovative as this.
My favorite Ok Go video is the one featuring a Rube Goldberg Machine set in rhythm to their single “This Too Shall Pass”. The video took over 60 takes to film successfully and features things like umbrellas, bowling balls, dominos, baby grand pianos falling from the sky, and of course paint (I’m not sure why, but paint spewing over the band is a common motif throughout the videos). Not only do the visuals inspire awe, but the sounds of the elements hitting each other as they move through the machine’s course regularly match up to the beat of the song. And at one point, cups filled with water even add in some notes to form the melody.
Many of the videos, like “This Too Shall Pass”, are shot in one take and require tremendous planning and precision from the band and their crew to get everything right. It is inarguable that this exposes their incredible capacity for mental imagery. Indeed, “The One Moment” and “Upside Down & Inside Out” videos required extensive forethought, as the formers finished product could only be seen on time-warped film after the real-life creating was complete and the latter incorporated zero gravity choreography. Because of these challenges, planning is only possible through mentally imaging the visuals and audio combining in harmony and creating time spreadsheets with extreme precision to make their vision come to life.
Collaboration is the other key driver in creating the videos. Lead singer, Damian Kulash, met bassist Tim Nordwind at an arts camp when they were 11 years old and the pair have been best friends and creative partners ever since. Their friendship, based in their shared love of music and art, gave the two an outlet to muse over and try out the ideas that came to them as they grew. After adding the other bandmates to the mix, they further developed a holistic perspective that is uniquely their own, The band members rely on each other to bring new ideas to the table and lean on each other’s strengths when taking risks to create new and inspiring content.
Most of the videos do not have a storyline, per say, but instead a central theme that carries the momentum of the video forward. Each experience is unique and showcases their longstanding ability to innovate and create interesting projects.The band makes ideas that are difficult to explain, like the temporariness of life and the feeling of finally breaking free of stagnation, into visual and universal art that can be understood and enjoyed by the masses. Additionally, they are never secretive over how they create or execute the videos. They regularly post behind the scenes videos or blogs to go along with the finished products. Through these, we can see their thought process was before, during, and after filming. By combining the complex and the accessible, they reflect Csikszentmihalyi’s idea that creative individuals can move between two extremes with ease and finesse.
Not to downplay the quality of their music, but I doubt Ok Go would be remembered or celebrated for their songs alone. It is the videos that accompany the songs that allow them to evolve to a “Big C” creative group and spread their influence over the discipline of music video creation. Without their contributions, the field would be a much different, duller, and less paint-filled place.
Sources
Csikszentmihalyi, M (1996) Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention, New York, Harper/Collins.
I absolutely love OK Go, so this post was such a fun read! I remember the first time I saw one of their videos, I was in my high school physics class, and my teacher showed us the video for "Upside Down & Inside Out." She asked us how we thought they had filmed it, and no one guessed that it was 100% real, with no wires or CGI. I like how you pointed out that by appreciating the creativity in their music videos, you're not trying to downplay the music itself. I love their music, but I think it's important to recognize their creative spin on their music videos. My personal favorite song, is "The One Moment," and the first time I heard it, I was not watching the music video. I loved the song, but when I saw the music video, I fell in love with OK Go. Initially, I did not comprehend what was happening in the 4.2 seconds of filming. However, once it was slowed down for the rest of the song, every pop of color and flip of a page became its own beautiful moment. I loved learning more about the group and their creative process to make these amazing videos through your post!
ReplyDeleteWay back when OK GO first released their song Here It Goes Again, I have been an avid listener. I have always loved OK GO's music as it is already very creative, using very random vocal stabs and a wealth of different instrumentation - Just look at Upside Down & Inside Out. It wasn't until much later did I find out about their impressive music videos. My favorite has to be their original treadmills and lip-syncing, however each one that they put out is always very creative, like the music video for The Writing's on the Wall, they have different optical illusions throughout the whole song plastered on the walls. One of the craziest ones, personally, is Needing/getting, where the band drives a car to hit certain things to make a beat and they all sing along.
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